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| Jasmine Green Tea Ice cream on Agar Agar, surrounded by Red Bean Paste with Black Sugar Syrup |
Imagine my surprise when I discovered I didn't publish the final tray of the feast! Here are the final recipes. This course is a selection of summery dishes called Anmitsu (あんみつ). This dish included a selection of fruits, agar agar jelly, green tea with jasmine ice cream, mochi and red bean paste drizzled with a sweet sugar syrup. This was my wink and nod to tIemitsu’s banquet ended which ended with a desert course of sweets: “Ice rice-cakes” (kōri mochi) ,tangerines, and persimmons on a branch.”
Shiratama Dango 白玉だんご
NOTE: Homemade mochi can be frozen for later use. A few tricks preserve the soft texture of fresh mochi when you freeze it. Roll prepared mochi pieces in potato starch, available in the baking aisle at grocery stores, to keep them soft and prevent them from sticking together when you freeze them in a large batch.
Wrap each individual piece of mochi in clear plastic wrap before you place it in the freezer to keep it from drying out. Store the individually wrapped pieces in a large plastic freezer storage bag or airtight container.
1 ⅔ cups glutinous rice flour
¾ to 1 cup water
2 ½ tbsp. Sugar
Combine rice flour, sugar and water in a large bowl. Mix with a rubber spatula until well combined. Add water and use your hand to form the dough into a ball. Roll into a log and pinch off dough from the log and roll each one into a ¾-inch (2 cm) ball and then flatten it into a thick disc, about a scant ½ inch thick..
Use your index finger to make an indentation in the center (this will help cook faster and less doughy in texture after cooking). Cook the shiratama dango in boiling water, about 2 minutes. When shiratama dango starts to float, pick them up and soak in ice water to let them cool.
Shiratama dango are soft and chewy within 30 minutes after they are made. If you are not using them right away, keep them in water and store in the refrigerator. Shiratama dango will become hard, so you need to re-cook them in boiling water to soften before serving.
1 cup dried red beans
3- 4 cups water, divided, or as needed
2 tbsp butter if smoother paste is needed
1 1/2 cups white sugar
Directions
Place beans in a saucepan and cover with 2 cups water; bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and discard water.
Place drained beans in a clean saucepan and cover with 2 to 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover the saucepan, and simmer, adding more water as needed, until beans are soft and can be crushed between your fingers, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Drain beans and discard water.
Stir beans and sugar together in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar melts and beans form a loose, shiny paste, about 10 minutes.
Immediately transfer the paste to a container to cool. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.
NOTE: Can be stored in an airtight jar/bottle. Keep in the refrigerator up to a week. Black sugar (黒糖) can be purchased in Japanese grocery stores; however, if you cannot find it, you can substitute with Muscovado sugar or dark brown sugar. This kuromitsu is very rich. You can omit or reduce the amount of granulated sugar if you like.
Ingredients For 1 cup
1 cup Kurozato or Dark Muscovado Sugar substitute: unrefined brown sugar
1/2 cup water (120 ml)
Directions
Break brown sugar into pieces if it is a block. Mix sugar and water in a small pot and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Once boiled, reduce the heat to low. Stir well to dissolve sugar completely, and simmer for about 20 minutes until the mixture gets thick.
Note to make lighter: Sub Chuzarato or Coarse Demerara Sugar substitute: regular granulated sugar for half of the brown sugar.
Note: 1 pound of sugar is a little over 2 cups
1 pint heavy whipping cream (about 2⅓ cups)
3 teabags of jasmine green tea
1 cup condensed milk
In a small pot, add ⅔ cups heavy whipping cream and 3 teabags over low to medium heat. Allow the mixture to simmer for about 5-8 minutes to allow the flavor to infuse into the cream.
Remove the pot from heat and allow the jasmine green tea and heavy whipping cream mixture to cool to room temperature, about 6-8 minutes.
While the jasmine green tea mixture is cooling, add the rest of the heavy whipping cream (1⅔ cups) into a mixing bowl with the condensed milk. Mix well.
If you have a mixer, use it to mix the ingredients until stiff peaks form. If you don’t have a mix, stir by hand using a whisk, spoon, or chopsticks. If you use this method, stiff peaks won’t form. Just mix for about 5 minutes until bubbles have formed on the edges. Now transfer to a container, plastic or baking pan. And cover with plastic wrap. Then freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Agar Agar jelly (kanten)寒天
Agar or agar agar is a white translucent jelly made of seaweed, which is suitable for vegetarian/vegan diet
2 tsp powdered kanten (agar agar) (2 tsp= 4 g) (or 1 agar/kanten stick)
2 cups water (2 cups = 500 ml)
2 Tbsp sugar (or more, optional)
Add water and agar powder in a small saucepan. Whisk the mixture together and bring it to a hard boil on medium-high heat, being careful not to let the liquid boil over. After the mixture has boiled and agar powder is dissolved, add sugar and cook on low heat for 2 minutes. If you add sugar before boiling, agar powder may not be dissolved. Remove the saucepan from the stove and pour the mixture into an 8" x 8" (20 x 20 cm) baking dish. Allow it to cool and let the agar set in the refrigerator (about 20 minutes). Cut into ½” (1.5 cm) cubes and they are ready to serve. Keep the jelly in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
If you want to use gelatin: 1 tsp. agar/kanten powder = 1 tsp. powder gelatin
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Persimmons 柿 and Tangerines みかん |
