Shrimp Gyoza - The American Sencha
Recipe, Food-Styling, Photo: Oliver Schwarzwald
Easy, Cold Brew.
In the last review, Japan was already a topic, and because it is so beautiful, we are staying in the land of the rising sun, gyozas and green tea. In addition, Japan also has a not unimportant whisky culture. I have a vague memory of high-proof liquor. Blackout - whoops. Still, I can't deny that I always liked the aroma profile of whiskey and rum. Sticking my nose in the glass is quite enough, and I should have done it this way in the past. It always smelled better than it finally tasted. The throat burned, the head was thick. In the meantime, fortunately, there are non-alcoholic malt and rum imitators with quite decent notes from vanilla to wood. The Lyres company has made it its mission to offer as much of the alcoholic product palette as possible as a zeroproof alternative. This succeeds quite well here and there. The non-alcoholic American Malt shown here is quite capable. It has the necessary aroma to convey the idea of a cold brew whiskey drink. Attention trigger warning, more on that below. The vanilla-malty base matches the tangy-grassy finish of the Sencha. The sweetness and Far Eastern aromatics are supported by the jasmine syrup. The Dash Plumbitter leads to the prawn, which is spiced with a little 5 Spice. In this case, the subtle hints of cinnamon and aniseed pair beautifully with the plum flavour. Those who have already tried the Shiso Drink or the matching pairing will surely still have some stock of the 5 Spice spice. And those who don't have any Plumbitter from Feebrothers available, or want to stay completely 0.0 %, simply leave it out. Itadakimasu, loosely translated means bon appétit in Japanese, in this sense!
Disclaimer: Anyone who feels triggered by substitute products should not try this drink. The American malt doesn't taste like a real whiskey, but the aroma is pretty close. I can live very well with non-alcoholic alternatives. Since 2020, I've sprinkled them in here and there, but still drank alcohol. Since 01.2022, I have completely abstained from alcohol. Long story short, it must have taken me 5 years to make this decision. Now I can say that substitutes don't trigger me. I like it when it tastes like "original" but without dizzyness. I just don't want the numbness feeling anymore. Not even a little bit! Recently at a concert visit, instead of the "non-alcoholic" beer I ordered several times and quite clearly, I still got a full-proof one. I ate something and didn't immediately notice that something was wrong. I just thought, "Strange, it tastes really shitty, but that's OK, it's Arena beer. That's when I got the first hint of alcohol. And that bothered me a lot! This strange, brief flash of foreign-controlled euphoria now feels completely wrong to me. I was just pissed off! That's why non-alcoholic alternatives don't trigger me. Quite the opposite. When I toast in a round with my non-alcoholic alternative (Sprizz, AF Whiskey Cola, AF Gin Tonic), I look forward to the cosy evening afterwards. No more spontaneous pub crawls, no more hangovers and, above all, no more embarrassing sunts and sleepless nights. How reassuring! If you want to know more, feel free to write me, email or PM, or leave a comment.
Food-Styling, Photo: Oliver Schwarzwald
Schrimp gyoza:
25 gyoza dough sheets (1 pack, Asian shop / at least 1 h defrosting time )
300g prawns
50g Chinese cabbage
125g spring onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 tbsp soy sauce
172 tsp Five Spice seasoning
½ lime juice
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp mirin
1 tsp chilli sauce
½ tsp Five Spice seasoning
1 tsp salt
Soy sauce, wasabi Sesame seeds if required.
Defrost the goyza leaves overnight in the fridge, or 1 hour beforehand, covered and at room temperature. Cut the Chinese cabbage into fine strips, then mix in a bowl with the salt. After 10 minutes, squeeze the cabbage with your hands and discard the water. Now chop finely with the remaining ingredients in the processor. Prepare a bowl of cold water. Lay out the goyza leaves next to each other, and fill with a little farce, approx.1 tsp, in the middle. Moisten the edge with a little water. Loosely press the pastry of the filling together. From there, seal outwards, folding in the front side. There is a very good tutorial for this here.
Fry the gyozas in a non-stick pan with 2-3 tablespoons of oil on one side. When the bottom is browned, add a little water and cover the pan with a lid. Steam for 5-6 min until the pastry sheets are slightly glazed. You can also just fry the gyozas on both sides, which has a bit more crunch and is a bit easier to handle as finger food. Then keep warm.
Food-Styling, Photo: Oliver Schwarzwald
The drink:
Glass of your choice.
Prepare the tea at least 6 hours in advance.
Cover 4 tablespoons of Sencha tea with 500 ml of cold water and steep in the refrigerator. Then strain thoroughly through a fine sieve.
5 CL Lyres American Malt
3 CL Sencha
2 CL Jasmine Syrup
1 CL Verjus
2 Dash Plum Bitters
Stir the malt, tea, syrup and verjus over ice, add plum bitters. Pour into a glass filled with ice and optionally top up with a little soda.
Food-Styling, Photo: Oliver Schwarzwald