eatyeats

I first tried Japanese curry back in 2004 while enjoying a complimentary buffet lunch as part of an organized tour in Kyoto. I remember reading the sign that read “Japanese Curry” sitting next to this brown thin goop & vegetables thinking “What the heck is Japanese Curry? Silly kitchen people trying to pass this off as curry. Teeheehee.” At the time, the only curries I knew about were Indian and Thai curries. I had no idea that Japanese curry was a thing. So I took a small spoonful of the mix (really just a sauce with some carrots and other vegetables) and a bit of rice, sat down and had a few mouthfuls. I remember being puzzled by the taste, not sure what to compare it to but I immediately enjoyed the flavor. It tasted hearty and comforting but was nothing like a Thai or Indian curry. It was closer to a gravy than anything else with a very concentrated, salty flavor but in a good kind of way. I went back for more and the rest is history…

Small blast from the past. Kyoto in 2004.

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On how to make hokey pokey ice cream with toffee bits from scratch.

Summer is on its way out so the need for cool desserts has begun to subside. Alas, it’s time to bid adieu to the ice cream maker attachment for a year. But a challenge was set by my husband two days ago. “Replicate hokey pokey ice cream” was the request. What the heck is hokey pokey ice cream? Well it depends on who you ask. If you ask my husband he will say that it’s vanilla ice cream with chewy toffee bits spread throughout the mixture. If you ask ANYONE ELSE ON THIS PLANET they will tell you it’s vanilla ice cream with hokey pokey aka honeycomb candy spread throughout. I found countless recipes online talking about preparing honeycomb and mixing it throughout vanilla ice cream. Ok, I might not be telling the full story here. There is this one product on the market in Australia that happens to be called hokey pokey ice cream which does reference toffee bits. Streets describes the flavor as “Creamy vanilla and honeycomb swirled with reduced fat ice cream with crunchy toffee bits. Made with wholesome dairy milk and a smile in every spoonful”. Ok, challenge set, no specific recipes with toffee bits around so it was time to get creative.

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