October 19, 2008

Purin (Japanese-Style Custard Pudding)/プリン

The word "purin" derives from the English word "pudding", but in Japanese, it almost always means Japanese-style custard pudding. Originally, purin is made from milk, eggs, sugar, and vanilla flavoring. You just simply mix all these ingredients together, strain, and steam them.
「プリン」とは英語のpuddingに由来しますが、日本語では日本のカスタードプディングを指すことがほとんどです。プリンは元々、牛乳、卵、砂糖、バニラエッセンスで作ります。ただ、材料をすべて混ぜて、漉して、蒸すだけです。
One thing you should know about purin is that it is huge in Japan. You can find premade purin sold at any supermarket.
プリンに関して知っておくべきことは、日本ではプリンは人気が高いということ。どこのスーパーでも出来合いのプリンが売られています。
So huge in fact that some Japanese say that one of their dreams is to have a bucketful of purin all by themselves.
どれほど人気があるかと言うと、日本人の中には、バケツ一杯のプリンを一人で食べるのが夢だという人たちがいるほどです。
Thus, there are things called "baketsu purin" (pudding in a bucket) in Japan.
と言うわけで、日本には「バケツプリン」という物があります。
I had thought about making my version of "baketsu purin" for weeks, and I actually made "bowl purin" (pudding in a bowl) instead. Here is a report:
数週間、自分自身の「バケツプリン」を作ろうと思っていました。で、実際は「ボールプリン」を作りました。以下はそのレポートです。
"Bowl purin" (pudding in a bowl) 20 servings
Ingredients:
2 liters of milk
5 boxes of purin mix
1 can of fruit cocktail
1 pack of whipped cream
「ボールプリン」20人分
材料
ミルク2リットル
プリンミックス5箱
フルーツカクテル1缶
ホイップクリーム1パック
These are the boxes of purin mix I used:

One box makes 4 servings, and requires 400 ml of milk. Thus, you will need 400 ml x 5 = 2,000 ml of milk in total.
1箱は4人分で、牛乳が400ml必要なので、合計400 ml x 5 = 2,000mlの牛乳が必要です。
Fruit cocktail and whipped cream are optional but preferred, because otherwise you will soon get tired of eating purin only.
フルーツカクテルとホイップクリームはなくてもいいですがあったほうがいいです。でないと、プリンだけ食べるのにすぐ飽きてしまうので。
Put 2 liters of milk in a big pot, and add all purin mix. Keep stirring on medium heat until a boil. Turn the heat low, and keep stirring for one minute.
牛乳を2リットル、大きな鍋に入れて、プリンミックスをすべて入れる。沸騰するまで中火で混ぜ続ける。火を弱にして、1分間混ぜ続ける。

Put cold water in a dishpan, and put the pot in the dishpan to let it cool to some degree.
洗い桶に水を入れ、その中に鍋を入れ、ある程度冷ます。

Transfer into a bowl. When it has cooled down, put the bowl in the fridge. Because of the sheer volume, it may take quite a long time to set the purin. (I kept mine in the fridge for a whole day.)
ボールに移す。冷めたら、冷蔵庫にボールを入れる。量が多いだけに、プリンが固まるにはかなり時間がかかります。(私の場合、まる一日冷蔵庫に入れておきました。)

Place a large plate on top of the bowl, and reverse them upside down quickly.
大きな皿をボールの上に置いて、すばやく逆さにします。
Et voila!
すると、この通り!

Photo taken at a different angle:
別の角度から撮った写真:

I let my son and daughter decorate the purin. My son draw a number three to celebrate our third moving-in anniversary.
息子と娘にプリンをデコレートさせました。息子は引越し3周年を祝うため数字の3を描きました。
Done!
完成!

My serving:
私の分:

Verdict: Some dreams should never come true, and having baketsu purin should be one of them. Even my daughter, who likes anything sweet, didn't ask for another helping.
判決:夢のままのほうがいい夢もあり、バケツプリンを食べるということもその一つでしょう。甘いものは何でも好きな娘でもお代わりをしませんでした。

4 comments:

Amato said...

This is such a sweet story, you know…
Not only sweet because of the purin, but making this huge amount and then "some dreams shouldn’t come true". So cute.
(I can really imagine: you, your kids, cant move anymore because too much purin and empty bowls)
I would do the same...
My dream still is to have a bowl full of purin. :-)

I love Japanese purin, and already made the instant one you used.
It’s much different than german kind, not so heavy.
Now I use a "real" recipe, with eggs and milk.
I’m a very "sweet" person; this is why my name is "Amato". ;-)
I love sweets, especially Japanese sweets: mochi!
I also made your milk mochi, but used shiratamako instead of katakuriko, I liked it very much.
I had it with some kinako/maple sirup on top.
Do you know maple sirup mochi with pecan nuts?

Hiroyuki said...

Amato: Thanks for your comments about such an old post of mine!
Everyone has a stupid dream or two. I still have a stupid dream of having all sorts of sashimi from the Sea of Japan. I'd really like to visit Sado Island some day and make my dream come true.
When my kids were younger, I used to make simple purin quite often, using eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla essense. I used the microwave to set the purin. That was a long time ago, and I'm not sure whether I can make it successfully now.

Thanks for trying my milk mochi recipe! I used to make milk mochi for my kids when they were younger, too. I'd never imagined that there were people like you who actually tried my recipe!

I don't think there are many non-Japanese people who say they like mochi. In fact, I know there are many who say they don't like the texture of mochi. You must be very exceptional!

Maple syrup mochi with pecan nuts? No, I don't. But I do like anything flavored with maple syrup! My wife laughs at me when I buy something flavored with maple syrup!

Amato said...

I always liked your purin story very much.
You would be surprised, how many people really like mochi in Germany!
Of course not everybody, but there are only 2 possibilities: you love it or hate it. :-)
The problem I had, and many others, mochi aren’t easy to make, and you need a good recipe and a little knowledge abut the right rice flour.
Right now I started a mochi-series on my blog, so other people can learn how to make mochi.
Yes, maple syrup, I love maple syrup soo much! I put into everything too, if I can.
Here the recipe, Japanese site: ;-)
http://www.hechima.info/recipe/15.htm
It is easy and tasty.

PS. such dreams aren’t stupid. This is what makes your life better, imagine, you wouldn’t have any dreams? What do you think, how many "stupid" dreams I have...
I would love to go to this Japanese wagashi university, do you know it?

Hiroyuki said...

Amato: Thanks for the clarification and the link. That reminds me: I have to make daifuku dusted with matcha!

You have a dream of coming to Japan and learn more about wagashi? It's not a stupid dream, and I hope you realize your dream some day!