is a Japanese sweet made of

azuki bean ''Vigna angularis'', also known as the adzuki bean , azuki bean, aduki bean, red bean, or red mung bean, is an annual vine widely cultivated throughout East Asia for its small (approximately long) bean. The cultivars most familiar in East Asia ...

paste sandwiched between two thin crisp wafers made from

mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan, it is traditionally ma ...

. The wafers can have the shape of a square, a triangle, or may be shaped like

cherry blossom A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of genus ''Prunus'' or ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especially in Japan. They generally ...

chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums (), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus ''Chrysanthemum'' in the family Asteraceae. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the center ...

s, and so on. The azuki bean paste filling in monaka can contain sesame seeds, chestnuts, or rice cake (mochi). Modern monaka can have an

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...

filling instead of azuki bean paste. Choco Monaka Jumbo is an ice cream product made with an ice cream and chocolate filling inside the traditional mochi wafers. It was created in 1972 and is produced by

Morinaga Morinaga (written: ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Ai Morinaga, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese voice actress *Masaki Morinaga, Japanese long jumper *, Japanese singer *Milk Morinaga, Japanese manga artist * Sō ...

. Monaka is a type of dessert (''wagashi'') which is served with tea. There are still many very famous monaka specialty stores in Japan.

References

Japanese cuisine Wagashi Ice cream sandwiches {{Dessert-stub