How This Singaporean Became One Of The World’s Few Female Sushi Chefs | Singapore Hour

Key Concepts

• Omakase: A Japanese dining experience where guests entrust the chef to serve the best seasonal dishes.
• Sasanishiki Rice: A premium Japanese rice variety known for its texture and flavor, used in sushi.
• Reverse Al Dente: A unique cooking method for rice, implying a specific texture different from traditional al dente.
• Red Vinegar (Akazu): A traditional sushi vinegar made from sake lees, often aged, contributing a distinct flavor and color to sushi rice.
• Sake Lees: The residual yeast and sediment left over from sake fermentation, used in aging red vinegar.
• Seasonality: The practice of using ingredients that are at their peak freshness and flavor during specific times of the year.
• Kakigori: A Japanese shaved ice dessert.
• Custom Torch Attachment: A specially designed tool for precise, high-heat searing of food.
• Singapore Golden Cap Farm: A local farm mentioned as a source for ingredients like strawberries.
• Mustard Leaves: Used as a local Singaporean ingredient, specifically as a substitute for Japanese wasabi in competitions.
• Amarin Strawberry: A specific species of strawberry from Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
• Amao Strawberry: A specific species of strawberry from Hakata, Fukuoka, Japan.
• F&B Industry: Food and Beverage industry.
• Core Strength: The strength of the muscles in the abdomen and back, crucial for physical well-being and demanding professions.

Introduction to Chef Aeron Choo and Kappou

Aeron Choo is a Singaporean female sushi chef and owner of Kappou, an omakase restaurant. She chose to pursue her culinary journey in Japan due to its unique culture and her love for Japanese food. Her restaurant, Kappou, is run with "precision and detail" to offer a unique dining experience.

Personal Routine and Professional Journey

Aeron's day typically begins with walking her dog, Sushi (named for her love of sushi and the dog's white color resembling sushi rice), at East Coast, which serves as her "me time" to unwind and plan her day before heading to the shop by 9 am.

Her path to becoming a sushi chef started in the F&B industry. An opportunity arose to learn from the "original source" in Japan, allowing her to immerse herself in the culture and understand seasonality. She began "from the ground," starting with dishwashing and progressively learning to cook and handle seafood.

Challenges and Overcoming Adversity

Aeron faced numerous challenges during her training in Japan:

• Language Barrier: Learning Japanese from newspapers used as wrapping and a dictionary, as Google Translate was not available then.
• Age: Being an older apprentice in a traditional system.
• Lack of Skill Set: Starting as a novice in a highly specialized field.
• Understanding Seasonality: A particular challenge for someone from Singapore, which lacks distinct seasons.
• Cultural Immersion: Adapting to a culture that demands starting "from scratch, from zero," and following commands in a foreign language.

She states, "To perfect myself every single day is the biggest challenge in my life till today," highlighting her continuous pursuit of excellence.

Kappou's Unique Sushi Craft

Kappou distinguishes its sushi through several technical details:

• Rice: They use Sasanishiki rice, cooked in a "reverse al dente" method, which is described as a highly technical and unteachable skill requiring "good sense."
• Vinegar: A blend of red vinegar and unfiltered rice vinegar is used. The red vinegar is uniquely aged in Singapore for three years with sake lees, contributing to a distinct flavor profile.
• Aeron emphasizes that these "small little things" are unique to the chef and cannot be replicated elsewhere.

The Chef's Health and Philosophy

In Japanese culture, chefs wear white robes, similar to a doctor's, because they "feed" and were historically considered "doctors" during wartime. This tradition underscores the importance of a chef's health. Aeron believes chefs must maintain "tip-top" health to cook for others.

To sustain her passion, Aeron gyms minimally twice a week to regain core strength after spine surgery. Her trainer, Mr. Chit, notes that other gyms rejected her due to her medical background. Gymming helps her de-stress and feel fresher, especially given the long hours and physical demands of a chef's work, where "we do lift fish heavier than the weights." She firmly states, "Without a healthy body, it's impossible to be a good chef."

Innovation and Local Craftsmanship

Aeron is actively involved in innovation, demonstrated by her visit to Yew Lee Metal Works to create a custom attachment for a torch. Inspired by a Kakigori place in Japan that sears marshmallows, her goal is to achieve an "even sear" on crustaceans and desserts with "high heat, wider surface area," without burning delicate parts. This "new invention made here in Singapore" is significant as she previously sourced such tools from Japan, highlighting her willingness to explore and support local craftsmanship.

The Kappou Dining Experience and Ingredient Philosophy

Kappou offers an omakase experience, where the chef serves the "season's best bounty procurement." The counter service style allows for direct interaction with guests, creating a "wholesome energy" as dishes are cooked and served. The philosophy is to serve "whatever is best in the season and cook it in its best form but not trying to overcomplicate it."

Ingredient sourcing involves close communication with brokers to ascertain the size and crucial catch area of fish. While most ingredients for Kappou come from Japan, Aeron intentionally incorporates at least one local Singaporean ingredient in overseas competitions. For example, she uses Singapore-grown mustard leaves that have characteristics similar to Japanese wasabi, surprising judges and challenging the perception of Singapore as a "concrete country" incapable of agriculture.

Culinary Creations and Guest Experience

The transcript highlights several dishes:

• Smoked octopus with Japanese mandarin orange and liqueur jelly, an "original creation" featuring pine nuts with sashimi.
• Soup with tilefish and homemade tofu.
• Omakase sushi, described by a guest as "one of the best bites I've ever had."
• Dessert: Made with aged balsamico and two types of strawberries:
  • Frozen, shaved Amarin species from Saitama Prefecture.
  • Amao from Hakata, Fukuoka.
• Other local inspirations include crisps/biscuits and shaved frozen strawberries from Singapore Golden Cap Farm, inspired by local ice kacang, showcasing her efforts to integrate Singaporean ingredients.

Aeron believes guests have the best time because she and her team deliver their best every day. Her team, predominantly Japanese with Aeron as the only non-Japanese member, is described as "very supportive," especially noting the positive dynamic of having a female team.

Conclusion and Personal Philosophy

The F&B scene in Singapore is acknowledged as "always been challenging," particularly in recent years. Aeron expresses gratitude to guests and suppliers for their support. Her concluding message on overcoming challenges is: "Just be earnest every day. You overcome challenges by constantly putting in effort and trying to be a better version of yourself than the version of yourself yesterday, that's all." This encapsulates her dedication to continuous improvement and resilience.