This was
Karukan, a sweet from Kyushu region, the southern island of Japan.
The Japanese confection is one of my favorite sweets. To make it by myself, I need a special ingredient - a long mountain yam, or
Taroimo. I just found a package of powdered dried
Taroimo in the pantry and remembered I bought it during my last visit in Japan so that I could make
Karukan here in the US!
Taroimo make the unique bouncy texture of
Karukan. Other ingredients are rice powder, sugar, water, and egg white. What is the inside? Sweetened red bean paste, of course! J would say Japanese sweets always contain red bean paste. That's not true. Actually
Karukan without red bean paste, which means just the white outside part, is also sold in Japan. But personally I like
Karukan with red bean paste. Thus my homemade version should have red bean paste.
I didn't have a right mold to make
Karukan, so used several small Ziploc plastic containers. Although the final shape of the Karukan was odd, but those non-traditional molds for
Karukan were in the right size and suitable for steaming. They were practical, and the only option what I had anyway.
I adapted a
recipe on a Japanese cooking recipe site, CookPad. There were several recipes available but not so many. Making
Karukan at home is not common unless you are from Kyushu. At least I had never thought about making Karukan by myself when I was in Japan. My homemade Karukan turned out very well. I am glad to find a nice recipe. The taste and texture were just what I expected! So happy with my special treats! I can share some with J if he would like. Would he?
