yōkan

I sat in the castle’s courtyard, enjoying a plate of yōkan. […] As I bit into the yōkan, I remembered some trivia from my past life. No one knew when exactly it was first invented, but by the Edo period, it had become quite a popular dessert. Famous yōkan brands had even made a name for themselves. […] Apparently, even important shogunate officials served yōkan at their tables.

2020 August 2, Hyougetsu, translated by Ningen, chapter 8, in Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight, volume 8 (Eastward Bound), [San Antonio, Tex.]: J-Novel Club, →ISBN

When I press the fork into it, it bows ever so slightly. “It’s just a hair too soft for this type of yōkan,” I conclude. “However, it looks pretty good, and the flavors are well balanced.” Mom nods in agreement, and we move on to the second jelly. Rather than a pert, bouncy dessert, the yōkan has spread across the plate like Jabba the Hutt.

2021 February 2, Jennifer Yen, chapter 26, in A Taste for Love, New York, N.Y.: Razorbill, →ISBN, page 305

This sweet bean gelée, called yōkan, is studded with candied chestnuts colored yellow by gardenia petals. […] Arrange the sliced chestnuts, spaced evenly, on top of the layer of yōkan.

2021 March 23, Hannah Kirshner, “Kuri Yōkan”, in Water, Wood, and Wild Things: Learning Craft and Cultivation in a Japanese Mountain Town, New York, N.Y.: Viking, →ISBN, “Water” section, chapter 2 (The Tea Path), pages 48–49

Right now, in this bag I’m holding, there are three red bean dorayaki, three cream dorayaki, three red bean yōkan, three mung bean yōkan, three red bean dango, and three red bean mochi. […] Six yōkan is six for sixty sen.

2024 November 12, Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated by Lin King, “Bah-Sò / Braised Minced Pork”, in Taiwan Travelogue: A Novel, Minneapolis, Minn.: Graywolf Press, →ISBN

He opened it, revealing little wrapped bars of yōkan, sweet red bean–flavored jellies Hana loved having with her tea.

2025 January 14, Samantha Sotto Yambao, “Tails and Tea Boxes”, in Water Moon: A Novel, large print edition, New York, N.Y.: Random House Large Print in association with Del Rey, →ISBN, page 72