1.
sweet red bean soup (with mochi)
A traditional Japanese dessert consisting of a sweet soup made from azuki beans, typically served with mochi (rice cakes). Especially popular in winter.
A beloved traditional Japanese sweet, especially in winter. Can be written in kanji as 善哉, but hiragana is more common in everyday use. The definition varies by region in Japan.
Regional differences
In the Kanto (Tokyo) region, ぜんざい usually refers to a version with whole beans and mochi. In the Kansai (Osaka/Kyoto) region, the same dish is called 汁粉 if it uses smooth bean paste, while ぜんざい refers specifically to the chunky version with whole beans.