- Title: Yokan, a jellied red bean dessert from Japan, is celebrated in NY
- Date: 8th November 2019
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 8, 2019) (REUTERS) FORMER WHITE HOUSE PASTRY CHEF BILL YOSSES DIPPING YOKAN POP INTO VEGETABLE-DYED CHOCOLATE YOKAN POP ROLLED AROUND CRISPY QUINOA YOSSES HANDING CHILD YOKAN POP / CHILD EATING YOKAN POP AND GIVING A THUMBS UP YOSSES HANDING OUT YOKAN POP (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER WHITE HOUSE PASTRY CHEF, BILL YOSSES, SAYING: "My restaurant is called Palais, it's on 61st Street, and in honor of this event, we created, again, a sort of a Japanese American hybrid, I will call it. And we use white bean paste and chestnut in a puree. And we turned it into like a cake pop or a lollipop. So it's covered in chocolate, and then on the outside there's crispy quinoa, so quinoa that has been popped like rice pops. But it's so it gives a crunch as well as those delicious flavors inside." VARIOUS OF YOKAN POPS BEING DIPPED INTO CHOCOLATE AND ROLLED IN CRISPY QUINOA YOKAN POPS IN CUP PERSON TAKING PHOTO OF YOSSES AND DYLAN LAUREN OF DYLAN'S CANDY BAR WORDS ON WALL READING (English): 'HOW DOES ONE ENJOY YOKAN?' / YOSSES AND DYLAN LAUREN OF DYLAN'S CANDY BAR DEMONSTRATING HOW TO MAKE THEIR YOKAN POPS (SOUNDBITE) (English) OWNER OF DYLAN'S CANDY BAR, DYLAN LAUREN, SAYING: "At Dylan's Candy Bar, we carry candy from around the world, we have an international section. We're also hoping to open in Japan. So for us, it was important to do this collaboration to sort of learn about what Japanese tastes are like. And then, you know, I think that there are plenty of tourists or local people who are Japanese or love this sweet from other parts of the world, including myself, so why not spread the sweetness?" VARIOUS OF PASTRY CHEF MAKING YOKAN DESSERT VARIOUS OF YOKAN CONFECTIONERIES ON DISPLAY MANAGING DIRECTOR OF TORAYA CONFECTIONERY CO., MITSUHARU KUROKAWA, SHOWING A BOOK FROM THE 1600S WITH THE SAME INGREDIENTS YOKAN IS STILL MADE FROM TODAY VARIOUS OF YOKAN WITH DESIGNS FROM MOLD IMPRINTED ON THEM ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANAGING DIRECTOR OF TORAYA CONFECTIONERY CO., MITSUHARU KUROKAWA, SAYING: "Sushi, I'd say like, it's very famous right now, but then maybe 20, 30 years ago, it was not as famous. And the reason why sushi became famous was because of the, say, California roll. So that's something invented in the United States. And that made it very famous in the world. So like, say, we tried to collaborate with the local players like Dylan's Candy Bar and also Bill Yosses, he did all those sweets for the Met Gala this year. And by teaming up with the local people, we can do something that we cannot do in Japan." VARIOUS OF YOKAN SAMPLES AND PEOPLE SAMPLING CONFECTIONERIES WORDS ON WALL READING (English): 'WHAT IS YOKAN?' / PASTRY CHEFS WITH SAMPLES OF YOKAN DRINKS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANAGING DIRECTOR OF TORAYA CONFECTIONERY CO., MITSUHARU KUROKAWA, SAYING: "Yokan, originally had the idea coming from China about 700 years ago." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANAGING DIRECTOR OF TORAYA CONFECTIONERY CO., MITSUHARU KUROKAWA, SAYING: "Yokan is made out of red bean and can be a white bean, too. But adzuki, red bean, agar agar, which is a seaweed extract which acts like gelatin, and also sugar. So that's it, like just three main components." VARIOUS OF YOKAN CONFECTIONERIES (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MANAGING DIRECTOR OF TORAYA CONFECTIONERY CO., MITSUHARU KUROKAWA, SAYING (LOOSE TRANSLATION): "Fourteen stores from all over Japan came here to bring New Yorkers yokan, a traditional Japanese sweet. We're doing this because New York is trendy. Yokan is very famous in Japan, but not outside of Japan, so we wanted to showcase this in New York, which embraces all things new." WORDS ON WALL READING (English): 'HISTORY OF YOKAN' / PEOPLE AT EVENT WORDS ON WALL READING (English): 'YOKAN COLLECTION IN NYC' EVENT / WORDS ON WALL READING (English): 'YOKAN COLLECTION IN NYC'
- Embargoed: 22nd November 2019 23:47
- Keywords: Japanese dessert yokan red bean paste Dylan's Candy Bar Bill Yosses
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Human Interest / Brights / Odd News,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA001B4OH93T
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A two-day exhibit dedicated to yokan, a Japanese confectionery made out of adzuki beans, sugar and agar, a gelatin like product extracted from seaweed, popped up in New York on Friday (November 8).
Yokan, which originated from China about 700 years ago, got a modern makeover with an American twist at the Yokan Collection exhibit, sponsored by the Japanese government.
Managing director Mitsuharu Kurokawa of Toraya Confectionery Co., founded in the early 16th century, wanted to promote the sweet bean jelly in the U.S. and equated its potential rise in popularity to sushi.
"Sushi, it's very famous right now, but 20, 30 years ago it was not as famous," Kurokawa said. "The reason why sushi became famous was because of say, the California roll, that's something invented in the United States. And that made it very famous in the world. By teaming up with Dylan's Candy Bar and Bill Yosses, we can do something that we cannot do in Japan."
Kurokawa is an 18th generation heir to his company.
Dylan Lauren of Dylan's Candy Bar and former White House pastry chef Bill Yosses turned the traditional sweet bean jelly dessert into yokan pops, made out of white bean paste, pureed chestnut, covered in chocolate and coated with crispy quinoa.
"There are plenty of people who love this sweet from other parts of the world, including myself, so why not spread the sweetness?" Lauren said.
Fourteen renown Japanese businesses who specialize in making yokan will be at the exhibit through Saturday (November 9).
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