Surrounded by Bikes and Making Plum Sake in Rain

Jun 19 • Blog, Recipe • 2281 Views • 1 Comment

In life, unexpected things happen all the time. Without this, I think I’d fall into the dark sea of boredom. New things can be seen as obstacles to avoid, or challenges to tackle. I tend to choose the latter.

My mission in showing you Japanese food from my bicycle is far from over (as you would all agree). I am finally onto my book writing so you can see my entire tour and learn more about the food and culture behind it. But please don’t hold your breath for it just yet.

Parallel to that seemingly never ending project, I do work, which keeps me busy and humble around many bicycles and some remarkable people of many nationalities. Although my cycling tour ended (for now:), it has kept me in the world of bicycles. Saying yes to the unknown is pretty awesome despite the challenges.

OK, it’s been long over due – let’s talk about food, which is what my site is about! It is now rainy season here in Japan. This season is called “tsuyu (梅雨)”, written with two characters – plum and rain. Japanese language is interesting in that food and season are often expressed in the same word. People have long been keen on associating what is in season, in this case, ume (Japanese apricots to be exact) being picked around this time. Ume is hard and not edible as is, and this is why it gets pickled or made into drinks.

I have talked briefly about “umeshu” aka plum wine or plum sake in my previous video post. I had the opportunity to pick the fruit from the ume trees this season, so I made umeshu for the first time. Here’s how you can do it too.

< How to make umeshu>

What you need:
- Ume – Japanese apricot (1kg)
- A big glass jar (mine is 4 Liter)
- White liquor (35% alcohol + so it preserves well) 1.8L
- Crystal sugar (big) 500-800g (or 2 cups of honey)

Wash the ume and make sure they are all dry. It’s not good to have water in the liquor.

Place ume and crystal sugar on layers, and pour the liquor at the end.
Since I had more than enough ume, I made plum vinegar as well, which I can use as non-alcoholic syrup. (1kg ume / 1-1.5kg crystal sugar / 100-200ml vinegar)

You must wait at least 3 months till you can drink the plum wine. The flavor gets deeper and even tastier after 6 months to 1 year. (Take out the ume anytime between 5mo to 1yr) Shake the jar once in a while so the sugar dissolves.

I took the below photo last night on June 18, about a month and a half after. Crystal sugar is all dissolved and the plums are floating. The plum sake still needs more months till it’s ready.
The plum syrup is ready now (3-4 weeks is enough apparently). Mix the syrup with ice water or carbonated water (1:3 to 1:4), or even with whiskey, brandy, shochu or enjoy on top of shaved ice.

Awaiting for its time.

I am writing this post literally as I drink this ume soft drink. Typhoon is coming close? No probs. I’ve got my summer chill drink!

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