麩(ふ)

A traditional Japanese ingredient made by washing wheat flour dough to extract the gluten. Comes in two main forms: 焼(や)き麩(ふ) (baked and dried fu) and 生麩(なまふ) (fresh fu).

Common collocations

• 焼(や)き麩(ふ): baked/dried fu — the most common type, light and spongy
• 生麩(なまふ): fresh fu — a Kyoto specialty with a soft, mochi-like texture
• 車麩(くるまふ): wheel-shaped fu — a large ring-shaped dried fu, specialty of Niigata
• 麩(ふ)の味噌汁(みそしる): miso soup with fu
• 麩菓子(ふがし): fu snack — a sweet snack made from baked fu coated in brown sugar

Similar words

• グルテン: gluten — the loanword, used in scientific or Western food contexts
• 豆腐(とうふ): tofu — also a protein-rich traditional food, but made from soybeans rather than wheat

Cultural note

Fu has been a staple of Japanese Buddhist vegetarian cuisine (精進料理(しょうじんりょうり)) for centuries. 生麩(なまふ) from Kyoto is considered a delicacy and is often shaped into decorative forms for use in traditional 懐石(かいせき) cuisine.