Cooking with Japanese Chef：Sakura-mochi

Momiji / JSS Present

Wed. Mar 23, 2022（in Japanese）3～4:15 pm

For the second online seminar (via Zoom) of March 2022 is about making traditional Japanese sweets, Sakura-mochi, inviting back Toronto Japanese Chef, Toshi Ijichi, from our popular 2021 cooking seminars (i.e. miso-simmered mackerel, 2-egg cuisine). Join us and explore the Japanese spring traditional sweets!

What is this session about?

Had enough snow? We all can’t wait for spring to actually come.

Spring reminds us of sakura – cherry blossom, blooming so beautifully in April in Japan, or in May in Toronto. This also reminds us (we are sure “many” of us!) of “Sakura-mochi.” Did you know there are two types of it – Kansai-fu (type popular in western part of Japan) & Kanto-fu (in eastern part of Japan)? Same name but looks different, with different ingredients and recipe. Both are sure yummy, but it seems many think of the Kansai-fu, “Domyoji Sakura-mochi”, when you hear Sakura-mochi.

This Kansai-fu Sakura-mochi, as the name suggests, uses sticky-rice-based rough flour that is called “Domyoji-ko (= Domyoji flour).” But we are here in Canada – it is either hard or impossible to obtain this product.

Therefore, we invited our regular guest speaker, a professional Japanese chef in Toronto, Toshi, to teach us how to make Sakura-mochi with sticky rice. From making home-made Domyoji-flour by steaming sticky rice (rice cooker is good too) to colouring with beats, pickling cherry leaves & flours, and cooking own “anko,” red-bean paste (secret recipe from traditional Japanese sweets chef), a whole package of sakura-mochi making awaits you!

Join us for this rare live opportunity, not only to learn to make one in Canada but also to travel your mind to Japan to feel what we miss and cherish – fully-blossoming sakura and its spring.

*Held in Japanese-only

※ PLEASE READ Before RSVP!!

• This seminar series is offered by two non-profit agencies funded by the government of Toronto / Ontario, to serve Ontario residents as well as individuals in Canada (especially aiming to alleviate isolation among seniors and their caregivers).
• Due to limited capacity in our online system, the priority goes to the Ontario residents, and then individuals in Canada (first-come-first-serve). For those who are approved by the host to attend, will receive your own special Zoom link, by 9 pm eastern time (Toronto) of the day before the seminar date (check your junk folder too). Regardless of residency, all individuals submitted the registration form, will receive the copy of the Sakura-mochi recipe.
• We see many registered individuals actually do not attend on the seminar day. Due to high popularity of this specific Japanese chef series, if you know by the registration due (Mar 21) that you can’t attend, please inform us, for others to be able to fill your spot. Please do not share your Zoom to others.

We appreciate your understanding.

About our Guest Speaker

Professional Japanese Chef:  Toshiyuki Ijichi (https://lit.link/happeacewashoku)

※ Click here for downloading his full bio with photo (in Japanese)

Born in Nagoya, 1973, and moved to Toronto as a working holiday visa holder, after working in IT industry in Japan. During his stay in Toronto, working at a Japanese restaurant inspired him to set a goal as a professional Japanese chef. After this experience, trained and licensed in Japan as a professional chef that also allows him to cook blowfish (fugu). To share his knowledge to spread love to Japanese cuisine, he immigrated to Canada in 2009 and started working as a professional chef in a Japanese restaurant.

He has been actively promoting his vision by utilizing his hobby/skill of Ikebana (with the license of an associate professor of Ogasawara-school Ikebana), decorating his restaurant with his Ikebana works, or featured in TV shows in Toronto, aside from his work as a professional chef in a restaurant. He is one of the opening staff as a head chef of the Japanese restaurant Shoushin (匠心), and has served various celebrities like singers, actors and athletes. With his professional service continued to be offered in that location, he also started new endeavor as a YouTuber in fall 2020. His visions continue to be flourished – he constantly shares the recipe videos and collaborates with various individuals and groups for online food events.

How to attend?

Anyone interested can “submit the registration form”.  Click the registration button below, and fill and submit it by Mon, Mar 21. If you have difficulty using online registration system, feel free to contact the hosting agency (see below).

This is an online session, using “Zoom” the online meeting platform. Those who registered, will receive an invitation email with the Zoom link, by a day before the session date from Momiji (Check your junk box if you can’t find it in your inbox, and email us if you don’t see anywhere).

【Caution!】

1. Auto-receipt of your submission contents

After you submit, you will receive an email from the Google system that confirms your submission and what you wrote (this receipt does not contain the Zoom URL). Make sure to type correct email of yours. *NOTE: This email is not to confirm that you can attend.

If you don’t see this auto-email in your inbox or junk box, contact Momiji or JSS.

2. [Confirmed Attendees] Zoom invitation a day before

With the reasons described above, only approved individuals will receive an invitation email with the link, from the Zoom system (in English, not from Momiji domain), on Mar 22 by 9 pm.

Again, check your junk box too if you don’t see it. Contact Momiji (Chie) if you are a resident of Ontario and Canada, and can’t find the invitation.

Contact

• Momiji Health Care Society (Client Intervention Worker): 416-261-6683 x.249 / ciw@momiji.on.ca
• Japanese Social Services (Community Outreach Worker): 416-385-9200 / programs@jss.ca

Zoom – First Time?

If this is the first time you are trying out Zoom, we are more than happy to help you out with downloading and using Zoom, while connecting with you via phone. Please contact CHIE (Momiji) as soon as possible, to book your practice session. *Availability may be limited depending on the number of requests.

There will be a 10-min Zoom brief description right before the session, to learn about the tools you can use during our seminar. he functions you will learn here are: Control bar, Raise Hand and Chat. If you would like to attend it, please indicate so in your registration form. *If no one requests, there will be no mini-lecture provided on that day.

Calling for Guest Speakers!!

Momiji and JSS are looking for a potential guest speaker for this eLearning series, who can share what they do daily, hobby, etc. in Japanese and English.
Contact us if you are interested!

This eLearning series is:

• provided by Momiji Health Care Society, Japanese Social Services (JSS), Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care
• supported by Shinobu Yajima (Halton Japanese Senior Lunch Group), Family Talks Forum (FTF)