Chef Michael Slavin
VP Culinary & Menu Innovation
Houlihan’s | Bristol Seafood | J. Gilbert’s

Unagi Sauce Balsamic Syrup and Wasabi Ice Cream

Recipe courtesy of Michael Slavin
Sponsor: Kikkoman

Serves: 1-2

Ingredients

Ice Cream Base:

(yields 1 gallon + 1 ½ quarts)

• 1 gallon heavy cream
• 1 ½ c fresh egg yolks
• 3 c granulated sugar
• ½ c invert sugar

Wasabi Ice Cream:

• 1 oz fresh basil leaves
• 1 oz fresh mint leaves
• ¼ c simple syrup
• 2 Tbsp wasabi powder
• 1 qt ice cream base

Unagi Balsamic Syrup:

• 2 c Kikkoman^® Unagi Sauce
• 1 c balsamic glaze
• 1 pod star anise

For each serving:

• 1 (#8) scoop Wasabi Ice Cream
• 1 oz Unagi Balsamic Syrup
• 1/8 tsp powdered sugar
• 1 tsp julienned ginger, fried crisp

Directions

For the Ice Cream Base:

1. Place heavy cream in a saucepan and heat to 180 degrees F.
2. With a wire whisk, mix yolks, sugar and invert sugar in a large stainless bowl until creamed. Temper egg mixture with hot cream by adding 1 cup at a time while constantly whisking. Continue adding 1 cup at a time until half the hot cream has been tempered into the yolks. Add the tempered yolk mixture into the pan of hot cream and return to the heat.
3. While constantly whisking, bring the mixture up to 160 degrees F. Remove from heat and strain through a fine-mesh strainer (chinois). Place mixture in an ice bath to rapidly chill. Cover and refrigerate.

For the Wasabi Ice Cream:

1. Submerge basil and mint in boiling water for 5 seconds. Strain out using a china cap and submerge in ice water to shock the basil and mint. Squeeze out all the water by hand. Place in a bar blender.
2. Add the simple syrup to the bar blender and blend on high until all the leaves have been ground up into fine particles.
3. In a stainless steel bowl, combine basil/mint puree, wasabi powder and ice cream base. Stir with a wire whisk to combine well. Let mixture sit for 1 hour refrigerated to infuse the flavor. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer (chinois).
4. Pour the mixture into an ice cream machine and turn the timer to 25 minutes. Turn the churn button and the power button on and let ice cream begin to churn. Let ice cream churn until it has a consistency thick enough to remove with the plastic paddle spoon but not completely frozen. If the ice cream does not get to the “soft serve” consistency after 25 minutes, then set the timer back for an additional 5 to 10 minutes until it does.
5. Remove ice cream and hold frozen for service.

For the Unagi Balsamic Syrup:

1. Place all ingredients into a saucepan and heat over medium heat until ingredients begin to simmer, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool the pan in a shallow pan of cool water. Cover and refrigerate for service.

For each serving:

1. Scoop ice cream onto a frozen dessert plate. Use the back of the scoop to create a small well on the top of the ice cream.
2. Ladle the Unagi Balsamic Syrup over the ice cream and in the well.
3. Dust the entire dish with powdered sugar.
4. Sprinkle fried ginger on the ice cream, centered in the well.

Project Management: Summit F&B
Photography: Carlos Garcia // Food Styling: Peg Blackley & Bree Williams