Kakigori (かき氷) — Japanese Shaved Ice with Strawberry Syrup

• 300 gfresh strawberries (hulled and quartered)
• 120 ggranulated sugar
• 45 mlwater
• 15 mlfresh lemon juice
• 1 gfine sea salt
• 80 gshiratama-ko glutinous rice flour
• 500 mlcold water (for cooling cooked dumplings)
• 900 gclear ice (made from filtered water if possible)
• 80 mlsweetened condensed milk
• 120 gtsubuan sweet red bean paste

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the strawberry syrup first so it has time to cool fully. Combine the strawberries, sugar, 45 ml water, lemon juice, and salt in a small saucepan, stir well, and let the fruit macerate for 10 minutes until the sugar begins drawing out the juices.

2. 2

   Set the saucepan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Cook for 6 minutes, stirring and lightly crushing the berries, until the syrup is glossy and the fruit has softened but still tastes fresh.

3. 3

   Remove the pan from the heat and cool the syrup for 15 minutes, then refrigerate it until cold. For a smoother syrup, pass half of it through a fine sieve and stir it back into the chunky portion so the kakigori has both bright syrup and small fruit pieces.

4. 4

   Prepare the shiratama dumplings while the syrup chills. Put the shiratama-ko in a bowl, add the 70 ml water gradually, and knead until the dough feels like a soft earlobe and holds together without cracking.

5. 5

   Divide the dough into 16 small dumplings and press a shallow dimple into the center of each one so they cook evenly. Boil 1.5 l water in a small pot, add the dumplings, and cook for about 3 minutes after they float to the surface.

6. 6

   Transfer the cooked dumplings to 500 ml cold water and let them cool for 5 minutes. Drain them well just before serving, because leaving them in water too long dulls their flavor and makes the surface too slippery for the syrup.

7. 7

   Temper the ice for 5 minutes at room temperature if it is very hard from the freezer. This slight softening helps the shaving machine create fine, fluffy ice rather than brittle shards.

8. 8

   Chill 4 serving bowls for 10 minutes, then divide the red bean paste among them. Shave about 225 g ice into each bowl, building a loose mound without pressing it down, because compacting the ice makes the texture heavy.

9. 9

   Spoon the cold strawberry syrup over each mound, letting it run naturally through the shaved ice. Drizzle each serving with 20 ml condensed milk and finish with 4 shiratama dumplings around the side.

10. 10

    Serve immediately with a spoon before the ice collapses. Kakigori is best eaten as soon as it is assembled, when the contrast between fluffy ice, thick syrup, creamy milk, red bean paste, and chewy dumplings is at its peak.