Recipe(tried): Japanese Shaved Ice with Azuki Beans

Hi Janet and Carol:

When I grew up in Japan, shaved ice desserts were de rigeur during the hot and humid summer months. Japanese "sweet shops" (restaurants in Japan typically serve only one type of cuisine -- only sushi, only tempura, only soba, etc. except in hotels) bring out all sorts of shaved ice desserts (along with a dizzying array of cold desserts) that you can only have during summer -- I'm getting homesick just writing about it -- this version, called "uji-kintoki" uses azuki beans, as you have requested.

I do know for a fact that it was the early Japanese immigrants that brought "shaved ice" to Hawaii and California -- if you've been there (especially Hawaii), you'll see "shaved ice" sold all over the place.

Japanese Shaved Ice with Sweetened Azuki Beans (Uji-kintoki)

Since I've never measured the ingredients when I've made it (I really don't measure anything when I cook Japanese), it's easier for me to explain. BTW, I hope you have one of those hand-operated machines to make shaved ice because otherwise, you'll probably ruin one of your knives to "shave" the ice manually.

Get a can of sweetened azuki bean paste that's sold in most Asian stores because if you decide to make it from scratch, the process will take more than 3 hours and the beans have to be constantly monitored. Place 2 Tbsp. of the azuki paste in a bowl, and heap on your shaved ice over it. Top it with matcha (Japanese green tea) syrup -- make a syrup by dissolving sugar in boiling water (proportions are about 1:1) and SLOWLY add matcha powder (be careful because a little goes a LONG way) to taste, and make sure that the syrup has cooled down before you make your shaved ice. The traditional version calls for "shira-tama" but to make these mochi-like, chewy items, you'll need to get your hands on shira-tama flour -- so unless you're willing to go the extra mile, I suggest that you add a scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream for a delicious and refreshing dessert.

If you can't find these items, try these on-line sources:

www.katagiri.com
www.maruwa.com

If you have any question, just let me know!

Cathy