Post by Sō Haruko on Nov 2, 2012 10:07:01 GMT -5
I just set a bottle of nanban no hi no sake in the cabinet to rest for a month. (:
The recipe is from the Nanban Ryourisho, taken from _Food and Fantasy in Early Modern Japan_. I converted it to use one 750 mL bottle of shochu.
* 1 750 mL bottle of shochu (I used Shochu Yokaichi Kome, which is 50 proof and still has some of the sake-sweetness to it.)
* 6.3 g. cloves
* 3.2 g. cinnamon (I used one stick; I am unsure whether the right choice would be cassia or true cinnamon. Cassia was easier to get ahold of at the moment, so it's cassia for this run)
* 1/2 of a small bulb of fennel, boiled (I simmered this until just tender)
* pinch salt
I omitted the aloeswood because it is $300 for a small packet of aloeswood incense, and impossible to find as a food-grade product. I am unsure what a suitable substitute would be.
Now the shochu needs to rest for a month, and then I need to color it red. The word used is "beni", but as far as I can tell, beni refers to any red coloring, not a specific type of red coloring. The choices I could come up with are either red shiso or red rice koji.
I might be able to get fresh red shiso through one of our other local groceries; I'd need to check. I can get pickled red shiso, but that strikes me as a Bad Idea. Red rice koji seems to be hard to get ahold of; it's supposedly a medicinal.
The grocery I normally go to sells seeds for red shiso, so I picked up a packet. Not sure I'll have enough to do anything with by next month, though.
Anyone else have any ideas for the appropriate coloring agent?
The recipe is from the Nanban Ryourisho, taken from _Food and Fantasy in Early Modern Japan_. I converted it to use one 750 mL bottle of shochu.
* 1 750 mL bottle of shochu (I used Shochu Yokaichi Kome, which is 50 proof and still has some of the sake-sweetness to it.)
* 6.3 g. cloves
* 3.2 g. cinnamon (I used one stick; I am unsure whether the right choice would be cassia or true cinnamon. Cassia was easier to get ahold of at the moment, so it's cassia for this run)
* 1/2 of a small bulb of fennel, boiled (I simmered this until just tender)
* pinch salt
I omitted the aloeswood because it is $300 for a small packet of aloeswood incense, and impossible to find as a food-grade product. I am unsure what a suitable substitute would be.
Now the shochu needs to rest for a month, and then I need to color it red. The word used is "beni", but as far as I can tell, beni refers to any red coloring, not a specific type of red coloring. The choices I could come up with are either red shiso or red rice koji.
I might be able to get fresh red shiso through one of our other local groceries; I'd need to check. I can get pickled red shiso, but that strikes me as a Bad Idea. Red rice koji seems to be hard to get ahold of; it's supposedly a medicinal.
The grocery I normally go to sells seeds for red shiso, so I picked up a packet. Not sure I'll have enough to do anything with by next month, though.
Anyone else have any ideas for the appropriate coloring agent?