![]() Apparently kudzu can slow down or halt the progression of a cold and its symptoms if kudzu is consumed at the outset of the cold, it can also cool a fever and relieve a sore throat (and potentially sore muscles and joints). While eating my kudzu sweets the chef of Shunpudo told me about the process of making the kudzu starch and about kudzu’s medicinal properties. Both the kudzu mochi and kudzu kiri were served with a sweet Japanese brown sugar and Japanese molasses accompanied by a cold cup of tea and were an excellent dessert. “Now it’s ready to be eaten.” The chef then cut and prepared both the kudzu mochi and the kudzu kiri for serving, informing us that we only had 10 minutes to eat it before the starch and the water started to separate and ruin the flavor. “Now to make the kudzu kiri go clear! Ready?” He sank the pan in the water and almost instantly, the kudzu kiri went transparent. The chef floated the pan on the surface of the water and rocked the liquid kudzu kiri back and forth until the entire solution had, quite abruptly, solidified. The kudzu kiri, whisked, poured into a square pan and steamed in a tray of hot water, was even more impressive. “If you heat up the starch it absorbs the water and becomes clear.” And it did. “So how do you get the starch to mix with the water? If you did a similar experiment in chemistry class then you know that it has to be heated.” The chef stirred up the kudzu mochi with a whisk, poured it into a pan and put it on the stove. ![]() “Normally, water and starch don’t mix, just like oil and water don’t mix,” explained the chef (in Japanese) while displaying two metal bowls of water with a pile of white kudzu starch at the bottom. ![]() The open kitchen of Nakai Shunpudo Sweets Shop and its willing eagerness to show off the preparation process means it is the most fun place in Yoshino to try the sweets. The gelatinous rubber ball/viscous water droplet texture of kudzu mochi and the complete transparency and mildly sweet flavor of both kudzu mochi and kudzu kiri makes them a fun and tasty dessert. They’re made from just two ingredients, kudzu starch and water. Since kudzu starch acts as a coagulant to gelatinize or solidify liquid products, it is a good idea to find one that works similarly.Kudzu mochi and kudzu kiri are traditional sweets unique to Nara and Yoshino. You can choose such kudzu starch substitutes as “those that can thicken” or “those that can solidify sweets and dishes,” depending on the recipe. It does not interfere with the taste of ingredients, so it is perfect for delicately flavored Japanese sweets and food. It has a gentle flavor without any peculiarities, so it can be used in any recipe. It can also be chilled to make Japanese sweets such as kuzumochi and Mizu-yokan. It can be dissolved and used to thicken or harden dishes, and can also be cooled to make Japanese sweets such as kudzu mochi and Mizu-yokan. Kudzu starch is an edible powder made by refining starch from the root of the kudzu plant. What are the characteristics of kudzu starch and what are the points for choosing a substitute?
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