Known as "wheel cake" in Taipei and "red bean cake" in the south, this popular snack is believed to have originated from a Japanese wagashi. In the Kanda area of Tokyo during the Edo period, a small confection made of a flour crust and filled with mashed red beans or mashed kidney beans was developed, and later spread throughout Japan. In the Kanto area, they were called nijiyaki or imakawa-yaki, while in the Kansai area, they were called rotary-yaki, and there were also names such as taiji-yaki, taiko-yaki, and gantaro-yaki.

It is rumored that the red bean cake originated in the area of "Imagawa Bridge" in the Edo period, hence the name "Imagawa-yaki", but there are several other theories about its origin. Some Japanese believe that the name originated from the Imagawa clan, a daimyo of the Warring States period; there is also a legend that Benkei, one of the great generals of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, the god of war in the ancient Japanese era, was treated for his wounds at the home of a commoner, and as a reward, Benkei gave them his own musical instrument, a gong, which he had been carrying around with him. The family later used the gong as a model to make uniquely shaped yakitori for sale; it was later refined several times and became a confection similar to kongo-yaki in the late Edo period, and then further transformed into Imagawa-yaki.

It is worth mentioning that traditionally, Imagawa-yaki also has a soybean filling flavor, which the Japanese call "soybean filling", which is very unique. Nowadays, both Taiwan and Japan have developed many unique flavors, such as cheese, chocolate, etc., but salty fillings are less common in Japan. In Taiwan, the most dominant flavor is still red bean paste with cream sauce, followed by shredded radish, taro, and chocolate.

The crust of red bean cake is mainly made of flour, eggs, water, sugar, etc. The more sophisticated ones do not add water to make the crust taste more fragrant; some operators also add flavorings and other unnatural materials.

On the origin of red bean cake, in fact, there is a legend in Taiwan that red bean cake originated from China, and related to Emperor Qianlong, but its credibility is not high; it is generally believed that the red bean cake originated from the Japanese Imagawa Yaki. In addition to red bean cakes, traditional snacks such as sweet chili and ah give are also believed to have originated in Japan.

(Image taken from Wikipedia)

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