Japanese foods--Wagashi

[torakris]

In her watashi to Tokyo blog Mari has a recent entry on wagashi with lots of links and tons of gorgeous pictures. Definitely check it out!

[torakris]

Shiruko is a sweet soup made from adzuki beans boiled in a mixture of water and sugar, with grilled pieces of mochi rice cake floating in the bowl. The soup is served hot, and is one of Japan's best-known traditional sweet dishes. It is eaten as a snack, generally during some hungry moment between lunch and supper.

There are two variations—the beans can be left whole, or they can be strained when soft, to mash them and remove the skins. In western Japan, the former variety is often called zenzai. Shiruko is eaten throughout the year, but because it is served piping hot, it is considered a special treat for the cold winter months.

more from Nipponia

I love shiruko, but I have to admit it was an acquired taste that took many years!

In the winter months cans of hot shiruko start popping up in the vending machines.

and you can also buy version that you just heat up in your microwave

this one was made with soy milk and it was quite good. I think I paid about 80 yen ($0.75) for it, much cheaper than 120 yen ($1.10) for the cans....

Shiruko doesn't necessarily need to be made from adzuki (red beans), I have had incredible version that were made with black sesame seeds and one from kabocha.

[torakris]

some variations

kinako shiruko roasted soybean powder

ringo shiruko apple (3rd one down)

matcha shiruko green tea

Black rice and coconut milk shiruko

even kitty-chan makes shiruko

[is100]

hello all

While working in sydney i came across a savoury dumpling made from warabi mochi ( clams and sundried tomato in the middle) served in an edamame potage.

i loved this dish but didn't find out the recipe

could anyone tell me a recipe ( liquid volume to starch powder) and method.

I think it was made like polenta; ie a premeasured amount of starch was whisked into a prescribed volume of 60 to 70 degree centigraded liquid (dashi) and stirred until fully hydrated but i am not sure how long and this is just my guess i'm not entirely sure.

thanks for any help

[torakris]

I have a recipe I have used for a sweet version filled with an (sweet red beans) and it contains quite a bit of sugar so I am not sure if removing that is going to mess up the proportions or not.

I decided to check out recipes on the internet as well and came up with many different ways to make it.

The average proportion of warabi starch to water was about 1:4~5, the sugar content varied from none to twice the amount of warabi starch.....

There are softer varieties like this one, which is similar to my recipe and then ones that are dropped in a block form into ice water and then cut into cubes like this.

Most of the recipes followed similar steps.

mix the water and warabi starch in a bowl, mixing well so that it doesn't clump or harden. Then pour through a strainer into a sauce pan and add the sugar. Place over high heat and stir constantly until it starts to bubble. Lower the heat to medium and keep stirring until it becomes transparent and thickens.

It can then be poured as a block into ice water, spooned into ice water or poured onto a sheet (covered with some kind of powder--usually kinako) but a non-stick sheet might work.

To make the savory version you want, I would follow the pictures in the first link and at the place the clam/sun dried tomato mixture in the middle of a flattened piece and then pinch the sides together, sort of like a dumpling.

[Hiroyuki]

Like torakris said, I know of sweet versions only, like this:

http://www.suzumeodori.com/recommend/warabimoti.htm

Basically, it is a Kansai (Western Japan) thing, and I am not very familiar with it.

You can see a video of how to make a sweet version from here:

http://www.manma-miya.jp/recipe/1108/1108.html

Click the photo under "recipe" to start it.

The ingredients are:

60 g warabi starch (or corn starch)

30 g sugar

2 cups water (i.e. 400 cc water)

Mix warabi flour and sugar.

Add water little by little.

Put the pan on the stove and stir well until translucent.

Keep simmering for some time.

[JasonTrue]

One of the sweets I brought back from Japan on my March trip...

I got this in a little gift shop in Izu. It's made with shiro-an inside, mikan-flavored. The outer dough is molded into a mikan shape.

It's a beautiful deception, and actually tastes pretty nice also. It came in a box that looks like the standard white cardboard carton in which Shizuoka mikan might be sold.

I took this photo on a plate I bought for myself from Karatsu several years ago, which has a real leaf impression in the clay; it's partially obscured.

[torakris]

those look great!

what was the dough? more cake like or more like a manju?

[JasonTrue]

those look great!

what was the dough? more cake like or more like a manju?

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It was more cakelike. The recipe seems to be wheat-based with eggs and margarine in the dough, and apparently baking powder, based on a rough extrapolation from the ingredient list. It appears that mizuame (maltose) is used as one of the sweeteners, but I'm not sure if it's in the dough or the anko or both. There's some pectin in the ingredient list but I also can't guess where that was... it might have been in an intermediary layer between the outer layer and inner filling.

Some packaged products are called manjuu here (in Seattle/the US in general) which are not actually made with mochigome, because mochigome pastry doesn't travel so well... they are "baked" manjuu, maybe.

The sweet shop has a phone number, 0557-37-3334. The name of the sweet is Shizuoka Mikan.

[Evan]

Anyone try konpeito (confeito), there are different flavors from brown sugar to sakura. If you like hard candy this is the best wagashi.

http://www.hyoubandou.com/satougasi.htm

[torakris]

Anyone try konpeito (confeito), there are different flavors from brown sugar to sakura.  If you like hard candy this is the best wagashi.

http://www.hyoubandou.com/satougasi.htm

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These are wonderful!

I usually buy the ones just like the bag you have pictures.

I am going to keep my eyes out for the sakura version...

[PastryBoy]

I am having cravings for red beans lately and wanted to try making mizu yokan for the first time. All the recipes I have found use sticks of shiro kanten (white agar agar). Would I be able to substitute regular gelatin for the agar or does the agar set the jelly somehow differently (i.e., different set / texture / taste...)?

[Hiroyuki]

According to this webpage, you can substitute gelatin for kanten to make mizu youkan (although I am sure that the texture will be quite different).

5．本来寒天で作るものですが、ゼラチンでかまいません。箱のレシピに応じて、水でゼリー液を作ります。

　　ゼリー液とあんこを1：1で混ぜます。この時味を見て、砂糖を入れて下さい。そのままだと、多分、ハンパな甘さになります。

Rough translation:

According to the instructions on the box, make gelatin solution. Mix equal amounts of gelatin solution and anko. Check the taste and add sugar to your taste.

Edited June 1, 2005 by Hiroyuki (log)

[torakris]

I don't work much with gelling agents but we did recently have a thread here on Japanese gelling agents that you might want to take a look at.

Most foods I have eaten that are gelled with agar agar are much firmer than those mode with gelatin. Agar agar also doe not need to be chilled to harden, so if you have a recipe that doesn't call for chilling, you will have to chill it if you use gelatin.

[Kiem Hwa]

A recent find in Shirokiya: "Samejima Wagashi":

These were kudzu-"manju", filled with either koshi-an (smoothly mashed red beans), or with a matcha or ichigo (strawberry) flavored filling that also had the consistency of the koshi-an (maybe flavored white beans??). Oishikatta

What does "Samejima" mean?

[Hiroyuki]

What does "Samejima" mean?

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Probably 鮫島 (lit. shark island). The name of the wagashi shop maybe?

[torakris]

some snacks we picked up on an outing yesterday

kinako mochi in the back, warabi mochi with matcha-kinako on the right and zunda mochi (with sweetened paste made from edamame) in the front

[torakris]

this looks good doesn't it?

it wasn't...

It was called sakuranbo milk mochi (sakuranbo are Japanese cherries)

I thought the white stuff was coconut when I grabbed the last one of these from the shelf, after eating it I am still unsure as to what it was. It was NOT coconut though. I don't even think that cherry was a real sakuranbo, as for the milk anko that was inside.... I had never head of anko made with milk, from reading the ingredients I am assuming it was made with milk and kanten (agar agar) and it was dry and crumbly as well as tasteless.

[Kiem Hwa]

some snacks we picked up on an outing yesterday

kinako mochi in the back, warabi mochi with matcha-kinako on the right and zunda mochi (with sweetened paste made from edamame) in the front

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Is the matcha kinako just made with matcha + kinako? I thought before that the green "kinako" was some special kind of kinako made with green beans (I think someone told me that..... )

[torakris]

Is the matcha kinako just made with matcha + kinako?  I thought before that the green "kinako" was some special kind of kinako made with green beans (I think someone told me that..... )

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It is actually matcha and kinako mixed, though it had just a faint hint of the matcha. There was only one left with a couple regular kinako ones, and the sign said just kinako mochi so I asked the woman what it was. I had never seen that before.

[purpleplasticdoll]

I just got back from a vacation in Japan and I bought this thinking it was some sort of a cake. But it isn't, it is hard and crispy, sort of like a biscuit. Does anyone know what this is?

What is kinako? I saw something similar but I have always thought it was just something sticky with grated peanuts.

Are these called Taiyaki? I bought this in Asakusa Kannon Temple

TIA, I'm telling my friends about the food I ate in Japan and I didn't want to give the wrong information.

(My first post and I'm asking 3478734 questions! )

Edited June 23, 2005 by purpleplasticdoll (log)

[JasonTrue]

I just got back from a vacation in Japan and I bought this thinking it was some sort of a cake. But it isn't, it is hard and crispy, sort of like a biscuit. Does anyone know what this is?

I was inclined to think it was castera (kasutera) until you said it was hard and crispy. Castera is fairly soft, in spite of dense air pockets. So I'd be at a loss to give the cake a name if it is hard.

What is kinako? I saw something similar but I have always thought it was just something sticky with grated peanuts.

Kinako is not sticky. It's ground, toasted soybeans. When used in confections, it may have added sugar and salt to bring out the nutty flavor. It is often used on stickier confections, though.

Your little birds are probably the same type of confection as tai-yaki, but that type of molded "waffle" is usually called (animal, vegetable or character name)-yaki based on the appearance.

Edited June 23, 2005 by JasonTrue (log)

[torakris]

first of all welcome to eGullet!

I have no idea what that first thing is, I also thought is was castera until you said it was hard and crispy... Do you have a picture of the package?

Tai-yaki are the ones that are shaped like tai (sea bream, a kind of fish), though they are all pretty much the same. Some times they are just called ningyo-yaki in general, but those tend to be the ones that have faces. I have seen ones like yours though labeled as nigyo-yaki.

here is a little information abou ningyo-yaki

[Hiroyuki]

Do you have a picture of the package?

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Yep, just one picture of the package will solve your (our?) problem.

[purpleplasticdoll]

I'm sorry I don't have a picture of the packaging. I bought it thinking it was kasutera! I bought this in a Japanese snack shop, they sell dorayaki and etc etc.

JasonTrue, so the brown snack in Torakis's picture is actually mochi with kinako. I thought kinako was the gooey thing.

Torakis, thanks for the link and warm welcome! I really like the Japan forum, I never knew Tokyo Bay/Odaiba existed till I visited this forum. When I go to Tokyo, it was always the same old places like Harajuku, Ueno, Akihabara.. I'm learning nihongo from your thread!

Is this kasutera? My mother knows a little Japanese and she tells me they call this Honey Cake.