Coffee Azuki Gelatin Food

COFFEE GELATIN

Steps:

• Place the 1 cup cold coffee in a medium bowl; sprinkle the gelatin over the coffee and let stand for 1 minute.
• Add the hot coffee, sugar, and half-and-half; stir until well combined.
• Pour into a 1 quart gelatin mold, large serving bowl, or individual parfait glasses or glass coffee cups.
• Cover, and chill until firm.
• Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon or shaved chocolate.

COFFEE JELLY

Steps:

• Dissolve gelatin in the hot water in a small bowl. Pour gelatin mixture, coffee, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Pour coffee mixture into glasses for individual servings or a large pan for cubing. Chill in the refrigerator until solidified, 6 to 7 hours.

MIZU YOKAN RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Prepare the gelatin mixture: In a large bowl, soak the dried kanten (agar agar) stick in water for one hour or until softened.
• Remove kanten from water and squeeze the softened kanten to remove excess water.
• Using your hands, tear the kanten into small pieces.
• In a medium pan, add the kanten pieces or kanten powder with 1 1/4 cups of water and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Turn down the heat to low. Simmer until the kanten dissolves completely. All the while, make sure to stir the kanten and water.
• Next, add sugar and stir well.
• Add premade sweet red bean paste (anko or koshian). Stir constantly, making sure the bean paste is diluted in the agar agar and water mixture. Continue to simmer until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat.
• Pour the mixture into a shallow rectangular plastic container. Allow it to cool to room temperature and then store in the refrigerator to chill. The mizu yokan should become firm.
• Cut the mizu yokan into small blocks and serve chilled.

COFFEE-AZUKI GELATIN

Steps:

• In a bowl, stir together gelatin and coffee until gelatin dissolves.
• Add extract (if using), milk and an, and stir.
• Pour into a 9x13-inch pan or glass coffee cups.
• Refrigerate until firm (overnight).
• **Making an with canned aduki beans - It adds a couple of hours to the prep time to make the an yourself, but it can be difficult to find if you don't have a good Asian market nearby or you may want to make it yourself so that you can control the sweetness (I make it myself for both reasons). Drain and rinse 2 (15 oz) cans aduki beans (I found them at the whole grocer; kidney beans work in a pinch, but they won't be exactly the same). Bring to a boil with enough water to cover by 1-inch and 1-2 cups of your favorite sweetener (I use 1 1/4 cups raw sugar). Reduce heat and simmer until the beans are soft (just starting to fall apart) and there is little water left (add more water if it cooks off before the beans are done - about 90 minutes). At this point you have Tsubu-an (red beans simmered with sugar).
• For tsubushi-an (red beans simmered with sugar and mashed): roughly process the beans in a food processor (or mash with a potato masher), adding water if needed to bring the beans to a paste consistency. I add half of the an to the dessert at this point, and press the rest.
• For koshi-an (red beans simmered with sugar and mashed, with husks removed): Strain tsubushi-an through a sieve to remove the bean husks and make the paste smoother.