Hawaiian Shave Ice in Houston

Since people first went up into the mountains and came back with snow or ice, people have been drizzling honey, fruit juice and other toppings on top to create a refreshing treat. The tradition of shaved ice probably originated in many places independently. Today, similar dishes are found throughout the world. For me, growing up in New England, I remember collecting new-fallen snow and pouring maple syrup on top. Below are some other favorites from our travels!

Ujikintoki in Arashiyama, Japan

Kakigōri (Japan)

In the traditional preparation, a blade is hand cranked over a block of ice, resulting in a smooth, fluffy consistency.  A tradition dating back to the Heian period a thousand years ago, kakigōri  (かき氷) reached the general public in the 1860’s or 70’s, and has been a popular summer treat ever since. Living in Japan, kakigōri shaved ice was one of my favorites at summer festivals (matsuri). Here it is served simply with brightly colored syrups. My favorite festival flavor? Calpis, a sweet, milky yet refreshing, slightly acidic flavor. Other flavors include the typical strawberry, lemon, and cherry, plus some Japanese favorites like green tea and plum.  Condensed milk is usually used to sweeten and top it off.  In fancier dessert shops, sweet azuki beans are added, as well as other ingredients like agar agar or fruit or mochi (little, chewy rice balls).  My favorite of this type comes with candied chestnuts in the mix.

Hawaiian Shave Ice

Photo Credit: TheGirlsNY’s

Shave Ice (Hawaii) / Snoball (Louisiana)

Sticking close to the Japanese tradition, Hawaiian Shave ice sometimes includes sweet azuki beans on the bottom.  Ice is shaved on the fine side, topped with syrup, and sometimes a squirt of condensed milk.  There are numerous shave ice shops in the Hawaiian islands and Hawaiian style shave ice can be found in many spots in the continental US as well. Our favorite Hawaiian flavors: lilikoi (passion fruit) and  li hing mui (salty dried plum).  Matsumoto Shave Ice is one of the more famous examples. The New Orleans Snoball is known for its fluffy, soft texture. It’s topped with syrups, from simple to exotic flavors, then topped with ice cream, marshmallows, cherries…you name it. Tiger’s Blood (usually strawberry-coconut) originated in the South and is a popular flavor. Sno-Ball proprietors closely guard the recipes for their syrups, and some businesses have been in the family for generations. Hansen’s Sno-Bliz was started in 1939 by Ernest and Mary Hansen, and is still run by their granddaughter Ashley. The closely related Sno-Cone is popular elsewhere in the US, and is usually more granular in texture.

Ais Kacang

Ais Kacang (Malaysia) / Es Campur (Indonesia)

These versions of shaved ice can include few or many ingredients.  In our experience, the ones in Indonesia tend to be soupier, almost more like a drink. Coconut meat, avocado, cendol (a green, worm-like jelly made from rice flour), grass jelly and other delights are popular add-ins.  Ais Kacang is similar. Condensed or evaporated milk (or coconut milk) is added as a final topping along with rose syrup and sarsi syrup. Ais Kacang almost always has red beans and attap chee (palm nut) on top. Nowadays, fresh or fruit cocktail, ice cream, agar agar, fruity or chocolate syrups and/or nuts are added as well.

Nam Kang Sai Toppings

Photo Credit: SpecialKRB

Nam Kang Sai (Thailand)

Nam Kang Sai (น้ำแข็งใส) stands on the street in Thailand involve numerous glass bowls of ingredient choices. This version puts the ingredients on the bottom, then a scoop of crushed ice, followed by sweet red  syrup. coconut or condensed milk and whatever toppings you point to. If you can’t decide (like we often couldn’t), or don’t recognize what’s in the bowls, just ask for the house mix. Interesting add-ins: sticky rice, chestnuts, grass jelly, corn, red beans, lotus root, various colorful jelly-squares, palm seed.

Raspado

Photo Credit: Vivelohoy.com

Piragua (Puerto Rico) / Raspado (Mexico and S. America)

The shaved ices throughout Central and South America closely resemble those of North America.  Names and most-popular flavors vary by country: Piragua (Puerto Rico) is more of a pyramid in shape. In fact, the word comes from pirámide which means pyramid and agua, water.  It’s Frío Frío (cold!) in the Dominican Republic, Raspado/Raspa (from the word that means “to scrape” in Mexico and a number of other countries in S America, Nieve (snow) in El Salvador and Granizado (from the word for hail) in Cuba.  Popular flavors include pineapple, coconut, tamarind, quince, and rompope (like eggnog).  Mexico has a great mango with chili flavor called chamoy and leche (milky cinnamon), while Cuba favors anise. Venezuela and Colombian raspados often include condensed milk.  Piragua carts can be found in many urban neighborhoods in the US as well (Miami, Texas, LA, New York). For me, memories of summers spent in New York always include the piragua/frio frio carts of Washington Heights and uptown Manhattan. My favorite NYC piragua is a mix of fresa (strawberry) and tamarindo (tamarind).

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Do you have a favorite version of shaved ice? What’s your favorite flavor?  Tell us about it in the comments!

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