Last summer, in what I now recognize as a total impulsive kitchen tool purchase (something that I am very prone to doing), I picked up a $15 ice shaver. I had just had the Japanese treat kakigori for the first time and was very excited to make it for all my friends. I had it in my mind to make a green tea simple syrup with my recently purchased green tea grinder. Somehow I am just now getting around to using it for the first time, one year later. I started out by making a simple syrup, and came up with these recipes:

Matcha ginger simple syrup:

3 teaspoons matcha powder
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
big chunk of ginger sliced

Usually a simple syrup is equal parts of water and sugar, but in this case I was planning on reducing the syrup with the ginger in it. I added all of the ingredients to a pot and allowed to reduce until roughly 1/2 the volume. Once I finished the syrup I funneled it to squirt bottles and stored in the fridge.

While I was pouring the syrup into bottles I started thinking about how I can make a cocktail from this concoction. Looking over my liquor cabinet I saw a bottle of mango vodka, and somehow the combination seemed right to me. Ginger and mango go great together, why not add green tea. Here is what we came up with, I have to admit, it’s not a pretty drink, but it was delicious.

Green tea mango ginger martini:

1.5 oz mango vodka
1 oz matcha ginger simple syrup (recipe above)
Shake well with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass.

Finally it was time for desert. I took some fresh fruit and put them in the bottom of the bowls. Over that I scooped a tablespoon of sweetened condensed milk. To that I added a generous pile of shaved ice, and finally squired the matcha ginger simple syrup on top.

Matcha ginger kakigori:

Small handfull of fresh fruit
1 tbsp of sweetened condensed milk
Heaping pile of shaved ice
Generous squirt of matcha ginger simple syrup

July 12th, 2009 by John (Cho-Tabetai)