| Kinako | |
| Country: | Japan |
| Main Ingredient: | Soybeans |
Kinako (Japanese: 黄粉 or Japanese: きなこ "yellow flour") is roasted soybean flour, used in Japanese cuisine.[1] In English, it is usually called "roasted soy flour". Kinako is mostly used as a topping to flavor rice cakes like mochi.[2]
Usage of the word kinako appeared in Japanese cookbooks from the late Muromachi period (1336–1573).[3]
An early record of the word comes from the text Sōtan Chakai Kondate Nikki (Sōtan's Tea Ceremony Cookery Menu Diary), written in 1587 by Sen no Sōtan, a tea ceremony master.[4]
Kinako is produced by finely grinding roasted soybeans into powder.[5] The skin of the soybean is typically removed before pulverizing the beans, but some varieties of kinako retain the roasted skin.[5] Yellow soybeans produce a yellow kinako, and green soybeans produce a light-green product.[5]
Kinako is widely used in Japanese cooking, but is strongly associated with dango and wagashi. Dango, dumplings made from mochiko (rice flour), are commonly coated with kinako.[6] Examples include ohagi and Abekawa-mochi. Kinako, when combined with milk or soy milk, can also be made into a drink. One example of its use in popular foods is warabimochi, which is a famous kinako-covered sweet.
Being composed of soybeans, kinako is a nutritious topping and source of flavor, containing B vitamins and protein.[5] Compared to boiled soybeans, however, the protein in kinako is not easily digested.[5]