If you didn’t know any better, you might actually mistake actress Momona Tamada for the character she plays: the beloved Claudia Kishi in Netflix’s reboot of The Baby-Sitters Club.
Similar to Claudia, Tamada has a secret candy stash that she hides from her brother. Just as her character is shown cooking dishes with her grandmother Mimi, the 14-year-old actress loves making gyoza with her parents. And, maybe most importantly, they share the same outspoken passion for representing the Japanese experience.
“When I’m portraying her, sometimes I feel like I’m me on camera,” says Tamada, who just wrapped the filming of season two. “And I’m so happy that they included so much authentic Japanese food and scenes of us eating in the show. I would always think, ‘This is real, this is what I do with my parents.'”
A native of Vancouver, Tamada says her childhood was an amalgam of Canadian and Japanese food traditions. She remembers vividly traipsing through her hometown’s Richmond Night Market snacking on “rotatodoes” (or spiral potato crisps) or cooking takoyaki (fried octopus dumplings) with her family.
“We’re usually all over the place in the kitchen,” she says. “My mom is telling my brother and me to go get things from the pantry. I’m usually cutting up a lot of veggies. We love making the little dumpling shells, putting in the filling, then folding them up to make them pretty.”
Another lifelong passion of hers has been baking, something she also shares with her TV counterpart, Laura Jean from To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (she plays the character’s younger version). In fact, she can frequently be found looking up baking recipes on TikTok-like these white chocolate matcha brownies-and says she’d love to post more baking content.
But her most prized food memories came from summers spent traveling to see her family in Japan. That’s where she first learned how to wash rice, frequented places like Mos Burger, fell in love with bright green melon soda, and forged her addiction to Puchao gummy candy.
“Whenever I go to Japan, I appreciate the people and how crazy the technology is-it’s like living in the future,” she says. “I love how when you order things, they look exactly like the picture. They have all these really specific expectations and I really respect those traditions.”
That’s why it is so important for Tamada to get the Japanese food scenes accurately portrayed on screen, no matter the project. Her mom has even come to set before to ensure that Japanese traditions are being translated correctly. (It was important that no one was wearing shoes whenever the girls were in Claudia’s room in The Baby-Sitter’s Club, for example.)
“Food is such a big part of our culture, especially being Japanese,” Tamada says. “Sometimes it’s something as simple as seeing more sushi and bubble tea that can change people’s perspectives. Having food scenes in movies be accurately represented is hugely important. Seeing more Japanese dishes on screen is something I hold dear to my heart.”
Tamada, who can most often be found at the crafty table on set and admits she’s had a few too many cavities from her candy obsession, adds that it’s important to keep stereotypes at bay when it comes to food and she hopes diverse casts like the one in The Baby-Sitter’s Club can help people do just that.
“If you go into the mindset thinking a food is too weird or that you’ll hate it, you probably won’t have a great experience,” she says. “But I would encourage people to keep an open mind and they might just discover their new favorite dish.”
White Chocolate Matcha Brownies
Recipe originally from Ian Kewks
Ingredients:
- 4 ounces white chocolate
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup white sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup AP flour
- 2 Tablespoons matcha powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. Combine white chocolate and butter until it’s melted and let cool
2. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat until thick and pale.
3. Add cooled chocolate mixture.
4. Sift together flour, matcha powder, and salt into a bowl. Mix using a rubber spatula until smooth.
5. Place mixture in an 8×8″ pan lined with parchment paper
6. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350°F. Tip: Gently slam pan on counter before baking and halfway through for an extra fudgey texture.
7. Let it cool for 30 minutes before slicing into squares.
Jess Mayhugh is the editorial director of Food & Drink for Thrillist. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
