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refreshing

Japanese sweets company teaches us new way to enjoy traditional Japanese rice drink

Get the benefits of amazake without the strong sweetness.

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Nine of the best spots for beating the heat with kakigori shaved ice in Japan this summer

These shops also showcase the immense variety of flavors and ingredients that go into the making of individual shaved ice recipes.

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Starbucks Japan surprises customers with fizzy and creamy strawberry Frappuccinos 【Taste Test】

Do you prefer your strawberries rich or fizzy?

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An extremely simple trick to spice up plain rice for a refreshing, citrusy summer treat

Recently, our Japanese reporter Aya Ayabe went out to an izakaya [Japanese pub] and finished her revelries with an order of sudachi rice, sudachi being a type of sour Japanese citrus fruit. The slightly bitter flavor really hit the spot in the midst of the nighttime summer heat, and it got her thinking: “What would happen if I cooked rice with some ponzu sauce [a citrus-based sauce which mixes sudachi with other citrus fruits and soy sauce]?” Still curious, the next day she tried making a batch for herself, and the results were apparently quite epic: “This is the most exciting thing that’s happened to me all summer! I’ll never forget this day as long as I live.”

In any case, Ayabe would like to share her extremely simple recipe for creating ponzu rice with you–a delightfully refreshing treat for the dog days of summer which can be enjoyed either hot or cold. 

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