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Japanese-style sangria with sake and pear: One of the best things about fall【RocketKitchen】

Casey Baseel Oct 18, 2015
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If you’re someone who loves the sunshine and hates the cold, you’re probably feeling a little down that we’ve now undeniably entered autumn. Maybe you’re doing your best to look on the bright side by enjoying some tasty seasonal produce, like delicious Asian pears, or maybe you’re just trying to brace yourself against the advancing chill in the air with a stiff drink.

But why rely on just one of those coping strategies when you can employ both by whipping up an easy and delicious batch of Japanese-style sangria with fruit and sake?

We’re always on the lookout for alcoholic beverages with a Japanese twist, and we first heard about this recipe from Twitter user Shuko-sensei.

日本酒サングリア、豊水を楯乃川に1日半漬けたんだけど、酒のエグみをすべて梨が吸って、梨は酒酒しく、日本酒は目の覚めるようなほの甘さと香りになっていて、人生とはかくも幸福なものかと思った pic.twitter.com/dVGqQaIw9Q

— siyucco (@siyucco) September 26, 2015

In contrast to traditional sangria, which is made with wine, brandy, and an assortment of multiple kinds of fruit, Shuko-sensei’s recipe is an exercise in simplicity, consisting of just two ingredients: sake, and Asian pears, which are in season right now.

Seeing as how we had both a pear and a bottle of sake lying around, we decided to make a few glasses to try for ourselves. First, we peeled and cut our pear, then put the slices into drinking glasses.

▼ The variety of pear we used is called akitzuki. Like most Japanese pears, it’s moist and crunchy.

Next, we filled the glasses with sake.

Then we covered the glasses with plastic wrap and slipped a rubber band around them, and finally stuck them in the refrigerator to chill and let the flavors of the pear and sake get acquainted.

Since we generally try to avoid getting liquored up in the middle of our shift, we waited until the evening, half a day later, before tasting our creation.

And it was a good thing we showed restraint and waited until we clocked out to do our tasting, because this Japanese-style sangria is so amazingly delicious that after the first sip, we don’t think we’d have been able to stop and get back to work. While some types of sake are extremely dry, we’d decided to use Jozen Josui, a mellow, balanced brand. It was made all the smoother by the pear juice that had mixed with it, with the result being sweet and refreshing.

Meanwhile, the pear slices had absorbed the sake, turning them into mouth-watering bites of Japanese rice wine.

▼ They’re sort of like a more refined version of rum-soaked gummy bears.

Just about the only downside we found is that if you leave the pears soaking overnight, they tend to look a little discolored the next day. Thankfully, Japanese-style sangria is so easy to make that’s it’s no trouble at all to do the prep work on a batch in the morning, then enjoy it in the evening, making it a simple and original refreshment for a Halloween party, Thanksgiving gathering, or any other autumn occasion.