Thy Tran in shirt designed by her husband

I’m freaking out. The layered pandan rice cake–for which I so carefully poured 6 alternating colored layers–is totally stuck to the pan. No worries. Thy Tran, instructor of this Steamed Asian Sweets class at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, calmly comes to my rescue, directing me to put the cake in the frig for a quick cool-down, after which it effortlessly peels out of the pan.

Pandan layered rice cake

After months of hearing about the wonderful range of Asian Cooking classes at OACC, I finally make it here for a four-hour class in their Oakland Chinatown kitchen. Sadly, it turns out this is the last class in a series entitled Cooking with the Senses, Fundamentals of Asian Food.

Previous classes centered on handmade noodles, flatbreads and crepes, wok cookery, fearless frying, all taught by noted chef, author, educator (and…