Ingredients
Lychee juice base
1l lychee pulp
500ml lychee syrup
Grated lychees
500ml lychee juice base
18g gellan gum
Lychee foam
400ml lychee juice base
225g whipping cream
1g xanthan gum
4 gelatine leaves
2 gas cartridges
Frozen lychee powder
500ml cream
300ml lychee juice base
1g xanthan gum
Frozen lychee rock
250ml cream
150ml lychee juice base
0.5g xanthan gum
Liquid nitrogen
Dry lychee meringue
500g lychee pulp
15g tapioca flour
30g albumen powder
Maltodextrin snow
1 drop rose essential oil
20ml seed oil
40g maltodextrin
Method
Lychee juice base
Mix both liquids and strain through muslin. Set aside for the following preparations.
Grated lychees
Bring the lychee juice base to the boil and immediately pour into a small square mould where it will be left to set. Add the gellan gum and incorporate with a hand-held blender until completely dissolved. Leave to set. At the last minute, grate with a Microplane.
Lychee foam
Hydrate the gelatine leaves. Mix the cream and the lychee juice. Heat a small amount and dissolve the gelatine in it. Mix with the rest of the cream and blend with the xanthan gum. Transfer to a siphon and insert the 2 gas cartridges. Chill in the refrigerator.
Lychee pearls
Chill the sunflower oil over an ice water bath. Whisk the powdered agar-agar into the lychee juice to dissolve, and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool but without setting. Use a large syringe to squeeze individual drops of lychee juice onto the chilled sunflower oil. Allow to set in the oil, then strain. Put the pearls in a small colander and very gently rinse under running water. Remove the excess water and set aside in an airtight plastic container in the refrigerator.
Frozen lychee powder
Mix the lychee juice with the cream and blend with the xanthan gum. Transfer to a Pacojet beaker and freeze completely. Pacotise in several batches and transfer the powder each time to a frozen container to prevent it losing its frozen texture.
Frozen lychee rock
Mix the cream with the lychee juice and blend with the xanthan gum. Pour into a small stainless steel bowl that is high enough to cover an 8 cm-diameter stainless steelladle. Place the bowl of the ladle in the liquid nitrogen until it stops boiling. Remove and leave for about 30 seconds. Meanwhile, whisk the cream and lychee mixture well to aerate. Dip the frozen ladle into the mixture without submerging it completely, and wait a few seconds. Remove, gently shake off the excess, and then return it to the liquid nitrogen for another 2 seconds. Wait a moment, then use a spatula to remove the frozen layer from the ladle. Store in the freezer at -30C.
Dry mychee meringue
Strain the lychee pulp though a muslin, then bring it to the boil combined with the tapioca flour. Cool and blend with the albumen powder. Refrigerate for 6 hours. Next, beat to a meringue consistency in an electric mixer. Use a piping bag to make small jagged rock shapes. Dry them at 60C in a dehydrator for 6 hours. Remove and keep warm.
Maltodextrin snow
Mix both oils and, gradually add the maltodextrin, kneading well with gloves to ensure the texture is completely smooth. Set aside in an airtight plastic container at room temperature.
Extras
Rose petal compote — make 3 small spots of rose compote in a line on a rectangular plate. On top of these, pipe 3 spots of lychee foam and flatten them a little with a spoon. Sprinkle a few lychee pearls along the top of these 3 little mounds. In keeping with the linear design, place small mounds of maltodextrin snow in 3 different places. Arrange 3 small broken lychee rocks on top of the maltodextrin snow. Scatter with some very fine strands of grated lychee. At the last minute, use a freezing cold spoon to add the lychee powder and the rock, broken into 3 pieces.