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Home / Cuisine / Asian / Yōkan Jelly Dessert

Yōkan Jelly Dessert

By: 👩‍🦳 Linda · Published: 🖨 March 30, 2010 · Updated: 💻October 3, 2017 · 🗨 24 Comments

Yōkan Jelly Dessert

Yōkan is a popular Japanese dessert made of red bean paste, agar-agar, and sugar. It may also contain chestnuts, persimmons, or figs and the agar-agar may be flavored with green tea. Mizu-yōkan has more water in it and is less firm. It is often chilled and eaten in the summer.

In Japan, beautifully made yōkan is served as a dessert in a kaiseki or a multi course meal. It is also served with a cup of tea as a form of greeting to your stay at a traditional Japanese inn or ryōkan. Yōkan can be purchased wrapped in plastic.

Yōkan Jelly Dessert

This Yōkan Jelly Dessert was inspired by the yōkan I have tasted in Japan. The top layer is flavored with matcha (green tea powder) while the bottom layer is left clear. Red bean paste is used for the filling.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:302]

Yōkan Jelly Dessert

These were molded using regular ice cube trays.

Yōkan Jelly Dessert

Yōkan Jelly Dessert

The appeal of agar-agar is not limited to Asian cuisine. It can be flavored, colored, and molded to suit many different settings. The thing with agar-agar is to get the ratio of agar-agar to water right. Too little powder (or gelatinous seaweed) will result in a soft agar-agar and too much will produce a very firm agar-agar.

The recipe below was shared by a young, talented and aspiring home chef with an Irish heritage. The agar-agar was molded in her grandma’s four leaf clover mold. It has a nice vanilla flavor and is just the right consistency. A very light and refreshing dessert, simple yet elegant.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:303]

Vanilla Agar-agar

Enjoy…..and have a wonderful day! 😎


Categories: 🗂 Asian, Dessert, Gluten Free, Vegan Tags: 📋 Japanese, matcha, red bean paste

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Comments

  1. Angie's Recipes says

    March 30, 2010 at 12:53 pm

    wow I really love jelly desserts! I find the cube ones are the most tempting!

    Reply
  2. denise @ quickies on the dinner table says

    March 30, 2010 at 1:16 pm

    I have all the ingredients in my cupboard right now, and I know my kids would love this. Your photos are gorgeous, especially the ones of the ice cube shaped yokan. Delightful post!

    Reply
  3. Sarah Naveen says

    March 30, 2010 at 1:47 pm

    wow!!! Awesome!! beautifull pics too

    Reply
  4. Anncoo says

    March 30, 2010 at 2:09 pm

    WOW! Biren, these are so beautifully done. Like a piece of art. I still have red bean at home, I'm going to bookmark this ~ thanks!

    Reply
  5. Silence Sings says

    March 30, 2010 at 4:01 pm

    thats really awesome and something totally new to me…what is this "agar agar"…sorry for my benightedness…

    Reply
  6. A Homemakers Diary says

    March 30, 2010 at 6:35 pm

    WOW thats superb Biren. new to your page and am loving it….perfect creations and beautiful presentation. awesome.

    Reply
  7. Cinnamon-Girl says

    March 31, 2010 at 12:24 am

    These are new to me! The first ones are so perfect – and elegant looking. They both look very refreshing! I'm curious to what they taste like.

    Reply
  8. Valen says

    March 31, 2010 at 12:25 am

    Thats so cool! I've worked with agar before and it took forever for the stuff to dissolve, actually it simmered for 30 minutes and still hadn't dissolved, I grew impatient and used it anyway.

    Reply
  9. Cristina @TeenieCakes says

    March 31, 2010 at 12:26 am

    Biren: So beautifully presented and colorful. The silicone molds used…were they cupcake sized?

    Reply
  10. Kathleen says

    March 31, 2010 at 1:46 am

    Wow these look really cool. Great photos!!!

    Reply
  11. tasteofbeirut says

    March 31, 2010 at 2:22 am

    I have tried cooking with agar-agar and have found it challenging; I have also tried different labels, buying it at the Asian markets versus the American ones etc, I am so taken by your creations that I want to keep trying ti get the hang of it!

    Reply
  12. Biren says

    March 31, 2010 at 3:15 am

    Angie's Recipes – Jelly desserts are so light and wonderful. The ice cube trays really came in handy.

    denise@quickies on the dinner table – Thanks Denise! Yes, the kids love it and did not even noticed the matcha 🙂

    Sarah Naveen – Thanks!

    Anncoo – Thanks for the compliment. It is quite fun to make.

    Silence Sings – Agar-agar is like jello except that it is a gelatinous seaweed and is vegan. The dried seaweed is kind of translucent and is very light. It also comes in the form of a powder.

    A Homemakers Diary – Thanks for visiting and for the compliments 🙂

    Cinnamon-Girl – Agar-agar tastes very similar to jelly with a slightly firmer texture. The matcha (green tea) flavor combines very well with the sweet red bean paste.

    Valen – Thanks for visiting! It shouldn't take so long to dissolve unless you've used too much of the agar-agar and the water is saturated. Try using only half oz of agar-agar to 2 cups of water.

    Cristina@TeenieCakes – These silicone molds are the petite molds from Trudeau. They are 2 inches in diameter. I think the regular cupcake size is 2 1/2 inch.

    Kathleen – Thanks Kathleen!

    tasteofbeirut – I bought this from the Asian grodery store. A little goes a long way. Use only half oz for every 2 cups of water.

    Reply
  13. 5 Star Foodie says

    March 31, 2010 at 2:11 pm

    Awesome dessert, looks so pretty! I need to get red bean paste and try it out soon!

    Reply
  14. Tina says

    March 31, 2010 at 2:40 pm

    Its new to me…Looks so cute and delicious…

    Reply
  15. Pedhakka says

    March 31, 2010 at 3:54 pm

    Wow your clicks are amazing !! First time here !!

    Reply
  16. luvtoeat says

    March 31, 2010 at 4:30 pm

    oh those look delectable. my kiddies would love them! love your plate! thanks for sharing and stopping by my blog 🙂

    Reply
  17. MaryMoh says

    March 31, 2010 at 4:34 pm

    Wow…all the jellies look very pretty and delicious. My whole family would love these.

    Reply
  18. Anonymous says

    March 31, 2010 at 6:00 pm

    Looks exactly like the ones in Kyoto sweet shops! Well done!

    Reply
  19. The Cooking Photographer says

    April 1, 2010 at 3:02 am

    What beautiful little things! Almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

    You just helped me. I'm going to get some agar agar and start working with it. My doctor recently found I was allergic to beef, and gelatin is out now of course. I needed an alternative.

    Thanks a bunch!

    Laura

    Reply
  20. shanthi says

    April 1, 2010 at 8:45 am

    Looks delicious and mouthwatering. Do visit my blog when time permits.http://shanthisthaligai.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  21. Peggy says

    April 1, 2010 at 12:14 pm

    Definitely looks great! The shots are so cute!

    Reply
  22. Biren says

    April 1, 2010 at 1:28 pm

    5 Star Foodie – Thank you. It was really fun to make.

    Tina – Thanks!

    Pedhakka – Thanks for visiting!

    luvtoeat – Thank you and you are most welcomed 🙂

    MaryMoh – It's very light and refreshing dessert. Have to make quite a few as they go fast 🙂

    Anonymous – Wow….thanks for the compliment!

    The Cooking Photographer – Sorry to hear about your allergy but I am glad to be of help. Thanks for visiting.

    shanti – Thank you. I will visit soon 🙂

    Peggy – Thanks!

    Reply
  23. Elena says

    February 11, 2013 at 2:42 pm

    WOW! Great photos and recipe.

    Reply
    • Biren says

      February 11, 2013 at 4:16 pm

      Thanks for the compliments! Please visit again soon. 🙂

      Reply

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My grace is sufficient for thee…
2 Corinthians 12:9

Hi, I’m Linda! I make quick, easy meals, and spin on classics and old favorites with focus on Malaysian, Chinese, and American cuisines. Read more →

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