Pudding is usually made with cow’s milk or soy milk. Here is yet another alternative using Amazake as the base. Amazake is a fermented sweet rice drink with the texture of milk. It is a creamy base for custards, puddings, and frosting.

Agar agar, or kanten, is a gelatin like food eaten for generations in Japan and is made from various types of red algae. The algae fronds are harvested and dried and boiled in iron kettles. The resulting liquid is allowed to set and is then placed in the sun to dry and bleach. This process takes about 10 days. After drying, the flaky gelatin is finally packaged in bars. Agar flakes is a modern product made from a similar type of sea vegetable that is easier to process and has concentrated bonding properties. It melts when heated, and gels again when cooled, and is a wonderful animal-free alternative to other types of gelatin.

  • 2 cups of apple juicelemonpudding
  • 1 cup plain amazake
  • 4 tablespoons agar agar flakes
  • Peel from one lemon
  • Juice of one lemon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 to 2 Tablespoons brown rice syrup
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • Mint, to garnish
  • Toasted almond slivers, to garnish

In a saucepan, place the apple juice and amazake with the agar flakes. Bring to a gentle boil and turn to low. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the agar flakes have dissolved. Add the lemon peel, lemon juice, vanilla, brown rice syrup, and pinch of salt. Pour into dessert cups, and allow to cool. When ready to serve, sprinkle the toasted almond slivers on top and add one piece of mint to garnish.