By Request

By Betty Shimabukuro

Wednesday, December 1, 1999

By Ken Ige, Star-Bulletin
Goodie Goodie is fun to make and tastes almost
like the Maui sherbet.

---

Crank out some
frosty treats

IT may be December, but Bea Chun and Verna Ferreira are looking for icy treats. Chun wants a recipe for the Maui-style sherbet known as Guri-Guri. "I've been hunting and hunting," she says in an e-mail message from California.

"No Guri-Guri on the mainland."

The very simple recipe that follows yields a close approximation to the Maui treat, although it's more icy than creamy. It makes a strawberry type, Chun's favorite, but you could substitute another flavor. It's easy -- and fun to make even if you live where you can buy the real thing anytime.

Ferreira wants to send her daughter in Mississippi a recipe for green tea ice cream. "You can take the kids out of Hawaii, but you can't take Hawaii out of the kids," she says.

This is a more complicated proposition, involving an actual ice cream machine. Listed here are two recipes, one calling for green tea powder (the type used in Japanese tea ceremonies), the other for loose tea leaves. The first is more traditional, but the second might be easier for those who can't get ahold of the tea powder. Green tea powder is sold at Shirokiya and Marukai. It's expensive -- more than $5 for a little more than an ounce -- but that much will make several batches of ice cream. It may be stored in the refrigerator for months.

For good measure, I also include a recipe for tea granita, for those who'd like to continue the pursuit of caffeine on ice.

GOODIE GOODIE

"Flavors of the Royal Hawaiian," the Royal Hawaiian Waikiki, 1996

2 12-ounce cans strawberry soda
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
12-ounce can 7-Up

Mix all ingredients. Freeze for 3 hours. Whisk mixture and refreeze. Makes about 7 cups.

Approximate nutritional information, per 1/2 cup serving: 130 calories, 2.5 g total fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 40 mg sodium.*

TRADITIONAL GREEN TEA ICE CREAM

L'Uraku restaurant

10 egg yolks
1-1/4 cups sugar
4-1/8 cups whole milk
1/2 vanilla bean (optional)
1 teaspoon green tea powder

Beat egg yolks and sugar together until well-combined and pale yellow.

Place milk and vanilla bean in a pot and bring milk to a boil. Remove bean and cool to room temperature.

Add milk slowly to the eggs and sugar. Return mixture to the pot and slowly reheat over medium-to-low heat to thicken, stirring constantly with a spatula, rice paddle or other flat utensil. Do not bring to a boil again. Mixture is ready when it coats the back of a spoon. Cool to room temperature.

Place tea powder in a large bowl. Slowly add cooled milk/egg mixture to the powder. Strain to remove bits of yolk. Refrigerate until cold, then freeze in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's directions.

Notes: The amount of sugar may be varied depending on how sweet you like your ice cream. Makes about 5 cups.

Approximate nutritional information, per 1/2 cup serving: 220 calories, 8.5 g total fat, 4 g saturated fat, 225 mg cholesterol, 60 mg sodium.*

GREEN TEA ICE CREAM

"The Ultimate Ice Cream Book," by Bruce Weinstein (William Morrow, $19.99)

2 cups milk
3 tablespoons green tea leaves
2/3 cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream

Bring milk to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in tea leaves. Cover and steep 10-15 minutes.

Beat sugar into egg yolks until thickened and pale yellow. Beat in cornstarch.

Strain milk to remove tea leaves and slowly beat into the eggs and sugar. Pour mixture back into the pan and place over low heat. Stir constantly with a whisk or spoon until it begins to thicken. Do not bring to a boil.

Remove from heat and strain. Cool slightly, then stir in the cream. Cover and refrigerate until cold.

Stir, then freeze in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's directions. Mixture will be soft. For a firmer batch, place in the freezer for at least 2 hours. Makes about 3 cups.

Nutritional information unavailable.*

TEA GRANITA

"The Ultimate Ice Cream Book"

3 cups water
6 tea bags (any flavor, even herbal)
2/3 cup sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon (optional)

Boil water, remove from heat and add tea bags. Steep 5 minutes. Remove tea bags; add sugar and stir until dissolved. Refrigerate until cold, then stir in the lemon juice.

Freeze in an ice-cream machine according to manufacturer's directions. Mixture will be soft like a sorbet. Place in the freezer to harden. To serve, scrape the top with a heavy ice cream spade or scoop. Makes about 1 quart.

Note: The sugar may be decreased to as little as 1/3 cup, to taste.

Nutritional information unavailable.*

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
By Request, Honolulu Star-Bulletin Food Section,
P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.