Years spent in her kitchen forges ‘really strong connection to her’ — and the food of her homeland
Fairbanks baker Kazuo Jafre says life is sweet -- and also nourishing. Jafre recently invited Alaska author Amy Loeffler into his kitchen to talk about his Okinawan-inspired baked goods and the passion for cooking he got from his grandmother. And he also shared the secret to a happy life that he says lies in a single ingredient called black sugar.
The rumbling sound that I heard coming from Kazuo Jafre’s kitchen wasn’t being caused by an earthquake. The sound emanating from the kitchen table means he is using a vintage mochi-pounder to make a typical Japanese snack, fresh mochi, a paste made from pounded sweet-steamed rice wrapped in seaweed, or nori.
“This machine, it was my late grandmother’s. It is one of my favorite things I own,” Jafre said.
The machine does two things: first it steams the rice. And then it pounds the rice into a paste.
“And that’s my favorite part,” he said, “because you get to take off the lid and see the rice in the machine dance. It’ll go up and down. It’s just like water on a speaker.”
Jafre, who is born and raised Fairbanks, learned how to make mochi and other Okinawan and Okinawan-inspired foods from his grandmother, Aiko. The two enjoyed a familial connection forged in the gastronomy of Japanese island prefecture. And her cooking has allowed him to not only remember her but maintain a relationship that transcends the physical.
“My grandma raised me off and on with my mother until she passed from, like, 14 onward,” he said. “I think the thing that really connects with everyone who’s known her is her food that she’s shared with everybody. And I think that’s a really important way to share with people.”
Jafre says he and Aiko often cooked traditional dishes together. And today I am getting to sample some of them.
“So when I was a kid, I would help her out in the kitchen a lot,” he said. “I had a really strong connection to her, so it definitely makes me feel closer to her. I can share her love of food. That makes me feel good when I get to share that with other people.
Jafre says Okinawan cuisine is not easily found in the United States, such as more commonly known Japanese foods such as sushi or ramen. It’s a cuisine limited to the southernmost island in the Japanese archipelago.
He’s traveled to Okinawa three or four times when he was younger, but it’s his grandmother’s culinary legacy that keeps his connection close to the least-populated of the five main islands that make up the Ryukyu Islands in Japan.
“Okinawan cuisine is really hard to find,” Jafre said. “Even in Japan it’s not easy to come by. I really enjoy being able to cook food that is inspired by Okinawa and my grandmother.
“This food is actually really nutritious and unique.”
'Blue zone' of healthy food, long lifespans
Okinawa prefecture is considered a “blue zone,” a place where the local population has a life expectancy much higher than the global average, according to the website visitokinawajapan.com. In a study done by the Pacific Health Research and Education Institute in 2019, there were 68 centenarians for every 100,000 people.
It’s possible to see and taste the healthy reputation that Okinawan cuisine enjoys in Aiko’s cooking through Jafre’s hands. Like the soup flavored with pork that he brought out of his kitchen and presented to me.
“Here I have some soup that my grandma made that nobody could stop talking about at her memorial,” he said. “It’s an Okinawan soup called honi jeero.”
The soup is subtly flavored with pork, but clean and satisfying. Its flavor seems like an expression of Aiko’s resolve to feed people in challenging situations.
“She was such a strong woman,” Jafre said. “She was born right when World War II was happening.”
Okinawan food is known for being nutritious and also traveling well, two things Aiko was adept at.
“She trekked up through the United States with my grandfather in just a van,” he said, “and every day, she would feed my mother and my aunts and uncles. And every day she would make them oni giri -- a delicious stir fry that was nutritious and delicious.”
Kokuto: a nourishing, tasty treat
Black Sugar, the namesake of Jafre’s baking company, is also known for its nutritional properties in spite of being a product of cane sugar. It’s a traditional Okinawan ingredient that’s been made in Okinawa prefecture since the 1600s by boiling sugar cane until it’s a dark syrup, then allowing it to cool into hard blocks.
“Black sugar or kokuto is an unrefined cane sugar, but it also has calcium and vitamin B,” he said.
And Jafre has found a metaphor for life in this staple ingredient.
“I think life should be like black sugar,” he said. “It’s still a sweet sugar that is nourishing.”
Unrefined black sugar contains minerals such as potassium and iron that get filtered out of white sugar.
“Pregnant women in Japan will eat black sugar,” he added. “It has kind of a molassesy, licorice flavor. High levels of minerals and vitamin B.”
“While Jafre makes more traditional Western-style sweets at his baking company, during this visit he’s been making donuts that were a staple in Aiko’s collection of culinary creations, to go along with the soup and the mochi.
“These are Okinawan donuts. It’s called sata andagi, he said. “My grandmother used to make them and bring them to family, they’re really traditional sweets.
The mochi is ready and it’s toothsome, firmer than a marshmallow with a satisfying texture, especially as Jafre serves it wrapped in nori which gives it a slightly savory bent.
“My grandma was like my everything,” he said. “I figured through food you can really get your point across when you want to share (with) a person, someone who meant a lot to you.”
Jafre plans to return to Okinawa later this year and spread some of Aiko’s ashes there. And he’ll be making a traditional Okinawan soup in his grandmother’s honor, to preserve the memory of her and her cooking.
Amy Loeffler is a Fairbanks-based author and freelance writer.