CAKES, CANDIES, SWEETMEATS
Chinese and Japanese
KATAMOCHI
This cracker comes ready prepared in boxes, and is good to serve with soups, oysters, etc. For those who wish to make it, the following recipe is given: Moisten the rice flour and allow it to rise of itself over night, no yeast or baking powder being used. Add salt, and roll into thin crackers. The process is precisely the same as the Jewish Matzoth cracker, and there appears to be a similarity also in the names, which has caused students often to point to it as another interesting evidence that the Japanese people are of Semitic origin--perhaps the "lost tribe"!
YOMOGA GA SHIMA
This crisp little Japanese cake also comes prepared in boxes. It acquired fame through its being the favorite cake of the late Mikado.
To make it, boil to a paste fresh or dried (previously soaked) lima beans. When they are cooked, set them aside to cool and thoroughly dry, then pound them to a fine flour. Roll on a floured board into thin crackers, and bake in a hot oven till crisp. They can be sweet or not, as desired.
Lily-root candy can be bought at almost any Chinese store. It has the consistency of very stiff gumdrops, and one variety, called Chicken Neck, is peppered over with red seeds.
SAN CHAR GO
A favorite Chinese candy, made from red Chinese dates.
The fruit is first mashed to a pulp, then mixed with powdered sugar and gelatine, beaten into a paste, rolled in sheets as thin as paper, and spread in the sun to dry. After it has dried crisp, it is cut into squares of six by four inches, wrapped in waxed paper, and packed in bundles. It has a delightfully piquant flavor, tart and sweet.
OWA OKASHI
A favorite Japanese candy. It is made of sweet rice, roasted over an open fire, same as popcorn, mixed with goma seeds, and held together in pressed bars with barley sugar. It is an improvement over the American popcorn-peanut balls.
YOHAN CANDY
Boil adzuki (purple beans) to a paste, and mix with sugar and seaweed gelatine. Allow it to harden.
CHESTNUT KINTONS (Cream Candy)
One quart of chestnuts; one pint of sweet potatoes; one pound of sugar; three quarters pint of mirin sauce; one tablespoonful of vinegar.
Blanch the chestnuts and place them in lukewarm water. Boil, changing water several times, until you can pierce the nuts with a needle. Strain off water, then add one pound of sugar, three quarters of a pint of mirin sauce, and boil slowly. Have ready sweet potatoes which have been peeled and boiled for twenty minutes. Add to them the vinegar, and strain and press through sieve. Gradually mix with the chestnuts, and slowly boil, stirring constantly, until dry; then mold into desired shapes. Roll in powdered sugar.
This might be called the Japanese Fudge.
DAI-KAM (Orange Jelly Candy)
One half pound of Kanton (seaweed jelly); three quarters pound of fine white sugar; three tablespoonfuls of kudzu starch; two oranges.
Wash half a pound of dry seaweed jelly, and soak it for two and a half hours in cold water. Then squeeze out all the water and break in small pieces. Boil in about a quart of water, until well melted, then mix three quarters of a pound of sugar with this, stirring with chopsticks or wooden spoon. Strain into another pan, and boil over medium fire. Take three tablespoonfuls of kudzu starch and dissolve in a little cold water. Then, drop by drop, gradually drop this into the jelly, while stirring with wooden spoon. When it becomes transparent, squeeze in the juice of two oranges and immediately remove from fire. Pour into a wooden box, and set in cool place for two hours to harden.
SWEET POTATO CANDY
This is loved by Japanese children, and is easily made. Boil sweet potatoes, mash and roll them into little balls, then toss into boiling sirup. Let them brown. Take out, and set to cool and become brittle.
RICE AND NUT CANDIES
These come in a great variety of ways. They are made chiefly of boiled rice pressed into balls with chopped nuts, tossed into boiling sirup, and then allowed to cool and harden. Seeds are often added, but these cannot be obtained in America.
BEAN SPROUTS AND BEVERAGES
HOW TO PREPARE BEAN SPROUTS
These come in cans, but it is better to make them fresh at home, and it is easily done.
