Silky

Asakusa Silk Pudding 浅草シルクプリン

Because of time restrictions, I was not able to cross off all of my to-do list in Japan. I wanted to see Tokyo Skytree, the new radio tower which is 634 meters high. Honey, what is that in feet? He is not listening, he’s occupied with the NBA Playoffs which began last Sunday. Anyway, Skytree is almost twice the height of Tokyo Tower’s 333 meters. The Asakusa Silk Pudding Shop, which is also on my list to visit, is near the Kaminarimon (雷門) which is famous for big red lantern. It’s a poplar tourist stop and within walking distance from the Skytree. I wish I had one more day in Tokyo.

This Asakusa Silk Pudding sells about 1,000 puddings a day. Although the shop started out to cater puddings to some hotel restaurant as a dessert, as the pudding ‘s popularity grew, also perfecting the taste and texture, they eventually became firmly entrenched in  the business and added more shops in metro area.

My quest of deliciousness has no end. I created the silk pudding despite not knowing the original, using the pudding bottles (puddings we had at other stores) I brought home and reference I got from ‘Delicious Pudding’ cook book.

Ingredients for 5 jars of silk puddings

Equipment: 5- 4ounce glass jars, food scale, strainer, deep pan with lid, thermometer, 2-3 paper towels

First make Caramel sauce

• Granulated sugar 100g
• Water 30ml
• Hot water 1 Tablespoon

Pour sugar and water into a small sauce pan. Cook until dark brown at medium heat without stirring. Add hot water then stir with wooden spoon. Pour in the 5 jars equally. Set aside. Warning: caramel sauce is verrry hot.

Pudding

• Milk 300ml
• Heavy cream 200ml
• Granulated sugar 65g
• Egg yolk 100g - about 5 eggs
• Vanilla essence 1/2 teaspoon
• Rum flavoring 1/2 teaspoon

1. Pour milk and heavy cream in a medium pan and heat up to 50C. Set aside.
2. Put sugar and egg yolk in a large bowl, mix well with hand held mixer about 1 minute. Do not make a large circle motion, try not to create air bubbles.
3. Add vanilla and rum to the bowl and mix for an additional 30 seconds.
4. Pour about 1/3 of the warmed milk mixture from step #1 into the bowl and mix well. Gradually add rest of the milk mixture.
5. Strain the mixture twice and lay a piece of paper towel on the surface to remove foamy bubbles (you may use spoon for this task if you’d rather). Repeat as necessary. For bigger bubble, prick with toothpick.
   
6. Pour into jars. Cover each jar with foil.
   
7. Lay a sheet of paper towel on the bottom of a deep pan. You need enough boiling water to cover half way up to the jar height. Turn the heat off while putting the jars at least inch apart from each other. Put the lid on and steam for 15 to 20 minutes at low heat.
    
8. Place in the freezer immediately for 30 minutes then transfer to refrigerator to chill. Warning: the jars are very very hot. Ummmm silky! I need to work on caramel sauce though.

After the wedding, my husband, my daughter and I headed for Yamanashi prefecture to see Mt. Fuji up close. View from our hotel room was amazing!

Five short minutes ride on hotel’s shuttle bus took us to Fujikyu Highland (富士急ハイランド) the next day. I didn’t have the stomach to ride this ‘spectacularly crazy’ I was told, jet coaster.

Day 3rd. We rode the Kachi Kachi ropeway up to Mt. Tenjyo for an another look of Mt. Fuji. My camera battery is dead at this point so we paid to take our photo for 1000 yen, about 10 bucks.

We shopped at HARD OFF, a huge second hand store just a half block away from the hotel. They have Louis Vuitton bags to washing machine to bicycle to clothing item to just about everything. I needed a battery charger for my camera and they had it!  I also bought brand new Arita ceramic (有田焼き) bowls for 60 yen (about 70 cent) each –cheap right? A small plate from Tachikichi (たち吉) is an another good brand ceramic maker, there is no name on the black blown bowl but I adore for $2 to $3 range. I could have bought more if we had space in our suitcases…wait a sec, if I bought one of  large Louis Vuitton bag ($500 - $1000) then the problem could have been solved? My husband was relieved – DANGER AVOIDED! I didn’t take any pictures of store because I was dealing with battery issue still. My daughter and I loved the store! My husband, not so much. 

Neighbor’s double cherry (八重さくら) was in full swing when we got home. Ahhh…it was a nice trip but it’s good to be home! That’s what I’m saying to myself because I have vacation withdraw symptoms. The only cure I think is to take an another vacation. Right? Honey? He is not responding, I should discuss this during half time.