How to Cook Chestnuts with Inner Skins (Kuri-no Shibukawa-ni)

Furtunately I chanced on chestnuts produced Korea at farmers' Market at Granville Island. They were surprisingly cheap. At the moment, I grinned because I could add grear value to them. It takes a long time to complete; it requires patience. However, you will be able to enjoy their good taste without fail! Here is the recipe, my original English version.

1.    Boil water and turn off the stove after boiling.                                                                                                                

2.    Soak the chestnuts in the boiled water.

3.    Leave them in the hot water until it becomes cool. (By doing so, the chestnuts’ hard shells get softer; it gets easier to be removed.)

4.    Make a small cut in each shell with a knife and remove the shell with your thumb and fingers.(Photograph. A)

5.    Put the chestnuts into the water full enough to cover them. Put some sodium carbonate (baking soda) to skim the scum (bitterness) from them.  Boil them on high heat. Just after boiling, turn down to low heat and let them simmer for 30 minutes.  Turn off the stove and lower the water temperature adding cool water little by little. * You will be shocked to see the color of the water which is almost black or deep red purple! (B)

6.    Remove the chestnuts from the water and clean up the black surfaces of the chestnuts with bamboo skewer or a small brush.

7.    Put the cleaned chestnuts into clean water.

8.   Boil them on high heat. Just after boiling, turn down to low heat and let them simmer for 30 minutes.  Leave them until the water cools down naturally.

9.    Measure the weight of the chestnuts. Prepare granulated sugar equivalent to 80% of the chestnuts’ weight. Prepare some starch syrup.

10.  Put clean water full enough to cover the chestnuts, but you don’t put the chestnuts now. Put the granulated sugar and the starch syrup to the water, and boil it until they dissolve in it. After boiling, gently place the chestnuts back into the pan.

11.  Boil them on high heat. Just after boiling, turn down to low heat and let them simmer for 30 minutes.  Leave them until the water cools down naturally.

12. Remove the chestnuts from the sweet syrup. Add some brandy to the syrup in the pan and boil it again. Turn off the heat and return the chestnuts into it. Leave it until cooling down. Now you can eat! (C)

Ingredients: chestnuts (Kuri), Sodium carbonate (Baking soda), granulated sugar, starch syrup (mizuame), Bandy, water

* photograph: from upper A,B, andC.