Sakuraco

Box Three - May 2021

Part One

April 12th 2021

I tell you, getting my Sakuraco May Box on the 7th of April really does something to your head! Especially since the theme of this box is Children's Day (5th of May) it's almost exactly a month early! I was busy for the next few days so I had to wait, giving my patience a good exercise!

I am wearing:

– Indigo and White Yukata with hydrangea motifs

- Cherry red ichimatsu obi

– Magenta high-top Converse

– Quick Flicks 'Blue Velvet' in Grande

– a Poppy brooch bought at the National ANZAC Centre in Albany made by South Coast Wood Works

– Ultra3 lipstick in 'Sweet Currant'

– Cherry earrings from Tutty Knitty

- TFN nail polish in 'Night Skye' overlaid with 'Garnet'

Photos can't lie - but they can deceive: I'm wearing my obi underneath my armpits to get it to show!

Obi in its proper place

I had intended to enjoy my box on the front verandah, but we've had not one, not two, but three late-season cyclones playing with the weather (only Seroja made landfall, but she came quite far south). While the early blossoming of the Cherry blossoms is a good link to climate change, Seroja and Odette probably have more to do with La Nina weather patterns, though crossing the coast this far south (only about 800 km north of Perth) is a once in 20 years kind of thing.

I had planned lots of lovely pictures with the passion fruit vine

All wrapped up and ready to go!

I love furoshiki

But, really, complaining about how one has to eat one's box of treats indoors instead of out, is kind of the ultimate 'First World Problem', especially when you consider that Kalbarri has been pretty much removed from the map.

The Box:

The Magazine and Postcard:

Love the postcard in May's box: it shows a lovely (Edo Period?) peasant lady doing - something. I should point out now that, when saying that May's box was inspired by Children's Day, I was being mildly facetious: the theme is actually Mochi and Sakura: May being the last month of Sakura blooms, and mochi being habitually served on Children's Day. So - it would make sense if the lady was making mochi or had a child with her. The 'Spotlight on Mochi' in the Magazine tells us that mochi is made by pounding rice with a hammer - which our lady is very clearly not doing. I would say that she was making paper (holding out that white sheet), but she has her hair all beautifully wrapped up like the Launderess in my copy of The History of Kimono. The image on the Postcard is clearly an old one (not commissioned for the Sakuraco), so I wish there was some note on who, when and what the picture shows. As an aside, I find her contrast collar of black very fascinating.

In the mazagine there is a spotlight on two makers: Rosmarin 'Creating Beauty through sweets' - creating products with health and beauty benefits; and Tanaka Hashiten who make homewares. There is also info on Kodomo no Hi (Children's Day) - such as why they fly carp shaped banners, and, like I already said, on the process of making mochi.

The Owan/Bowl

Because one of the treats is porridge (more on that later), our homeware for this box was (sensibly enough) a owan/bowl, which looks, sounds and feels like the coconut 'shells' that you get for making tiki/tropical cocktails or boobie covers in a Hawai'ian costume... I won't say anything more (Because, as Thumper' mother said: 'If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all')

So, here we go! Sakuraco Box Three!

The Food:

Fig Dorayaki

As you may remember from box one, a doriyaki is a pancake sandwich. From memory they pretty much smell and taste the same - in a good way. I'm sure if I were eating the two of them together, I would be able to pick out a lot of differences, but they're jammy and sweet. I'm not a massive fan of figs; in Perth we pretty much have three types of figs: dried figs, purple figs and figs that-get-caught-in-the-grooves-of-your-shoes (AKA the Morton Bay fig, which is not native to WA, and as far as I know merely grown for 'decorative' purposes) - what they all pretty much have in common is a super abundance of 'seeds'. Interestingly, they're actually flowers which are fertilised and parisitised by wasps (making them unsuitable for vegans). Long story short, these doriyaki are short on seeds and long on that 'honeyed sweetness' that books and TV chef's are always going on about. Something else I also like, more as a philosophy, than anything to do with the actual food, is an active avoidance of the need to reinvent the wheel. I'm always trying to improve on things that don't need to be improved on.

Plum Mochi

I took a lot of notes on the plum mochi, because I wanted to put off that point-of-no-return when I actually tasted them. There's a dust of powder on the outside (stops them sticking to the package) which has a beautiful pearlescent sheen to them, which is tasteless, but highlights the delicate tracery of fine lines on the mochi (which is why older women are advised to avoid shimmery eyeshadow). There's this little swirl on the side of each mochi like the swirl of hair on a babies' head. At first, I thought it was a fluke, but it's on every one. Are they hand rolled? Does this filigree come from the lines on the palm?

When you read about mochi, as with all things, you tend to create a picture in your mind. These are pretty what I imagined mochi to be like. Firstly, the packaging is good, well thought out and designed. Maybe it's a little bit twee, but the use of the darker reds and pinks cuts that down. Secondly, it's a big package and you get lots of mochi. They're individually wrapped, but in a slightly matte plastic that just gives them more of a hint of lux than an otherwise unornamented packet should. Even through the plastic they feel very, very soft, like little balls of dough that the slightest pressure will deform irreparably, and yet, even if you give them quite a determined squeeze, they gently return to form. And gosh-darn, they are pretty.

These little morsels just feel so insanely soft! It's a delicate pink and beautifully translucent. The smell is a delicate fruitiness. Here we go.

The outer coating is ricely-sweet, with that mochi chewy resiliance, with a slight fruitiness. It's the inner core that really makes to sit up (the middle, white, layer is apparently marshmallow, I can't say I can really define what it adds, but I'm sure I would notice it's lack). The inner core is a thick syrupy paste that is sweet and sour (I prefer plum sweet-and-sour to pineapple), that just makes you go oooooh! The slight stickiness of the plum filling/ mochi makes it stick slightly to the lips, and it's like a little kiss. Overall, it reminds me of my niece; small, pink, sweet, squishy, soft and slightly sticky! I can't quite believe I get so many to enjoy! I also just can't help being reminded of Bao, the Pixar short film.

Azuki Warabi Mochi

It was quite difficult to figure out which item was the warabi mochi - as you can see, the picture on the packet and the picture in the tasting guide are quite different - eventually it came down to a process of elimination.

Apparently warabi mochi is not a true mochi as it is made from bracken starch instead of rice. Bracken is good for something. Who knew!?

Like the serving suggestion in the tasting guide, I cut the warabi into cubes (it needed a little gentle prodding to get it from it's pot) and sprinkled the kinako powder on top. It was solid enough to hold its shape, but too soft to cut easily. As with the kuzumochi in box one, it has no real flavour or smell, even with the pieces of azuki floating. It's sweet enough, like a sugar free dessert. The azuki just seems to add colour and texture, which is appreciated. Even with the amount of azuki I've eaten, I'm still not quite sure what it's flavour actually is. The kinako adds flavour and toastiness, and an oddly salty flavour. I'm not sure if it's reacting with the warabi, but it dosn't taste salty eaten alone.

Sakura Sable Biscuit

If you're offay with your furs, heraldry, Pratchett and Gaiman's Good Omens or medieval terminology, a 'sable' is most probably pronounced 'say-bel' and means something along the lines of 'black fur/ry creature'. If however you know your French (or your Great British Bake-Off) you will know it's a sablé - 'saab-lay' which means 'sandy' and refers to a shortbread biscuit. In the same way that I raise my eyebrow at the cup cake in Box One being a madeline, I raise it again. What is it that makes it a sablé and not thin shortbread? Any way, our sablé is a thin golden biscuit in a classy, simple package. The edges are raised and the there is a small hump in the middle - I would describe it as 'crater shaped'. Holding it up to the light, there's a dark spot in the middle which makes it looks like it has a whole sakura flower in the middle. It doesn't. The biscuit is, however, filled with white chocolate which make an obvious line through the biscuit and is filled with sakura-flecks. There's clearly a lot of the blossoms in it, and I just can't taste anything but white chocolate and maybe a hint of coconut. There's just no hint of anything medicinal or spicy, let alone that alluring suggestion of cherry.

Mitarishi Mochi Monaka

These mitarishi mochi monaka are pretty much identical to the matcha mochi monaka of box two in looks and texture, except that the filling is a dark caramel brown. The packaging looks a bit like it has a profiterole enrobed in caramel on a toothpick - but fortunately, the tasting guide sets us straight mitarishi is a "fresh, sweet and slightly spicy soy sauce and sugar based sauce", and apart from the minor clumsiness of that sentence, it's all pretty good. Think salted caramel and you've got your head in the right place. If you liked Vegemite and Cadbury's cross-over a couple of years ago, you'll like this. For me, it could have gone even saltier (!), and I just didn't taste any spice.

Rikishi Mochi Monaka

As a child, more than anything, it was the sumo wrestlers that defined my image of Japan (not that I thought everyone in Japan looked like that or anything - but six year olds aren't particularly sagacious). Therefore it was something of a ... surprise, let's say, do discover that sumo wrestlers are not actually called 'sumo', but Rikishi. According to the tasting guide, rikishi eat mochi before their match to build up their strength: the rope design around the package is a representation of the rikishi's apron. Apart from the symbolism on the package, I like the physical act of unwrapping - it's plastic so you can view the pattern on the monaka wafer, through the rope, but you actually unwrap the monaka, not ripping heat sealed plastic.

As you can see, the poor wafer got a little smooshed in transit, but the design is still obvious: it's a gunpai/gunbai/gumbai (depending how you want to translate that sound) or dansen uchiwa - a type of battle fan that was used as a 'shield' or for signaling (aside from the obvious usage of a fan) - they're carried by sumo referees - hence the inclusion on the monaka. It's azuki supposedly surrounding a centre of mochi (according to the picture in the guide), but for me, I didn't see an obvious delineation of colour. It has a strong, beefy smell, but it just tastes of azuki - it's interesting how even a hint of mochi changes the texture of the azuki. I noticed that the mochi seemed to be 'colder' than the azuki, but maybe I was just imagining things.

I still think dansen uchiwa look like butterflies

Sakura Cream Sandwich

It doesn't take much design sensibility to see that this treat is as beautiful as it is delicious (you know what I mean). The packaging is just plain stunning. It uses the transparency of the plastic to full effect showing off the phenomenal biscuit within. I especially love the 'string' tied around the middle; it gives it a classy, old fashioned feel, as well as making it look like a present just for me. It also immediately reminded me of a product I discovered a few years ago 'mizukiband', from Japanese design firm Kokuyo. Essentially, it's a rubber band that looks like a bow - or, more accurate, it's a mizuhiki (a decorative knot made from cords and used to tie gifts together) made from rubber. And, yep, it's as darn cute as it sounds. As you can see, in this box, you get two of them, and they're rather large - you can't get one to fit on the plate while in their packages! I'm not sure how the design is put on the wafers - they're far too delicate to be painted on to the frying pan and then the batter poured over. Similarly, the design is too thin to be applied afterwards (with, I dunno) paint or a laser: I'm going to assume it was done with a very clever printer as some sort of edible image (or possibly as a transfer at the cooking stage, but I think printed is more likely and cost effective). Taste wise, all the sakura is in the design and it's a lovely simple vanilla creme in the middle. If you're Australian, think giant Tina Wafer (with just one layer of biscuit). The wafer is thin and fine, more like a fancy water craker than a wafer-wafer (it has a similar circle in the middle where the batter is poured and then spread out), it's also crunchier than the honey-comb texture of a Tina wafer. The creme is also very thinly spread (not oreo thick) and quite soft, but considering how large the biscuit is you will not feel hard done by!

So beautiful. I kind of hope they do a whole series of these, red maple leaves for autumn (with a chocolate or chestnut filling), green leaves with a matcha filling for summer. Oh yes, very nice. Anyway, that's all for today - see you soon!