KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 -- Matcha macarons, dorayaki (adzuki bean paste pancake), matcha roll cake and anmitsu (parfait topped with adzuki bean paste) are Japanese desserts that we commonly see in bakeries or Japanese restaurants all over the city.
They may look very difficult to make but the truth is, these desserts are as simple as ABC. You can learn it all at ILOHA Culture Centre in Telawi 2, Bangsar in just a few hours. In fact, the word ILOHA means ABC in the traditional Japanese language!
While I knew how to make brownies and cupcakes, Japanese desserts are a whole new level altogether! Looking at the photos of the desserts we were going to make was pretty intimidating for me. Thankfully, we had Yuko Oda, founder of ILOHA Culture Centre and Chef Shiho Nakagawa to guide us through this uncharted territory.
We started first with making the jelly for the anmitsu. “Have you heard of agar-agar?” asked Chef Shiho. “Like Konnyaku (Japanese jelly)?” asked one of the students. There was a round of “Ah...yes! That one.” All 10 of us crowded around the demonstration table as Chef Shiho taught us how to make jelly.
Once she finished demonstrating, it was our turn to try it ourselves. Spacious and well-equipped, the cooking area was big enough for all of us. Yuko Oda was very helpful, passing us our ingredients as well as cleaning up as we did our little experiments. There was another Japanese woman giving us a hand with our utensils and tools.
The best thing about ILOHA is that they don’t waste time at all throughout the lesson. After keeping our containers of jelly away in the fridge, we moved on to the next dessert. All four desserts were made simultaneously; when the macarons were left out to set, the matcha roll was in the oven while we were cutting the jelly that hardened in the fridge.
We were really attentive students, to the point of not saying anything when Chef Shiho was showing us the steps. “So quiet!” she exclaimed as she whisked whipping cream and sugar.
Malaysians are generally not very talkative when a class is in session, I guess. We were allowed to be creative and made our own shapes. Some of us made macarons in the shape of triangles, some of us had Mickey Mouse-shaped glutinous rice balls and we even had a doughnut-shaped dorayaki.
Chef Shiho was making a heart-shaped glutinous rice ball when it accidentally slipped and she went: “Alamak!” We were quite amused that she has adopted a bit of Malaysian slang.
The class was engaging and enjoyable. What looked very complicated was made simple by the thoughtful ILOHA Culture Centre team. Most of the fillings were prepared earlier, the ingredients measured out in plastic containers and there was even boiling water in our pans so that we didn’t have to wait for the water to boil!
With watchful eyes, Chef Shiho would come to your aid if you are facing any difficulty with the task at hand.
After an hour or so of baking alongside your fellow students, we shy Malaysians started interacting with one another, giving each other tips and complimenting someone who managed to recreate Chef Shiho’s creations.
My favourite thing to make that day were the macarons because I had a preconceived idea that they were very difficult to make. It was not Ladurée but I was satisfied with the results!
The only dessert that didn’t turn out that well was my matcha roll cake. It cracked when I tried to roll it.
The anmitsu was the easiest to make because most of it is just putting everything together. It reminded me of ais kacang.
Matcha and adzuki beans are the main ingredients in this lesson. In fact, most Japanese desserts feature those ingredients.
“This is real matcha from Japan. Very expensive!” said Chef Shiho. It tasted absolutely divine.
Started in September this year by husband and wife team Tetsuo Oda and Yuko Oda, ILOHA Culture Centre offers Japanese cooking classes and Japanese language lessons. Yuko Oda teaches Japanese as well as cooking lessons while her husband helps her manage the business. So far, they have Chef Shiho Nakagawa as a cooking instructor and they have one more language teacher.
The couple lived in Malaysia for 10 years before moving back to Japan. They decided to come back last November to start this business after Tetsuo Oda retired from his job at an electronics company.
As for Chef Shiho Nakagawa, she was working in a Japanese restaurant here before joining ILOHA. Her husband is the executive chef at a Japanese restaurant in Bangsar Shopping Centre.
Although it was only a few hours, the baking class was a fun and memorable experience.
ILOHA Culture Centre
21-1, Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar Baru, Bangsar 59100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2202 2800 Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.iloha-net.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iloha.my
This story was first published in Crave in the print edition of The Malay Mail on November 7, 2013.
