Miya Jia
2021 Arrival, CIR, Matsuyama
2024-2025 Ehime AJET Secretary (’23-’24 Event Co-ordinator)
Miya Jia (she/her) is a third-going-on-to-fourth year CIR in Matsuyama from Chicago, USA. She is currently the Ehime AJET Secretary, but served as Event Coordinator during the time of the cooking classes. As one of the many JETs who arrived during the height of COVID, she wanted to help revive the local community after having been isolated for so long, and what better way to bring people together than through the universal language of food? Besides food, she also enjoys digital illustration, video games, manga/anime, J-pop/J-rock, and Japanese voice actors!
As COVID restrictions officially came to an end, I wanted to try hosting a kind of event that we had all been sorely missing: cooking classes! I sound like a broken record saying this, but food is a great way to bring people together, especially after having been so isolated from one another due to the pandemic. And although I wouldn’t consider myself a chef, I knew we had a lot of talented cooks in the area after we had our Christmas potluck, so I wanted to give them a chance to show off their skills!
Just as I was considering our options, the Ehime Prefecture International Center (EPIC) opened applications for their annual multicultural activities grant, which provides funding for events aimed to foster cultural exchange and understanding. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect!
I quickly applied for the grant, hoping to secure a budget for five cooking classes between June and October (eventually extended to November due to scheduling conflicts). It was an ambitious plan, and turned out to be a lot more work than I expected, but seeing everything come to fruition made it worth all of the effort. I hope all of our chefs think so too, and without further ado, let me jump right into introducing them all to you!
Khao Poon and Egg Rolls
Our first cooking class was taught by Preston, a former JET living in Matsuyama. Preston has brought homemade food at multiple JET events and often cooks for himself at home. He is also active in the local international community, and even led a cooking session at the international children’s cafeteria. I knew he was the right person to ask to kickstart off the cooking classes!
A Word from “Head Chef”
Preston Vue
“It was great fun teaching others how to cook some of my home cooking. I always love to share the culture in whatever ways I can, especially with food.
We made two dishes, Hmong egg rolls and a Laotian red curry noodle soup called khao poon. Being in Japan, gathering the necessary ingredients took quite the effort and cost. Not to mention not having a car made it difficult to transport everything. In the end, it worked out but it was physically tolling.
Teaching around 18 people was challenging but also fun. Everyone seemed to enjoy the session and especially the food. The tofu egg rolls were also a big success. My face doesn’t show it often but I was quite happy with the results.”
As Preston mentioned, some of the ingredients for the cooking class had to be ordered online, such as the kaffir lime leaves, so the initial preparation for the event took roughly a month. Although it is possible to recreate the dishes without some of the harder to find ingredients, the dishes are best enjoyed in their original flavors! That being said, participants were able to adjust the amount of each ingredient to suit their tastes. If someone preferred a less spicy khao poon, they could add more peanut butter to dampen the heat.
Preston also challenged himself by experimenting with making a vegetarian version of his egg rolls. Egg rolls were something he could make blindfolded, but he had never tried it with tofu before! Despite his concerns, they turned out crispy and delicious!
This class was held in the Ehime Civic and Cultural Center (Ehime Seikatsu Bunka Center), which is a short distance away from Kamiichiman Station and the same place where we had our Christmas potluck. It was in such a convenient location that I knew we had to hold an event there again, and consequently, all of our Chuyo cooking classes were held there!
Chili Oil Noodles and Spring Rolls
The second class was taught by current Matsuyama (technically Hojo) JET Peng. Peng is also a home chef and loves cooking for his friends. Although he had never taught a cooking class before, he was eager to introduce his recipes to everyone, and, more importantly, order people on how to cook the “right” way (like an Asian grandma would, he says).
The dishes Peng chose were chili oil noodles and spring rolls, both packed a lot of flavor in the few ingredients that were needed. Each could also be adjusted to suit everyone’s preferences, so if you didn’t like a particular ingredient in the spring roll, you could opt out and create your own version of it. We also made a cinnamon coconut rice pudding for dessert, which was super refreshing and sweet!
A Word from “Head Chef”
Peng
“The dishes I decided on when I was in charge of the cooking class were meant to be simple and quick summer dishes. They all required minimal prep time and were meant to help combat the summer heat. The cooking class was a great experience and the attendees were all able to understand and follow the directions. We had a few hiccups but at the end of the day, we managed to make delicious spring rolls and chili oil noodles!”
Chicken Tapa with Garlic Rice and Pastillas de Leche
One of my goals for the cooking classes was to have at least one class in each of the bigger regions (Nanyo, Chuyo, and Toyo). I reached out to the RAs outside of Chuyo to find JETs interested in leading a cooking class, and Toyo A RA Charlotte introduced me to Leann, who taught our third class.
This class was taught at the Saijo Omachi Kominkan, a community center about a 7-min walk away from Iyo-Saijo Station. I don’t think any of us had ever been there before the cooking class, but it was very well-maintained and even had plenty of tables and chairs to eat at once we finished cooking.
Leann decided to teach us how to cook chicken tapa with garlic rice and pastillas de leche for dessert, all the ingredients could be found at the Mega Don Quijote! Each table had a different way of crafting their dishes – some opted to make each plate individually while others grouped together to cook ingredients in larger batches. Whichever way you decide will end up with a delicious plate!
The pastillas de leche was particularly a treat to make, as it required you to mold sticky globs of condensed milk into a palatable shape. At first, we tried (emphasis on tried) to make beautifully cylindrical, bite-sized pieces, but that quickly dissolved into us unlocking our inner child and sculpting fun creations like milk donuts. It was a silly yet delicious bonding activity!
A Word from “Head Chef”
Leann
“Local cuisine speaks volumes about the culture it came from, so I’m very glad I was able to share Filipino comfort food with others as I feel like it opens up many ways to talk about how it was for each person while growing up. You get to hear a lot of interesting stories, too.”
Stewed Chicken and Macaroni Pie
A Word from “Head Chef”
Christian
“I’ve always had such a deep connection to food because it’s such a strong way to learn about one’s history, geographical origins and of course, culture. Especially when observing the richly diverse region in the Caribbean where we borrow aspects of Native, Indian and even African culinary knowledge and practices. So it was an absolute pleasure to be able to share a piece of the Caribbean taste by teaching how to make stewed chicken, Trinibagonian Callaloo (Jamaicans have their own Callaloo and it’s very different), macaroni pie and a nice savoury fruity snack of pineapple chow.”
Our fourth class was taught by current Matsuyama JET Christian! Christian has always been passionate about sharing his homemade cooking with people. He was the one who first suggested holding a Christmas potluck, which started as a result of him wanting to celebrate the holidays with more people than his apartment could allow. I knew he would be a great teacher for one of the cooking classes!
Some of the dishes Christian introduced this time, such as the macaroni pie, were a big hit at the Christmas potluck! Although fewer people were able to come to this cooking class, this meant we were able to gather around one station to cook together, which made it feel close and personal. If you couldn’t make it to the class but want to try cooking these dishes yourself, check out his recipes on the Mikan Blog!
Stew Chicken・Pineapple Chow ・Green Seasoning・Callaloo・ Macaroni Pie
The venue we decided to go with was the Uchikojichi Center, which is about an 8-min walk from JR Uchiko Station and not too far from the Uchiko-za Kabuki Theater. The building has a warm atmosphere thanks to its traditional wood architecture and large windows.
Thai Green Curry and Pad Kra Pao
Our final class was taught by Aom, a postdoctoral researcher at the Ehime University Center for Marine Environmental Studies. She had attended some of our cooking classes before, so I reached out to ask if she was interested in leading one!
Aom’s class was the perfect way to wrap up our cooking class series. Everyone was frying, stewing, and chopping their way to creating their own curry and stir-fry. Some tables added more chilis for an extra kick, while others added more coconut milk for a creamier taste. People went around trying each other’s food, and at some point, we had to open the windows because the fried chilis started to make our eyes sting (which is how we knew it was going to be good). In the end, we all gathered together to fry up some eggs to finish off our plates.
A Word from “Head Chef”
Aom
“Attending the cooking class was an enriching experience for me. I had the pleasure of sharing my passion for Thai cuisine by teaching how to cook Thai green curry and Thai Holy Basil stir-fry. The class was filled with enthusiasm and I enjoyed seeing everyone’s eagerness to learn. It was a delightful culinary journey and I look forward to more shared moments in the kitchen.”
As we transition into a new AJET team, I wanted to take this time to thank everyone who came to our cooking classes! I especially appreciate all of the chefs for taking the time to gather ingredients and introduce to people their dishes. I admit this cooking class was a bit too ambitious as a new event coordinator, but I’m glad that they were an overall success! If you are interested in the multicultural grant yourself, EPIC takes applications every year from early April to late May. Also, please keep an eye out for future AJET events!
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