Shirokuma (白熊, Kagoshima shaved ice)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Kakigōriki (Japanese shaved-ice machine), or a manual shaved-ice shaver with a fine blade
• •Small saucepan
• •Chilled footed glass bowl or deep celadon dessert bowl
• •Long dessert spoons

Instructions

1. 1

   Chill everything

   Put the serving bowls in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. Keep the milk, fruit, kanten, and anko cold in the refrigerator. Ice melts from every warm surface it touches, so chilling the bowl and toppings buys you the few minutes this dish needs.

2. 2

   Make milk syrup

   Warm the sugar and water in a small saucepan just until the sugar dissolves and the liquid turns clear. Cool it completely, then whisk in the condensed milk and cold whole milk. Don't cook the milk. Shirokuma wants a clean, milky sweetness, not a cooked taste.

   The syrup should pour in a thin ribbon. If it sits heavily on the ice, whisk in cold milk one spoonful at a time.
3. 3

   Prepare toppings

   Drain the mikan, pineapple, and peach well, then blot them lightly. Cut the kiwi or grapes into small pieces and leave the banana until the last moment so it doesn't darken. Wet, heavy fruit collapses the shaved ice, and oversized pieces slide down the mound instead of settling into it.

4. 4

   Temper the ice

   Set the block ice at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes, just until the surface begins to glisten. Ice straight from the freezer is too hard and shaves into chips. Slightly tempered ice meets the blade cleanly and falls like soft snow.

5. 5

   Shave and layer

   Spoon a little anko and a few kanten cubes into each chilled bowl. Shave a loose mound of ice over them, drizzle with milk syrup, then shave another light layer on top. Build, don't pack. Pressed ice drinks syrup too quickly and turns heavy, while loose ice keeps the fine texture you worked for.

   Drizzling between layers keeps the center from tasting plain without drowning the outside.
6. 6

   Make the face

   Pour a final spoonful of milk syrup over the peak. Place one cherry near the top or center as the nose, two raisins as the eyes, and fruit around the mound in small odd-numbered groups. Tuck anko and kanten where they can be seen, but keep the rim of the bowl clear. The bear should read from above, and the empty space keeps the bowl calm.

7. 7

   Serve immediately

   Serve at once with long spoons. Shirokuma is made at the pace of melting, which is to say it waits for no cook. The first spoonful should be snowy, milky, and cold all the way through.

Chef Tips

• •Canned mikan, pineapple, and peach are not a failure here. They belong to the old kissaten shape of the dish. Drain them well and chill them hard.
• •Use a kakigōriki, a Japanese shaved-ice machine, if you have one. A manual shaver with a fine adjustable blade works. A crusher gives you crunchy ice, pleasant enough, but not Kagoshima snow.
• •Condensed milk is the character of the syrup. Evaporated milk alone makes it thin, and whipped cream turns the bowl into another dessert.
• •Fresh fruit should be glistening fresh and at its shun. If the berries are tired or the melon is dull, leave them off and use the canned fruit proudly. Nothing hidden.
• •Do not build the bowls ahead. You can prepare every part, but the shaving and arranging happen only when people are ready to eat.

Advance Preparation

• •The milk syrup keeps for 3 days in the refrigerator. Stir it before using.
• •Fruit and kanten can be drained and chilled up to 4 hours ahead. Slice the banana only at serving time.
• •Freeze filtered water in a block mold the day before, or buy block ice. Temper it only when you're ready to shave.
• •Set bowls and spoons in the freezer 30 minutes before serving so the first layer of ice stays light.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 435g)