A Japanese specialty made of dried wheat gluten made into a spongy dough. Fu is available fully cooked (roasted, deep-fried or baked), partially cooked and fresh or fresh-frozen. It's sometimes colored and comes in a variety of shapes including namu fu (fresh gluten cakes), yaki fu (cubes that have been roasted and dried) and kohana fu (little flower shapes that are cooked and dried and frequently used in instant noodle mixes). Fu is used in numerous Japanese dishes such as soups and other simmered dishes.