This must be the fifth time I’m talking about sencha, but the Spring 2012 harvest is a world difference from last year crop. To top it off with Masood’s steeping skill, who I’ve heard is the person to make sencha, we get something so full-bodied, a cross between the sweet, green nuttiness of mung bean milk and the freshness of pennywort juice. A sencha that guarantees to make you go “wow”.
The umami flavor of nori doesn’t present in this sencha, which makes it an even better complement to Yuri’s new shiso mochi: pickled akajiso (red shiso, i.e., purple perilla leaf) with white sesame on top, matcha mochi skin, sea salt, lemon juice, Medjool dates, satsuma sweet potato, and red bean filling. The mochi has a lot going for it, yet no single ingredient stands out to overwhelm the others.
I couldn’t decide whether the grilled sesame mochi (sweet and savory) or the yomogi mochi (sweet and refreshing) ranked first among Yuri’s creations, but the shiso mochi just made the decision for me: it’s sweet, savory and refreshing.