thanksgiving custards

Another version of these custards.

Process 1¼ cups of raw cashews with a ½ teaspoon of agar agar and a pinch of salt. Add a ¼ star anise, 4 allspice berries, a ½ teaspoon szechuan peppercorns and two cloves cloves that have been finely ground, as well as a ½ teaspoon of mace. Process until a paste.

Add 2¼ cups of boiling water, process. Add 3 cups of roasted squash (this was pumpkin and butternut, well roasted, puréed and then passed through a food mill) and purée well. Add a ½ cup of brown sugar and a ½ teaspoon each of vanilla and almond extract. Sieve, if necessary. Pour into custard cups, ramekins, etc. This made about 9 5 oz. servings.

Top with candied, chopped pecans (I just cooked pecans with brown sugar, Lyle's golden syrup, some oil and some salt).

vegan kabocha pots de crème

I love the texture of kanten but imagined agar agar had more possibilities — It does.

I found this recipe for pumpkin custard with agar agar. I continued my love affair with kabocha (try it in pumpkin pie!) and substituted kabocha for the pumpkin. I used brown sugar instead of the suggested agave syrup (I find the agave craze ridiculous), used a quarter teaspoon of agar powder and upped the cashews just a bit.

The topping is coconut milk whipped over ice with some agar-sugar syrup. I then let them set (overnight, as I was pressed for time).

This was creamy like a pot de crème, which is thanks to the wonders of cashews and just enough agar agar to get a light set. Raspberries from the farm share were a perfect topping.

kanten!

Kanten is Japanese for agar agar, the same agar used in petri dishes, a seaweed product that thickens like gelatin. Yōkan is a sweet jello-like dessert made from agar agar and some flavoring. Here are two simple versions:

Mizuyōkan is made from anko, or red bean paste and agar. I boiled a cup of water with two teaspoons agar agar (the Thai-based "Telephone" brand, a powdered version) and added a cup of anko (made with light brown sugar this time, which worked very well with azuki beans!). I strained that and let it set.

Grean tea yōkan is the same one-cup of agar in water and a cup of cold water with ground sencha and two tablespoons fine sugar. That was then strained and let to set.

Yōkan holds its for much better than jello (especially in heat) and has a very firm-yet-smooth texture that I enjoy despite not being a fan of jello. The grean tea yōkan was smooth and not too sweet, the mizuyōkan was a perfect way to enjoy anko outside of ice cream or daifuku. Perfect for an afternoon snack in this 95ºF heat.

Thanks to Hiroko Shimbo for the original formula!