One of the perks of being a freelance writer is the backstage access.
In this case, backroom access of Two Ladies Kitchen in Hilo.
This little shop right in Hilo town first opened about 20 years ago by Nora Uchida and her aunty, Tomi Tokeshi. (These are the “Two Ladies.”) At the time there weren’t any more mochi shops in Hilo, and the two had perfected the art of the sweet Japanese rice cake.
I flew into Hilo on Saturday — for about three hours — just to interview Nora and watch the dozen workers, mostly college students in their 20s, mix, roll, fill, dust, shape and package the more than 20 different kinds of mochi and manju the little shop has become famous for.
What impressed me most was how diligent and focused everyone was — despite a radio blaring music by One Direction and lively conversations over what’s affectionately known as The Table. Everyone had something to do, and they did it — quickly, efficiently and with the kind of care and gentleness that makes this one of the best mochi shops in the Islands.
I love that this all started with something so simple: Nora just wanted to learn how to make her aunty’s mochi.
“I just asked her to teach me because there was no one else to learn,” she says, filling flat rounds of white mochi with tsubushi-an (whole, mashed red azuki bean filling) for the shop’s famous strawberry mochi.
She wanted to perpetuate her aunty’s recipe. Turning it into a business came years later.
That got me thinking about everything my mom cooks and bakes — and that I’d better learn these recipes before they die with her.
I know that sounds morbid, but it’s true. My mom has long regretted not learning a French donut recipe from her aunt — she mentions it whenever she sees crullers — and it has made me think about how much I need to still learn from her.
Like her recipe for cookie manju, ozoni, Porgutuese-style stuffing, chicken hekka and Portuguese bean soup. I can’t imagine my life without these dishes, and I want to be able to share them with my own kids.
But it’s not just about the recipes. Like Nora, I’d have to really learn how to make my mom’s dishes, how she cuts the vegetables or mixes the batter. She has tricks and tips that you won’t find on a recipe card, and it would take time and effort to learn how she makes them — the right way.
I’m glad Nora reminded me about how important that is.
Recipes are a part of a family’s history, and it’s something that can be shared, something that conjures fond memories. Nora is lucky — she still has her family around her. (That’s her 92-year-old dad, Toshiyasu Kishimoto, and 88-year-old mom, Sachi, above.) She can still learn from them. But others of us aren’t as fortunate. And that was a great lesson to learn.
And, of course, the mochi was great, too.
Two Ladies Kitchen, 274 Kilauea Ave., Hilo. Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Phone: (808) 961-4766.
11 Comments
Oh yes, to learn from our elders. Unfortunately, a lot of us, myself included, either never wanted to, or were cheated out of the opportunity of learning from those who came before us, whether our aunts/uncles, parents, grandparents, etc.
I’m going to tell you now, Cat, learn! Learn now! Learn while you can! Learn while they can still teach. Just because a person is still living, doesn’t mean they will still be able to communicate. Any one of us could be involved in a car crash, suffer a stroke, be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or a terminal illness, all of which could eliminate our chances to either teach or learn.
If you have to go and make this more “formal” by actually setting a specific date/time aside, like an appointment, do it. Go shopping with her. Find out what ingredients you need to buy, and why those specific brands. Is it because that’s the brand that is usually the cheapest, or is it because of the specific taste of that brand of product? Document everything on paper and video. Ask lots of questions. Get lots of answers. Ask more questions. Get more answers.
You should get you mom to create her own cookbook, you write and she dumps the recipes. Call it Local Style of Haole Kine or something like that. Just don’t cal it da Jesus Book 🙂
Hello Cat!
My mom has great recipes too, but she has nothing written down and she doesn’t measure anything. The only way is for my mother to show me how and I would have to figure out the measurements as she goes long.
CAT: I’m lucky, my oldest sister has taken the role of my Mom as she tries to cook some of Mom’s stuff for us once a week. When I was about seven, I wanted to learn how to cook so my Mom taught me how to cook rice in a pot. I got pretty good. Flash forward and I’m in my early 30s and living in an apartment and my Mom gives me a used rice cooker…no directions. I call her to ask how to make rice in a rice cooker. She was so amazed I didn’t know how. “How did you make rice when you living abroad?”, she asked. “Just like how you taught me, in a pot”, I explained. We had a good laugh…she had stopped making rice in a pot long before, when rice cookers were being sold. The only thing I didn’t attempt was cooking rice over fire…my “oba-chan” was the “ace”
Hey Cat … love your blog today … unfortunately, I had that revelation a little late … I also realized that many of my favorite foods would be gone with my mother … but thankfully, I got to learn a little bit from her …
… my mom was frail because of illness … but she was more than willing to tell me how it’s done … she would actually stand with me in the kitchen and instruct me on every little detail … no recipes … she just taught me how to get a feel for the cooking … to learn how to taste and how to season … how to cut, when to add things, when to do this, when to do that … it was all a technique … of course, later I would sneak away and write this all down …
… now that I think about it … I think she enjoyed teaching me way more than I realized …
… and thankfully, my sisters also learned a few of her signature dishes …
Hi! Cat- your blog hit home for me. Being Filipino, Hawaiian and Brazilian our family has such a rich history. My sister’s and I, for a years now, have been paying close attention to many of our families dishes. So we actually sat down with mom, lola (grandma) and tita’s and wrote down recipes and developed our families cookbook.
It wasn’t hard, Many of the recipes were in loose paper, envelopes, napkins even behind family members photo that was 30+ years old but most recipes were imbedded from memory with my lola and mom. The thing that was difficult they both never really used measurements. That was entity to itself really lol it took 8 months to get everything down on our laptops but what we all treasured the most is we felt a sense of closeness and reconnection, also stories behind dishes.
I encourage everyone to know your families recipes. It will only bring you close to your love ones. It is a big part of your families history.
absolutely! can’t live w/o mom’s cooking, even if it’s just in spirit. for my bridal shower, everyone was asked to submit their favorite recipes but when i saw the stack of cards w/ my mom’s recipes of my favorite dishes, in her handwriting, i started bawling! tearing up just remembering it.
Unfortunately, my mom & her sisters never learned from my Grandma how to cook the old style okazu that was fantastic like her hekka, miso nasubi and fried chicken. She used to make an unreal andagi with raisins that remains unbeatable in my memory. It would even taste good 2 or 3 days later and not be real oily.
I agree that we need to learn from our elders. My grandma made the best andagi and would beat the mochi so it had a great texture. Sadly, I didn’t learn how to make the andagi, the chichidango (she made red & green) or the mochi w/koshian and I yearn for it.
Oh, sad you didn’t learn how to make the andagi…
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