Chef Takumi
Agar Jelly with Anko and Fruit (あんみつ, Anmitsu)
Anmitsu looks like a tray of small tasks, but the work is calm: dissolve the kanten fully, chill the pieces clean, then let fruit, anko, and kuromitsu do the speaking.
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Chilled Red Bean Yōkan (水羊羹, Mizu Yōkan)
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Mizu yōkan is summer yōkan: cool, smooth, and barely set. More water and less kanten make it tender enough to cut cleanly and eat chilled from a small dish.
Desserts
Japanese
Special Occasion
Make Ahead
Comfort Food
15 min
Active Time
10 min cook•3 hr 25 min total
Yield6 servings
Mizu yōkan belongs to the heavy air of June through August, when even sweetness should feel cool. It looks like a confectioner's work, all dark red gloss and clean edges, but don't let that frighten you. This is anko, water, kanten, sugar, and salt. The first secret is not force. It is proportion.
Kanten, the seaweed gel we use for setting sweets, is firm by nature. Use too much and you have a rubber block pretending to be refined. Use too little and the yōkan slumps when you cut it. Mizu yōkan asks for a softer hand than the dense neri yōkan served with tea: enough kanten to hold a clean slice, enough water to let the bean paste taste loose and cool on the tongue.
The detail that decides it is dissolving the kanten completely before the anko goes in. Kanten must boil to set properly, but anko doesn't want rough handling after that. Boil the kanten with water until it disappears, then stir in the bean paste gently and strain if you want the finest texture. Nothing hidden here. Good koshian, a pinch of salt, and a patient chill do nearly all the work.
Serve it small, from a glass dish or cool stoneware, with a wooden pick. Three cubes are plenty. Leave it room, because a summer sweet should cool the eye before it cools the mouth.
Yōkan takes its name from the Chinese characters for 'sheep soup,' a reminder that the word once referred to a gelatinous meat preparation before Buddhist vegetarian kitchens in Japan reshaped it around beans. The use of kanten, a dried agar made from seaweed, became established after its discovery in the seventeenth century near Kyoto, allowing yōkan to set cleanly without animal gelatin. Mizu yōkan is now widely treated as a summer sweet, though Fukui is famous for eating a related soft yōkan in winter.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
smooth sweet red bean paste (koshian)
Quantity
400g
water
Quantity
500ml
powdered kanten
Quantity
4g
granulated sugar
Quantity
50g
adjust depending on the sweetness of the anko
sea salt
Quantity
1 small pinch
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| smooth sweet red bean paste (koshian) | 400g |
| water | 500ml |
| powdered kanten | 4g |
| granulated sugaradjust depending on the sweetness of the anko | 50g |
| sea salt | 1 small pinch |
Equipment Needed
- •Nagashikan rectangular jelly mold, or a small loaf pan
- •Fine-mesh sieve
- •Thin knife for cutting
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the mold
Wet a nagashikan, the rectangular Japanese jelly mold, and shake out the excess water. A small loaf pan or shallow glass dish works too. The thin film of water helps the set yōkan release cleanly without oil, which would cloud the surface.
- 2
Dissolve the kanten
Put the water and powdered kanten in a saucepan and whisk while bringing it to a boil. Once it boils, lower the heat and simmer for two minutes, stirring steadily. Kanten needs a real boil to dissolve and set; if tiny grains remain, the texture will feel sandy instead of smooth.
Don't rush this step. Kanten looks dissolved before it truly is, and this is the one place the confection asks you to be exact. - 3
Sweeten the base
Add the sugar and salt, stirring until they disappear. Taste carefully. It should taste a little sweeter than you want the finished yōkan, because cold dulls sweetness and the bean paste will soften it.
- 4
Add the anko
Lower the heat and add the koshian in several spoonfuls, stirring after each addition until the mixture is even and glossy. Keep it hot but don't boil it hard now. The kanten has done its work, and rough boiling only dulls the clean bean flavor.
- 5
Strain and pour
Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into the prepared mold, pressing gently with a spatula only if needed. Straining removes any stubborn bits of bean skin or kanten and gives mizu yōkan its quiet, even face. Tap the mold once on the counter to settle the surface.
- 6
Chill until set
Let the mold cool at room temperature until it is no longer hot, then refrigerate for at least three hours. Chilling slowly gives the gel time to settle without separating. The finished yōkan should cut cleanly but tremble slightly when lifted.
- 7
Cut and serve
Unmold the yōkan and cut it into small rectangles or cubes with a thin wet knife, wiping the blade between cuts. Serve chilled in restrained portions. A clean cut shows the texture you worked for, and a small piece keeps the sweetness calm.
Chef Tips
- •Use good koshian. If the bean paste tastes flat or harsh, the finished sweet will say so plainly. There is no sauce here, no disguise, only bean, water, and set.
- •Kanten and gelatin are not the same thing. Gelatin gives a soft animal wobble; kanten sets clean and cuts with a quiet edge. For mizu yōkan, kanten is the honmono choice.
- •Powdered kanten is easiest for the home kitchen. If using bar kanten, soak it first, squeeze it dry, tear it small, and boil until fully dissolved before adding sugar.
- •Cut with a wet knife and wipe between strokes. The face of the cut should be smooth and slightly glistening, not dragged.
Advance Preparation
- •Mizu yōkan is made for advance preparation. Chill it at least three hours, or overnight, before cutting.
- •Keep it covered in the refrigerator and serve within three days. The texture is best on the first and second day.
- •Cut only what you plan to serve. Whole slabs hold moisture better than pre-cut pieces.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 155g)
Calories
185 calories
Total Fat
0 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
30 mg
Total Carbohydrates
43 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
30 g
Protein
3 g
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