Sake Jelly with Fresh Mangoes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 mangoes (about 2 pounds/1 kg), peeled, pitted
1/4 cup/50 g sugar
1 1/2 cups/300 ml good-quality sake
2 teaspoons/5 g unflavored gelatin (from 1 envelope)

Method:

To make the sauce:

Dice enough mango flesh into 1/3-inch/1-cm pieces to equal 1 1/4 cups/200 g.  Puree the remaining mango flesh (about 12 ounces/350 g) with the sugar in a blender until smooth. Strain the puree through a fine-meshed sieve. Cover and refrigerate the puree. 

Pour 1/2 cup/100 ml of the sake into a medium bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the sake and let stand 5 minutes. Bring the remaining 1 cup/200 ml of sake to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Slowly pour the hot sake into the cold sake and gelatin mixture, stirring constantly for 2 minutes, or until the gelatin dissolves.

Divide the diced mango among four 6-ounce/175 ml timbale molds or cups.  Pour the sake jelly over the mango in the molds.  Refrigerate for 2 hours, or until the sake jelly is set. Just before serving, dip the timbales into a small bowl of hot water for about 5 to10 seconds to help loosen the jelly from the molds. 

Place a plate over each timbale and invert the sake jellies onto the center of the plates.   Drizzle the mango sauce around the sake jellies and serve.