If you are an addict of fresh chocolate and if you can’t afford to buy the expensive offerings from Japan or France why don’t you creep into the kitchen and make nama chocolate to go to chocolate heaven or surprise your friends or a loved one.
Japanese handmade chocolate seduces Saigonese youth
By My Tran in HCMC
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| Nama chocolate – fresh handmade Japanese chocolate attracts Vietnamese youth - Photo: My Tran |
If you are an addict of fresh chocolate and if you can’t afford to buy the expensive offerings from Japan or France why don’t you creep into the kitchen and make nama chocolate to go to chocolate heaven or surprise your friends or a loved one.
So you are now asking what nama means. Nama means raw or fresh in Japanese, and in this case it’s coming from abundant fresh cream being used. Therefore, the creation must be kept it in a refrigerator all times and is best enjoyed fresh so you have to eat nama within a couple of days.
The nama chocolate now is in vogue for Vietnamese youth who use it as gifts for Valentine’s Day and holidays such as Women’s Day, Father’s or Mother’s Day. They often make by themselves to send more meaning and love to the gifts.
Nama chocolate is very similar to French truffles as the main ingredients are the exactly the same, fresh cream and chocolate. Unlike the ball-shape truffles, nama chocolate comes in small squares. The cooking method is slightly different and it’s even easier to make than truffles as there is no need to roll in nama chocolate.
To make nama chocolate, it doesn’t take you long, only half an hour. So what you are waiting for, except rolling your sleeves and making your hands move to prepare ingredients of good quality dark chocolate with 70% cacao, or fresh whipping cream, optional liqueurs of your choice, unsalted butter and cocoa powder to coat the chocolate.
And now, get ready to be a chef with the first job of cutting the chocolate into smaller pieces by using a knife so that it will melt faster and more evenly than putting cream in a saucepan and heating it up until it almost reaches a boil.
The next move is adding the chocolate and stir so the chocolate and cream are completely combined. Then you again put butter into the mixture and stir it regularly until it becomes a delicate mixture.
Pouring the mixture into the tray, using nylon to cover to push all the air out and put it into a refrigerator for about two hours until firm.
Later, remove the chocolate from the baking tray and chop it into cubes using a warm knife. Make sure to warm the knife after each cutting to prevent splintering. You can use hot running water but wipe it off completely before cutting.
The last job is sprinkling the cocoa powder and serve it chilled. Now you have nama chocolate which is highly recommended to be kept in the refrigerator for 2-3 days but should be enjoyed asap.
Vietnamese teenagers who want to express their passion of Japanese culture with nama chocolate often use matcha powder (Japanese green tea powder) to make nama matcha chocolate which is very popular for chocolate lovers.
Sure you can buy nama chocolate imported from Japan in MOF shops in town priced from about VND300,000 a box but why don’t you once show off your talent to your beloved one.