Anmitsu (Japanese-style parfait) あんみつ
Why don’t you make this Japanese version of parfait called Anmitsu? It’s a Japanese confectionery that uses plenty of agar agar jelly, mochi (rice cakes), various fruits, red bean paste, green tea ice cream and a drizzle of brown sugar syrup as a final touch.
What is Anmitsu ?
Anmitsu (あんみつ) is considered as a summer dessert but we can buy it all year around here in Japan. This Japanese style parfait is made of small cubes of agar agar jelly, red bean paste called anko, mochi, various fruits, ice cream (either vanilla or matcha flavor) and boiled red beans. It’s usually served with brown sugar syrup called Kuromitsu that you pour over the Anmitsu before enjoying this sweets.
What exactly in the Anmitsu
Agar agar jelly (Kanten, 寒天) :
Agar agar jelly is a transparent color jelly made from tengusa, a Red Sea alga. It has no calories and no taste; and takes on the flavor of whatever it is mixed with; it solidifies at room temperature, making it simple to work with.
Red bean paste (Anko, あんこ) :
Sweet bean paste often made from Azuki beans, which is an essential ingredient in Japanese sweets. Red bean paste is either smooth (Koshian) or chunky/grainy (Tsubuan). It’s key ingredients of Anmistu because its name comes from the abbreviation of Anko.
*It can be a perfect sweets for vegetarians and vegans.
Rice cake (Mochi, もち) :
A taffy made from sticky rice that has been steamed and pounded. It’s easy to use glutinous rice flour to make mochi. There are two kinds of rice flour; Dango-ko (or Joshinko) and Shiratama-ko. Dango-ko is made from non-sticky rice.
*In my recipe, I normally use Shiratama-ko, which doesn’t require a steaming process.
Ice cream (アイスクリーム) :
Another important topping of Anmitsu for summer. Normally, either vanilla or Matcha ice cream. Somehow no sherbets for Anmitsu.
*I didn’t use vanilla ice cream this time because to avoid conflict in color from Mochi.
Brown sugar syrup (Kuromitsu, 黒みつ) :
This is another key ingredients of Anmitsu because its name comes from the abbreviation of Kuromitsu. It’s called brown sugar syrup but is almost black in color.
Red bean peas (Aka Endomame, 赤エンドウマメ) :
A few boiled peas are normally topped with Anmitsu. Even in Japan, it’s hard to find those specific peas at the local supermarket. *I used the those peas from a canned Mitsumame.
A variety of fruits (Kudamono, くだもの) :
You can use any fresh fruits or canned fruits to create your Anmitsu.
Anmitsu is a traditional Japanese sweet. Anmitsu may be avoided by young Japanese people since there are various imported sweets everywhere. However, my family and I love Japanese sweets in general so we eat Anmitsu all year around. I always eat ice cream first, but please enjoy in any order you like.
The sweetness and sourness are perfectly harmonized thanks to the brown sugar syrup. Ice cream and Mochi are always perfect match.
You may be able to find canned Anmitsu at your local supermarkets, but please try handmade Anmitsu. It’s always the BEST!
Anmitsu variation
Many variation exist in Anmitsu. It started as mitsumame (みつ豆) for children in Edo period. Nowadays, you can see various fruits in the mitsumame at Japanese cafes or canned mitsumame product. But here are the basic understanding for the world of Anmitsu.
– Mitsumame : Agar agar jelly + Brown sugar syrup (Kuromitsu) + Boiled peas (Endomame)
– Fruit Mitsumame : Mitsumame + Fruits
– Cream Mitsumame : Mitsumame + Ice cream
– Anmitsu : Mitsumame + Red bean paste (anko)
– Cream Anmitsu : Mitsumame + Red bean paste (anko) + Ice cream
– Shiratama Anmitsu : Mitsumame + Red bean paste (anko) + Mochi (Shiratama dango)
– Shiratama Cream Anmitsu : Mitsumame + Red bean paste (anko) + Mochi (Shiratama dango) + Ice cream
– Fruits Shiratama Cream Anmitsu : Mitsumame + Red bean paste (anko) + Mochi (Shiratama dango) + Ice cream + Fruits *This is my recipe!
Watch How To Make Anmitsu
Recipe : Anmitsu
You might also like…
1. Matcha ice cream
2. Dango | Rice dumplings
3. Anko | Red Bean Paste
4. Matcha cream daifuku
5. Zunda Mochi
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on October 21st, 2020.
