Are you a chocolate lover? The sweet flavors of chocolate are popular regardless of gender or age. In recent years, Dubai chocolate has been gaining popularity around the world, gaining attention for its unique identity. This SMT reporter became curious about its unique identity and tried making it herself. Let's share this unique taste she felt!
Middle East's carving for sweet treats
The Middle East is one of the world's dessert powerhouses. Kaymak, a dairy product made creamy by curdling the fat in milk and served with honey and bread, once popular in Korea, also originated in the region. The Middle East has a rich history of sweet foods and was the first region in the world to manufacture sugar on a large scale. The Abbasid Empire, which dominated the Middle East, gained much of its wealth from the cultivation of sugar. The Abbasids created the first sugar plantations before the modern era, so the Middle East has a long history of sugary desserts. Home to some of the world's greatest empires, from the Persians to the Ottoman Turks, the region used the cultivation of sugar to develop rich desserts as tributes to their emperors. In addition, the nomadic cultures of the Middle East required a high-calorie diet after a long day in the hot sun, which led to the addition of sugar to hot water or tea. This high-calorie intake of sweets in the desert also contributed to the development of desserts.
In the midst of a dessert culture, Dubai, in the Middle East, entered the chocolate industry in 2008 with the acquisition of French chocolate manufacturer Valrhona. Since then, the country has invested heavily and developed its technology to become one of the world's leading chocolate producers. Dubai chocolate comes in many varieties, including rose, saffron, and pistachio, but it is the pistachio that has recently exploded in popularity. This unique chocolate is filled with a pistachio cream mixed with kataifi, a thin noodle from the Middle East. It is characterized by the combination of the sweet taste of chocolate with the crunchy texture of kataifi and the nutty flavor of pistachios. The Dubai chocolate came to prominence last year when a United Arab Emirates influencer named Maria Behara posted a video of herself eating it on social media. The video has been viewed more than 300 million times and has since become a trend, with people around the world sharing videos on TikTok and YouTube of themselves eating their Dubai chocolate. Even in Korea, people are heading to cafes that sell Dubai chocolate to try it and, recently, retailers such as CU and GS25 have launched Dubai-style chocolate products. Although it is sold at a higher price than other chocolates in the market due to the high cost of ingredients, the image of Dubai as an "it" item from a wealthy country contributes to this popularity, making people more eager to try it. Dubai chocolate has gained attention for its unique and new flavor combinations that are not readily available in the market.
What makes it special
This SMT reporter visited Ark cafe, located near the Sang-su station, to learn how to make Dubai chocolate. The class can be booked in advance. It takes place in a private room in the cafe in which the owner had set up a table for the class. Before the class began, there was a brief introduction to Dubai chocolate and the manufacturing process. She said that most people use commercially available kataifi to make Dubai chocolate, but according to her, making your own tastes better. Therefore, the SMT reporter started to make kataifi as the first step in making Dubai chocolate. The pastry of kataifi the owner had made in advance was laid out in a frying pan with enough space between the kataifi so that they wouldn't stick together. The pastry needs to be thin in order to fit as much as possible into the chocolate. Once the pastry is well-cooked and crispy, use a spatula to take it out and set aside on a plate. The process of making the kataifi took a while, as Dubai chocolate contains a large amount of it, but it was quite fun to focus on the process without distractions. Once there is enough fried pastry on the plate, fry it again in butter to give it a crispy texture.
Once the kataifi pastry is ready, the next step is to coat the chocolate molds with some pre-melted chocolate. Firstly, use the melted dark chocolate to cover the walls of the mold, and then use some melted white chocolate to partially cover the bottom of the mold. You can also use the white chocolate to decorate one side of the mold with flowers, hearts, or anything else you like. This SMT reporter chose a classic zigzag pattern. The process of decorating the chocolate the way she wanted it to was fun for her. Fill the rest of the bottom of the mold with melted dark chocolate again, making a thin layer of chocolate. Place the mold in the freezer for a few minutes to harden, and while the chocolate is hardening, mix the kataifi into the pistachio chocolate sauce. The pistachio chocolate sauce is a special sauce used by Ark. When mixing these, she had to mix carefully so that the moisture in the sauce did not take away the kataifi's crispness. In the process, the reporter realized that the process of making Dubai chocolate is a lot of work. Once the chocolate has hardened in the freezer, take it out and add the kataifi-pistachio filling. Pour some melted dark and white chocolate over the top again, making sure there are no gaps and the filling is fully encased. After refrigerating for about an hour, the finished dessert was wrapped, and the class was over.
Sharing a worthy chocolate
Dubai chocolate has been all the rage lately, so this SMT reporter decided to try her hand at making some. It was her first time making it, but the owner's friendly and thorough instructions made it easy. Dubai chocolate tends to be more expensive than other chocolate, but after making it herself, she can understand the high price tag. It's not just the expensive ingredients, but also the care and attention to detail that goes into every step of the process. Enjoy quality chocolate with valuable people!
