Cream Anmitsu

Ingredient	4 Servings	4 Servings
kanten	1 batch	1 batch
koshian or tsubuan	5 - 7 oz.	150g - 200g
gyūhi	½ batch	½ batch
kuromitsu	1 batch	1 batch
vanilla ice cream	4 scoops	4 scoops
one or more kinds of fruit	as much as you like	as much as you like

Anmitsu is a perfect summer dessert with a quintessentially Japanese harmony of unusual textures and familiar flavors. While kanten and gyūhi don’t have much flavor on their own, they pick up the sweetness of kuromitsu and lend an unexpected twist to the parade of textures in your mouth.

Directions

Prepare anko.
Prepare a batch of koshian (or tsubuan, if you prefer). If you don’t intend to use the remaining anko soon, you can freeze it.
Prepare kanten.
Prepare a batch of kanten. Cut into 1.5cm (half-inch) cubes and refrigerate.
Prepare gyūhi.
Prepare a batch of gyūhi. Divide in half. Roll the half you’ll use out to about a 7mm (quarter-inch) thickness, then cut into bite-sized strips. Wrap the remaining half and freeze it for later use.
Prepare kuromitsu.
Prepare a batch of kuromitsu and refrigerate.
Prepare fruit.
Wash, peel, pit, or otherwise prepare the fruit(s) you’ll be using as necessary, and cut into bite-sized chunks.
Assemble and serve.
Divide the kuromitsu into four small glasses. Divide fruit and kanten evenly into four bowls. Add the strips of gyūhi, and top each bowl with a scoop of ice cream and a dollop of anko. Serve with a spoon and the kuromitsu syrup on the side, to be poured over the top before you dig in.

Notes

You can use any type and combination of fruit you like. Good choices are strawberries, bananas, kiwi, peaches, watermelon or other melon, or blueberries.
Matcha ice cream is another flavor that works well, or, for an extra touch of elegance, you can use vanilla ice cream dusted liberally with matcha powder.
There is an entire family of desserts that consist of various combinations of these ingredients. This particular combination is most accurately called “fruit cream anmitsu”; leaving out the ice cream would be “plain” anmitsu. Without ice cream and anko, you have mitsumame, and just omitting the anko is cream mitsumame. We also have a recipe for a molded version, anmitsudama (anmitsu balls).