Green Tea Ice Cream

I have been wanting to make this ice cream for quite some time now, having eaten it at a Chinese restaurant (A Single Pebble, in Burlington, VT) and loved it. However, most of the recipes I found required the use of green tea powder (matcha), which I couldn't find for the longest time. Until my girlfriend took me to New York's Chinatown. So, I finally got to make it:

Pour 2 cups half-and-half into a saucepan, and bring it almost to a boil over medium heat. Keep an eye on it - do not let it boil over! Meanwhile, whisk 5 egg yolks, 7 oz sugar and 1.5 tbsp green tea powder together in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Set up a metal bowl on ice with a strainer in it.

As soon as you see bubbles forming around the edges of the pan of half-and-half, pour a little of the hot liquid into the bowl with the yolks. Whisk it into the yolk mixture and then dump everything back into the saucepan. Continue to heat the mixture, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until it coats the back of the spoon (a line drawn in the back of the spoon with your finger does not fill in). At this point, remove the pan from the heat and pour the contents through the strainer into the metal bowl. Stir to help it cool down and stop cooking. Allow the mixture to cool in the pan and then transfer to the fridge to chill.

Once chilled, churn in an ice cream maker until frozen. Store in the freezer. Enjoy!

Note 1 - If you cannot find matcha, you could try steeping green tea leaves in the half-and-half. I would suggest 4 tsp green tea, added to the 2 cups half-and-half and brought to just below the boil, removed from the heat, covered and let sit for 30 minutes. After that time, strain out the leaves, bring the half-and-half up to just below a boil again and proceed as above, omitting the green tea powder. I have not tried this yet, so if you do, let me know how it works out.

Note 2 - For those outside North America, half-and-half is half cream, half milk.

Note 3 - Metric Info: 2 cups = 480ml; 7 oz = 200g.

Chilled Soba Noodles

Here is a good way to use up any leftover dashi (Japanese sea stock - see 'Japanese Noodle Soup' post). As everything is served cold, start well before you intend to eat.

Start by boiling water for the noodles. Do not salt the water - soba noodles are usually already salted. Add the noodles and cook until done. Drain and cool (start by letting them sit in cold water, then drain and chill in the refrigerator).

In a saucepan, combine 1 cup dashi, 1/2 cup mirin and 1/4 cup soy sauce. Bring to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes, cool (pour into metal bowl; sit on ice or in ice water) and chill in refrigerator. This is enough sauce for 3-4 appetizer portions.

When ready to serve, toss noodles with a little sesame oil (no more than a teaspoon or so) and serve with the sauce on the noodles or on the side.

This recipe is based on one of the same name in 'Asian Cook' by Terry Tan.

Note 1 - If you cannot find any of the ingredients for the sauce (or are feeling lazy), you can actually buy it in a well-stocked grocery store (in the Asian section). Look for the word 'tsuyu' on the bottle.

Note 2 - Metric info: 1 cup = 240 ml; 1/2 cup = 120 ml; 1/4 cup = 60 ml.