"Poke-Manju: The Rage Candy Bar"- Geek Recipe Highlight #2

Hello all, its time for Geeky cooking! And this weeks special is from the wonderful world of-

Erm, thanks Pikachu. I think the readers already knew what was coming...

Anyways, Pokemon! I love the little guys and have been playing since Gen 1, but there's just something about Gen 2, or Gold/Silver/Crystal, that has stayed especially close to my heart. I have such fond memories of picking out my Totodile every time I played,

(Dawww, look at him in his little costume!!!)

Or saving poor, sick Amphy. Even catching that crazy red Gyarados, and eventually taking on the big daddy of Pokemon himself: Red

The dude was almost as bad as Whitney and her Friggin' Miltank.

So...much...Rollout..... But that's a story for another day!

Today is all about a Pokemon inspired edible from Gen 2 called the Rage Candy Bar, which you buy from  a guy in Mahogany Town. It has subsequently appeared in the later Pokemon games, and still heals a Pokemon for 20 hp. 

Strangely enough, according to the all-powerful Bulbapedia, aka the virtual Pokemon Bible, the name Rage Candy  Bar is actually a miss-translation. In Japanese its called a "Rage Bun", based upon Japanese Manju cakes. After learning of this I had no choice but to discover the "true" Rage Candy Bar and found a simple and delicious recipe from Maangchi. So, hold onto your pokeballs, folks! We're taking a culinary trip to Japan ( technically, the recipe is for Korean Manju, but the recipe was so user-friendly I couldn't resist)!

Ingrediants:

1 cup Lima Beans

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup flour + 1/2 cup extra

2 eggs

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

2 tsp vanilla

Filling

1.) Soak the beans in cold water overnight. Then, pop them out of their skins with your fingers. It will take a while if you use baby limas.

2.) Place in a saucepan with 1 1/4 cup water and boil for 10 minutes. Then, simmer for 30-50 minutes. They should get fluffy and absorb the water.

While waiting, occupy your time. I chose to do so with Woodchuck's Spring cider. I told you before, didn't I? I'm a bad role model.

3.) Mash the beans until they look like mashed potatoes. Then add in the sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir for around 1-2 minutes until it thickens. Then let it cool. It will get thicker.

Dough:

1.) Mix the 3/4 cup flour, 1 egg, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk, and 1 tsp vanilla in a bowl until its smooth.

Make the Poke-Manju:

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.) On a floured surface, roll the dough into around 8, even-sized balls. Roll out the filling too, if you can. I didn't and ended up just plopping it into the dough.

3.) Flatten the dough out into flat circles. 

4.) Put some of the filling into the center and fold the dough over it. Make sure to seal the edges with some water so nothing leaks out!. Then, dip the smooth side into water, then sesame seeds, then brush with the extra egg's yolk.

5.) Lay onto a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

6.) Let cool on a wire rack and Enjoy!

The Poke-Manju will be slightly sweet and earthy in flavor. With a light crispness from the sesame seeds (I think I made them correctly, either way they were pretty good). They actually reminded me a lot of Italian Sesame seed cookies (Giuggiulena), so if you like those you'll like these.

Not sure about next week's Geek Recipe, either Lemon Cakes from "A Song of Ice and Fire" or Pumpkin Pasties from Harry Potter. Maybe something completely different. Let me know in the comments below!

*All images are not mine, except for the recipe pics. Look at Pinterest if you want the others*