light wheat-gluten bread
麩 centers on a specific food made from wheat gluten: a light, bread-like product. The meaning is narrow and concrete, referring to this particular edible item.
麩 combines 麥 (wheat) with 夫, which likely contributes the sound フ. The character was created to name a wheat-based food, with 夫 acting as a phonetic marker.
The left side 麥 means wheat, and the right side 夫 looks like a person. Imagine a person holding a piece of light, puffy wheat-gluten bread made from wheat.
For フ, picture a piece of wheat-gluten bread shaped like the katakana フ. The bread's shape itself cues the reading フ.
wheat gluten (usu. steamed or baked)
wheat gluten (usu. steamed or baked)
deep-fried wheat gluten
wheat starch
yaki-fu; wheat gluten leavened with baking powder and baked into long bread-like sticks
nama-fu; wheat gluten mixed with rice flour and steamed in large blocks
fish floss; finely shredded and seasoned fish
flour paste cake in the form of a tube
nama-fu (steamed wheat gluten) mixed with millet
yaki-fu (baked wheat gluten) cut in ring-shaped slices (Niigata specialty)
candy made from wheat gluten; wheat-gluten snack
gluten