June 2, 2012

Kinu Saya or Saya Endo (Podded Peas) and Green Ume/絹さや(さやえんどう)と青梅

I often receive boxes of foodstuffs from my parents.  Today, I got a box of podded peas, two large bunches of broccoli, and ao ume (lit. blue plums).
両親からよく食料を箱でもらいます。今日は、絹さや、大きなブロッコリー2つ、青梅をもらいました。

I boiled the podded peas in a pot for 2 minutes.
絹さやは鍋で2分茹でました。


We had some of them with mayonnaise.
マヨネーズで食べました。

About 4.6 kg ao ume, soaked in water to remove aku (harshness) for 1-2 hours:
青梅、約4.6 kg。アクを抜くため1~2時間、水に漬けます。


I think I'll make ume drink with these ume.  For that purpose, I put half of them in the freezer
この梅で梅ジュースを作ろうと思います。そのために、半分を冷凍庫に入れました。

To be continued.
続く。

11 comments:

Sissi said...

I love snap peas and of course as always I envy you the fresh ume! Will you be making your own umeboshi or ume infused shochu?

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: I learned later that saya endo is usually called snow pea in English. I also learned the following from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snap_pea

The name mangetout (French for "eat all") can apply both to snap peas and snow peas.

Saya endo is a common topping for chirashi zushi (< sushi), is also great in miso soup and in stir-fries. I actually stir-fried some with eggs for lunch.

I made both ume jam and non-alcoholic ume drink. I will post about them in the near future. Umeboshi are made with ripe ume, while ume jam and ume drink can be made with either unripe "ao" ume or ripe ume.

Sissi said...

Thank you, Hiroyuki. I have though snap and snow peas were the same...
Ume jam must be delicious with lots of tanginess... I had no idea umeboshi was made with ripe fruit. I thought only unripe ume were used in anything.

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: Yes, ume jam is tangy because it contains a large amount of citric acid, which is effective in relieving fatigue.

Ume drink takes a week to ten days to make, and I have to remove more "aku" from ume jam.

Sissi said...

It sounds fascinating! I'm looking forward to see it!

Ruminating Roy said...

I'm going to join Sissi on being envious of your fresh ume. My wife and I found a store that sells frozen green ume, and have started making our own umeshu. I think next time I go to that store, I may just try making ume drink instead!

Hiroyuki said...

Ruminating Roy: I still need some more time before I can post about my ume drink, and I still cannot find the time to remove more "aku" from my ume jam...

muskratbyte said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
muskratbyte said...

I wish I could find fresh ume here... I've always wanted to make umeboshi! Umeboshi are a favorite of mine, especially as a filler in onigiri.

Hiroyuki said...

muskratbyte: I wish I could send you some. I gave half of my ume to a neighbor as "osusowake" (gift sharing).

muskratbyte said...

Hiroyuki-san, that's very nice of you to think of. But shipping would be SO expensive!!!!! Plus I don't think US Customs would permit it. I may have to splurge one day and purchase and ume tree. There are a couple of nurseries in the US which will ship them.