Mamekan - Kanten and Red Bean with Kuromitsu

Author: Anita Jacobson

Categories: Dessert Vegetarian

Cuisines: Japanese

Ingredients: Bean Vegetables

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 2 hours 15 mins

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons red bean paste (store bought or follow my red bean paste recipe)
• Kanten (agar-agar) cubes
• 2 teaspoon (~ 6 gram) agar/kanten powder
• 2 cup water (or follow the instruction that comes with your agar/kanten powder)
• 75-100 gram sugar
• Kuromitsu (black sugar syrup)
• 3 cups water
• 50 gram sugar
• 50 gram Okinawan brown sugar (or use regular brown sugar)
• 1 tablespoon mizuame (rice syrup) (*)

Instructions

• Kanten (agar-agar) cubes
  1. Make the kanten by boiling together agar/kanten powder, water, and sugar. Different brand of agar/kanten powder may give different proportion of powder, water, and sugar, and it is best to follow your own instruction.
  2. Pour into a baking pan and let it set at room temperature. Then chill for 1 hour in the fridge. Cut into small 1/2 inch cubes.
• Kuromitsu (black sugar syrup)
  1. Place all ingredients in a sauce pot and bring to a boil. Cook until the liquid is reduced to slightly more than 2 cups.
  2. Turn off the heat, and let cool at room temperature. Then transfer to a jar and store in the fridge.
• To serve
  1. Place some kanten cubes in a serving bowl, top with 1 tablespoon of red bean paste, and pour some of the kuromitsu to fill about half of the bowl.

Notes

• (*)Mizuame is liquid sweetener used in many traditional Japanese desserts/snack and is typically made of rice. You can also use honey or maple syrup if mizuame is not available.