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AFTER three hours of cooling in the fridge, I was ready for the next step.
Remove mold from fridge. Run a knife along the edges of your noshi ume blocks to separate it from the mold. Turn the mold upside down on a chopping board and allow the noshi ume blocks to slide out smoothly.
The noshi ume blocks were translucent honey gold, the color of the plum syrup I’d used. Plum pulp was scattered throughout the blocks like petals fluttering in the twilight. It was a stunningly beautiful dessert.
“Wooow!” Kon exclaimed. “It’s super pretty! So this is noshi ume, huh?!”
Smiling, I replied, “Technically, yes, but there’s one more step necessary before it’s official.”
Taking the knife into my hand, I positioned the knife’s edge ever-so-gently on the noshi ume block and pulled it backward in one quick and smooth motion. I sliced the noshi ume block as thinly as possible so that it would look like the noshi ume available in stores.
I didn’t speak. I was even holding my breath as I fully concentrated on moving the knife.
Steadily, I worked through the noshi ume blocks, distributing them into the thinnest slices possible. After cutting up my last block, the noshi ume was officially ready to eat.
Letting out an exhale of relief, I began arranging the noshi ume slices onto a plate I’d prepared in advance. “The original noshi ume was made from agar jelly with added plum pulp. You rolled the jelly out and flattened it, and the Japanese word for that motion is ‘nosu,’ which gave it its name noshi ume, ‘rolled out plums.’ From there, people have made all kinds of improvements to its taste and recipe, which led to the currently most popular recipe for making them, the one I used. Because of this history, even though I haven’t rolled out my agar jelly, this still counts as noshi ume.”
With some slices, I stacked them up on top of each other, while with others, I gingerly folded them up into small rolls. “Once you have your noshi ume, the next step is to arrange them prettily on a plate. You could wrap them in dried bamboo peels, which stops them from drying out and also makes it easier to pick them up. Other than that, you could also liven them up with food coloring and have noshi ume in different colors. Red, green, yellow, and so on. Wouldn’t it be enchanting if you had all kinds of color on your plate?”
Kon, who was watching over me from his dedicated seat on the counter, nodded repeatedly throughout my lecture.
I continued, “If I want to do this properly, I should wrap them in bamboo peels so that we can pick them up and eat them like that, but that’s honestly something I don’t have on hand right now. I guess we’ll use forks or spoons instead.” I paused, holding out Kon’s plate to him once I finished arranging his portion. “All right, here you go, this is yours. I’ll also set aside some for myself and Techi… They probably won’t dry out too much after one day. I guess I’ll pack the rest in plastic containers in preparation for our party.”
Beaming from ear to ear, Kon accepted the plate reverently with both hands while saying, “Thank you!” Even though both of his hands were occupied, he skillfully parkoured down from the counter with awe-inspiring reflexes before darting into the living room.
After seeing him off, I put away some noshi ume in food containers and covered Techi’s portion with plastic wrap before storing them in the fridge. Then, I promptly finished tidying up before I fetched cold barley tea from the fridge. With tea, two cups, and my own plate all on a tray, I made my way to the living room.
I immediately discovered that Kon had given into temptation—he was already eating his noshi ume. I spotted him unhurriedly carrying spoonfuls of his straight into his tiny mouth so that he could thoroughly savor the taste of the thin, invigorating, and fruity plum dessert.
A tiny chuckle slipped out as I looked at him, and I was smiling as I settled down at my usual seat. Once I poured barley tea into our two cups, I also scooped up some of my slice and brought it into my mouth slowly, fully enjoying its taste and aroma.
It was sweet, as you would expect, since I’d used all kinds of sweeteners such as plum syrup, mizuame, and sugar. At the same time, it wasn’t overly rich or overpowering; it left an aftertaste that was even more refreshing and light than yōkan. The subtle flavors and sourness of plum were simply exquisite. The plum pulp fulfilled its part perfectly, for whenever I chanced upon it as I bit down on the translucent jelly, a sudden and intense burst of sourness and saltiness would pierce through the strong sweetness. It added nice variety and distinct character to the dessert.
I nodded to myself with satisfaction. “Looks like it turned out rather well. There are a lot of things I could improve on compared to the refined and sophisticated ones by the professionals in fancy Japanese confectionery shops, but I think I did a pretty good job for an amateur.” I paused. “What do you think, Kon? What’s your rating for this noshi ume?”
“It’s YUMMY!” he exclaimed. “I think I might like it even more than yōkan! Oh, and I think you could also cut down on the sweetness even more! It’s already sweet enough with the plum syrup!” He then proceeded to reach out toward his second slice with his spoon. This time, he didn’t savor it bit by bit, instead choosing to take a big mouthful.
As I watched him, I decided to give him a few more facts. “By the way, there are plenty of noshi ume variations sold on the market, such as the type that pops in your mouth like soda, or noshi ume with other fruits… Though at that point, I don’t think it counts as noshi ume anymore since plum’s in the name. If you head all the way to their place of origin, the Yamagata Prefecture, you can even find shockingly cheap bags full of noshi ume.”
I added, “There’s a similar confectionery called nagare ume, plum agar jelly shaped like noodles inside plum syrup, with an addition of a small plum preserved in syrup. You basically slurp up the agar jelly noodles together with the syrup. Both nagare ume and noshi ume are refreshing desserts on a hot day and are apparently nutritious too. You might end up having plenty of them when the summer heat settles in soon.”
Kon, who’d stuffed his cheeks full of noshi ume, munched on his chewy dessert. As he chewed, he must have gotten to a part with more sour plum pulp, because his mouth puckered up, and he squeezed his eyes shut.
After swallowing his mouthful, he replied, “Sounds like there are lots and lots of plum syrup sweets out there! I thought plum syrup would be sour because I was picturing umeboshi, but something sweet and sour like this is nice too! You mentioned you can use umeboshi in all kinds of cooking, and it’s the same for plum jam… Huuuh, plums are more awesome than I thought. Plums are amazing…” Kon suddenly paused and tilted his head. “…nuts? Fruits? Huh? Vegetables? Hmm? Which one is it?”
Grinning, I enlightened him. “The correct answer is fruits. Plums—or specifically in this case, ume—are so sour that they might not seem like fruits, but if it grows on a tree, most of the time, it’s a fruit. You can just think of Japanese ume as a friend of fruits like apricots, peaches, and western plums. Other than that, I think nectarines also fall in the same general category?”
I recalled my last few grocery trips. “Recently, fruits like these have been showing up in stores more and more… We are probably getting to the right season to enjoy this big happy family soon. The heat of the summer isn’t fun, so we’ve got to nibble on refreshing fruits like these, recharge with energy-packed meals that give you a boost, and enjoy umeboshi that sweeps your fatigue away.”
Hearing that, Kon nodded profoundly, as if to say, “Interesting, I see…” Then, he scooped up his last slice of noshi ume with his spoon and skillfully slid it into his mouth in one smooth motion.