Monthly Recipe: Mount Fuji

Back in January I received a new cookery book – Yo! Sushi – The Japanese Cookbook by Kimiko Barber – and I asked you all which recipe I should make first. Thank you to everyone who voted! Here are the results of the poll:

As you can see, the clear winner was… Mount Fuji! I didn’t give any information about these recipes, just the names, so I’m guessing people voted for Mount Fuji out of curiosity. I have to say, it’s probably the least ‘Japanese’ of the recipes I selected, but it was fun to make and would be a great recipe to keep in mind for a dinner party. So, turning to my lovely new cookery book, I knocked up a couple of Mount Fujis…

Yo! Sushi – The Japanese Cookbook by Kimiko Barber

I expect you’re still wondering what exactly a ‘Mount Fuji’ is. Well, it’s a Japanese version of the Italian dessert called Mont Blanc, which is a dessert of puréed, sweetened chestnuts topped with whipped cream. This dessert is actually quite popular in Japan, and I think I’ve eaten it more there than I ever have in the UK. I’ve seen various Japanese takes on it before, using ingredients such as matcha (green tea), adzuki beans and pumpkin.

Mount Fuji

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 2 egg whites
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 200ml (7fl oz) mascarpone cheese or soft cream cheese
• 4 tbsp ready-made adzuki bean jam, plus 4 tsp for decorating
• 4 ready-made meringue nests (the recipe calls for ready-made nests, but maybe next time I’ll try making my own…)
• icing sugar for dusting

*Apart from the ‘ready-made adzuki bean jam’, all of the ingredients should be available from your local supermarket (if you’re in the UK or US). I’m not sure if the bean jam I used was really the right sort, but it seemed to work and it tasted great. I bought mine from a local Japanese supermarket called Atariya, but you can also get it at bigger stores like the Japan Centre.

Method

Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Then gently sprinkle over the sugar and fold it in.

Little by little, spoon in the mascarpone and fold in gently.

Place a spoonful of adzuki bean jam in the middle of each meringue nest.

Top with the egg and mascarpone mixture.

Dust with icing sugar, top with a little more adzuki bean jam, and serve.

So, it kind of looks like my Mount Fuji is erupting, and it may not be the most beautiful dessert, but it sure was tasty! Since making this I’ve had all sorts of ideas about other ingredients I could try, so watch this space!

There are lots of interesting recipes in the Yo! Sushi cookbook, so do expect to see it featured on this blog again later this year! 🙂

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I’ll be back in March with a new recipe. If you have any suggestions, or perhaps you would like me to try one of your recipes from a book or website, please leave a comment below or get in touch! All the recipes I try on this blog have some connection to Japan and, because I don’t eat meat, they need to be vegetarian or pescetarian. I’m particularly interested in helping to promote Japanese recipe books, so do let me know if you have one I might like!