Recipes Discovered

Ice Cream and Slugs

May 06th, 2008 | Category: Desserts,Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts

There is a sushi restaurant nearby that Seth and Harry always are giddy about going to. Not for the sushi, although it’s excellent, but for the slugs. I had no idea what Seth was talking about the first time he told me about these slugs, but eventually found out that they are actually Japanese dumplings made from rice flour. The dumplings are typically served with sweet azuki beans, which are very common in Asian desserts. In this case, they are also served with ice cream, the favorite being green tea ice cream. It’s a very interesting combinations of flavors and textures. To me, the dumplings don’t really have a taste, but they are very gummy and chewy. The azuki beans are sweet, and have the typical texture of beans. The green tea ice cream has a very distinct, sharp flavor, and of course, is smooth and creamy. Together, it’s a very unique dessert. It’s not that difficult to replicate at home either. The ice cream is simply a custard based ice cream flavored with matcha (green tea powder found at Oriental markets). The dumplings are made by mixing sweet rice flour (also found at Oriental markets and some grocery stores) and water, and then boiling them just like regular flour dumplings. The azuki beans (found at natural food stores) are just boiled and then sweetened with sugar and corn syrup. So next time you want to serve a special dessert, remember, it doesn’t get much better than ice cream and slugs. >>