Imagawayaki

Imagawayaki is a delightful Japanese dessert that's a favorite at festivals. Traditionally, it’s made with a batter cooked in a special pan and filled with sweet azuki bean paste. Nowadays, you can find a variety of delicious fillings such as vanilla custard, fruit custards, preserves, curry, meats, vegetables, potato, and even mayonnaise.

This treat has been around since the Edo period and got its name from the Kanda Imagawabashi bridge. It’s somewhat similar to Dorayaki, but the key difference is that Dorayaki consists of two separate pancakes with the filling sandwiched in between, and it's often served cold. Imagawayaki, on the other hand, is cooked with the filling inside.

Depending on where you are in Japan, you might hear Imagawayaki referred to by different names such as Ōban-yaki, Kaiten-yaki, Nijū-yaki, or Koban-yaki. Some specific variations are even unique to particular stores or companies, such as Gozasōrō and Higiri-yaki.

This tasty treat isn't just popular in Japan. In Taiwan, a similar dessert is known as "red bean cake" or "car wheel cake." In the Philippines, you'll find a version called "Japanese Cake." The Filipino variant is usually smaller and often filled with cheese slices, though you can also find sweet fillings like strawberry and chocolate, or savory ones like ham and cheese. These are typically sold from tricycle carts equipped with special circular cooking molds.