-
1
Prepare the matcha syrup. Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring until the sugar fully dissolves. Remove from heat. Whisk the sifted matcha into the warm syrup until no lumps remain. Cool completely before use. The syrup should be intensely coloured and glossy, coating the back of a spoon.
-
2
Prepare the strawberry syrup. Combine hulled strawberries and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Crush gently as the fruit softens and releases its liquid. Simmer to a loose reduction, then pass through a fine sieve, pressing the solids. Cool completely. The syrup should be deeply coloured, fragrant, and concentrated — tasting of peak fruit, not cooked jam.
-
3
Allow the block ice to rest at room temperature for a few minutes until it sits just below freezing. This is where the dish lives or dies: ice that is too hard produces a coarse, granular shave; ice held at the correct temperature yields a fine, powdery snow (fuwa-fuwa) that falls from the machine in feather-light layers. Shave the ice using a specialised kakigori machine, working steadily. The shaved ice should resemble dry, light powder — never chunky or wet.
-
4
Build each portion in layers. Place a base of shaved ice into the serving bowl. Drizzle condensed milk over this first layer. Add a further mound of shaved ice over the top, building the characteristic dome. Drizzle the chosen syrup — matcha or strawberry — progressively as you build each layer, so that flavour is distributed through the interior of the mound, not only across the surface. Every spoonful from top to base should carry syrup.
-
5
For ujikintoki, spoon sweet azuki beans into and over the matcha-syrup mound. Finish with a final drizzle of matcha syrup over the exterior. Add mochi and fresh fruit if serving. Serve at once: fuwa-fuwa ice begins to collapse within minutes of shaving, and the dessert must reach the table before its texture deteriorates.