最中(もなか)

もなか
noun
monaka (wafer-shell sweet)
foodculture
1. monaka; wafer-shell sweet filled with bean paste
A traditional Japanese confection of sweet adzuki-bean paste sandwiched between two thin, crisp wafer shells made from glutinous rice.
最中(もなか)を食(た)べた。
I ate a monaka.
この店(みせ)の最中(もなか)は皮(かわ)がパリパリでおいしい。
This shop's monaka has a wonderfully crisp shell.
Ice-cream monaka, with ice cream packed into the wafer shells, is a summer staple.

A wagashi (Japanese sweet) made of 餡(あん) (bean paste) between two crisp rice-flour wafers. Modern versions may use ice cream or other fillings.

Common collocations

Usage

The same characters are also read さいちゅう (最中(さいちゅう)), meaning "in the middle of (doing something)" — a completely different word. The sweet is always もなか.