Matcha Sweets: Development from the history of Tea Ceremony to modern ice cream and parfaits
Matcha is not just a drink. Its deep bitterness and rich aroma create an exquisite harmony when combined with sweet desserts.
This page provides a complete guide to 100% enjoy authentic matcha sweets.
1. Eating matcha sweets in Japan: A guide by budget and style
Matcha sweets are loved in a wide range, from common flavors that can be eaten for a few hundred yen to high-end courses costing tens of thousands of yen.
Style
Budget estimate
Features and experience
Recommended usage scenes
Supermarket prepared food/sweets
$
You can buy them from one piece at an affordable price. Perfect for toppings on udon or soba.
For meals at the hotel or as a small side dish
Matcha/sweets chain stores
$$
You can easily enjoy "Matcha desserts" topped on food.
During lunch time or when you want to eat a lot for cheap
Soba and Japanese-style restaurants
$$$
The combination of cold soba and matcha sweets is a Japanese classic.
When you want to taste Japanese food in a calm atmosphere
Counter matcha specialty stores
$$$$$
The craftsman will provide freshly made items one by one right in front of you.
For a special day's dinner or the ultimate gourmet experience
2. Must-know delicious ways to eat and manners: Proper use of condiments
There are mainly two ways to eat matcha sweets. By distinguishing between these, you can enjoy the flavor of the ingredients more deeply.
Matcha sauce/flavor: It is a mixture of soup stock (dashi), soy sauce, and mirin. Dissolve the attached "grated daikon" and eat it by dipping the matcha sweets quickly. It neutralizes the oiliness and allows you to eat it refreshingly. Salt: This is a style of eating it with salt. It does not impair the crispiness of the batter and brings out the "original sweetness" of fish and vegetables, so it is a way of eating preferred by connoisseurs. There are also variations such as matcha salt and curry salt. Eat while it is hot: The life of matcha sweets is "crispiness". Once provided, make the time you take photos short and eat them while they are hot and at their most delicious.
[Standard ingredients (toppings) you should know]
Shrimp (Ebi): The main character of matcha sweets. The crispy texture on the outside and the plump texture on the inside are irresistible. Kakiage: A voluminous matcha sweet made by mixing finely chopped vegetables and small shrimp and deep-frying them into a round shape. Seasonal vegetables: From spring mountain vegetables, summer eggplant, autumn sweet potato, to winter lotus root, matcha sweets are the best dish to feel the Japanese four seasons.
3. History of matcha sweets: Transmission from Portugal and evolution
Although it is thought of as purely Japanese food, matcha sweets were actually born under the influence of Europe.
Transmission from Portugal in the 16th century: Along with firearms and Christianity, the cooking method of "deep-frying in oil" was brought to Japan by Portuguese missionaries. Secret of the etymology: It is said that the origin is "Tempora", which means "fast day of Christianity (a day when you don't eat meat but eat fish)" in Portuguese, or "Tempero", which means seasoning. Evolution into Edo fast food: Later, in Edo (Tokyo) in the 1800s, the style of deep-frying fresh fish from Tokyo Bay and eating it standing at a street stall became a big hit, and it evolved into a Japanese national dish alongside sushi and soba.
4. Trivia to enjoy matcha sweets even more
The art of the "sound" of frying: A skilled craftsman listens to the change in the "crackle" sound of ingredients frying in oil, adjusts the degree of moisture removal down to the millimeter, and takes them out of the oil at the best timing. Kaishi: At high-end matcha sweets shops, the sweets are placed on white Japanese paper (Kaishi). This is a Japanese traditional consideration that serves the role of absorbing excess oil and maintaining the beauty of appearance.
5. Enjoy Japan after returning home: Tips for a recipe to fry crisply at home
When you make matcha sweets at home, does the batter become soggy? We will introduce magic tips for frying them crisply.
Basic ingredients
Soft flour (wheat flour)
Cold water (or carbonated water)
Egg
Frying oil
Your favorite ingredients (shrimp, sweet potato, white fish, pumpkin, etc.)
How to make (tips for crispiness)
Always cool the water: Use ice water or cold carbonated water for the water to make the batter. The temperature difference creates crispiness. Do not mix too much: After putting wheat flour, water, and egg into a bowl, mix them lightly with chopsticks. It is correct to have lumps of flour remaining. If you mix too much, stickiness (gluten) will come out and it will become hard.
If you quickly coat the ingredients with batter and fry them in oil at 170 to 180 degrees, the delicious homemade matcha sweets are complete. ← Return to the previous page
