ZCANDIED ENZERO – INGREDIENTS X 4:
100 g Asian ginger
60 g cane sugar + 2 spoons (to decorate)
100ml water
30g honey
1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
Method
Peel the ginger and cut it into thin slices (possibly 1-2 mm thick), then cook it in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and save the water. Return the ginger to the pot, sprinkle with the sugar and let sit for 30 minutes. Add the water and honey and heat over medium heat.
When the water comes to a boil, turn the heat down to low let simmer for 20-25 minutes. Incorporate the lemon juice. Drain and keep the syrup.
Candied ginger. Maori Murota recipe, photos by Akiko Ida, taken from “Easy Japanese Cooking” (Guido Tommasi Editore).
Put the ginger back in the pot and heat slowly for 1 minute, stirring constantly to evaporate the remaining syrup (be careful that the ginger does not burn!).
Arrange the ginger slices on a zaru or a rectangle of parchment paper. Leave to dry for 1 day at room temperature or for 30 minutes in the oven at 100°C on baking paper. Sprinkle with sugar. Leave to dry again for 2-3 days at room temperature. Candied ginger can be kept for 1 month in a glass jar at room temperature.
CASTELLA – INGREDIENTS X 6:
4 eggs
95 g brown sugar
2 spoons of honey
2 tablespoons of myrin
110 g type 1 flour
4 tablespoons matcha tea powder
2 tablespoons of coarse crystalline raw cane sugar.
Castella. Maori Murota recipe, photos by Akiko Ida, taken from “Easy Japanese Cooking” (Guido Tommasi Editore).
Method
Line a square mold with parchment paper and sprinkle the bottom with brown sugar. In a large bowl, mix the eggs and light brown sugar. Place the bowl in a container of hot water at around 60°C and beat with the electric mixer at low speed. When the mixture is hot (40-42°C), remove the bowl from the hot water. Beat on high speed until the mixture becomes clear and compact.
Immerse a bowl in hot water, pour the honey and mirin and dilute well. Fold into the egg and sugar mixture and beat for 1 minute on high speed. Sift the flour and matcha tea into the mixture and then mix by beating for 1 minute on low speed. Heat the oven to 170°C. Pour the mixture into the mold and tap the mold on the work surface to eliminate any air bubbles.
Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 140°C and continue cooking for 40-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and slam the mold again on the work surface, place a piece of foil on the cake and then place a plate or pan on it. Turn over to unmold the cake and immediately wrap it in plastic wrap. Leave to rest for 1 day at room temperature and then for 1 day in the refrigerator. To serve, cut into 3cm slices.
Correspondence
“Easy Japanese cuisine” by Maori Murota (Guido Tommasi Editore)
Taste the “Castella”: you immediately recognize it as sponge cake, but with a certain something (matcha and mirin tea). Candied ginger is also among the recipes Easy Japanese cuisine (Guido Tommasi Editore): sweet and/or savoury, “right” and simple to prepare. For those who want to feel at home in Tokyo.
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