Uirō

{{Short description|Japanese steamed cake}}

{{Italic title|reason=:Category:Japanese words and phrases}}

{{Infobox prepared food

| name = Uirō

| image = CodazziUiro1.jpg

| image_size = 300px

| caption = Uirō of sakura (left), ryokucha (centre), shiro (right)

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| country = Japan

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| creator =

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| type = Cake

| served =

| main_ingredient = Rice flour, sugar

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}}

Uirō (Japanese: {{lang|ja|外郎}}, {{lang|ja|外良}}, {{lang|ja|ういろう}}), also known as {{Nihongo|uirō-mochi|外郎餅}}, is a traditional Japanese steamed cake made of glutinous rice flour and sugar.{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia = Dijitaru daijisen | title = ういろう | url = http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ | access-date = 2012-06-24 | year = 2012 | publisher = Shogakukan | location = Tokyo | language = ja | trans-title = Uirō | oclc = 56431036 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070825113418/http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ | archive-date = 2007-08-25 }} It is chewy, similar to mochi, and subtly sweet. Flavors include azuki bean paste, green tea (matcha), yuzu, strawberry and chestnut. Nagoya is particularly famous for its uirō, and there are other regional versions, notably in Yamaguchi and Odawara, although Odawara's uirō is better known as a medicine. It can be purchased in traditional Japanese confectionery shops throughout Japan.

Uirō was originally the name of a medicine in the Muromachi period (1336–1573). References to uirō as a confection first appear in the Wa-Kan Sansai Zue, Ryōan Terajima's massive Edo-period dictionary published in 1712.{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia = Nihon Kokugo Daijiten | title = 外郎 | url = http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ | access-date = 2012-07-02 | year = 2012 | publisher = Shogakukan | location = Tokyo | language = ja | oclc = 56431036 | trans-title = Uirō | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070825113418/http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ | archive-date = 2007-08-25 }}