From Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories · 2016-2019 · Reconstructed
Homemade Plum Wine (Umeshu)
Serve when
Pour when Mr. Hoshino sits with a glass of his mother's plum wine, the other half of what she left behind in the pantry.
In the series
Season 1
- S1E6 · ~00:15:40 Mr. Hoshino drinks his late mother's homemade plum wine alongside her umeboshi — the episode's title dish pairing
In the series
The episode's other half of its title, this is the plum wine Mr. Hoshino's mother put up years earlier — the last of her handiwork left in his pantry alongside the umeboshi. Drinking it while he's haunted by her ghost is the closest thing the episode has to a resolution: finishing what she started.
Ingredients
Method
- Freeze the ume plums overnight, then thaw — this softens the skin and speeds up the infusion.
- Layer the plums and rock sugar in a large sterilized jar, alternating layers so the sugar sits between the fruit.
- Pour the shochu over everything, seal the jar, and store in a cool, dark place.
- Swirl the jar gently every week or so until the sugar fully dissolves, about a month.
- Let it steep at least three months, and ideally a year, before drinking. Strain into a glass over ice, or leave the plums in for a longer infusion.
Substitutions
- Rock sugar: Regular granulated sugar works, though rock sugar dissolves more slowly and is said to draw out the plum's aroma more gently over the long steep.