The main dish choice by my guest couple from Melbourne, Australia was Gyoza, pork, and veggies Potstickers Japanese style! Side dishes include aubergine with sweet Miso sauce, fresh cabbage salad with pickled Kombu slices, and Miso soup. It was a hot day in early summer so we boiled some Edamame beans as well. Fresh Edamame is available only in the summer months here.
It turned out that both of my guests were already quite familiar with our food, as they have been hosting many Japanese students in Australia. I was surprised to hear that they even have a bottle of Mirin stocked at home for occasional use cooking Japanese dishes!
In this cooking class, we used Mirin to make sweet Miso sauce. The main ingredient for Mirin is Mochi Rice (a very sticky type of rice, rich in glucose) while Miso is mainly made with soybeans. If you use white Miso, this sweet sauce tastes almost like salty caramel but is 100% veggie-made!
I have a lot of great memories of Victoria and Melbourne. It was such a nice time for me to hear all sorts of things about Australia that I almost felt like I were back in Aussie land.
I was so busy chatting that I did not take many photos but it was a wonderful few hours.
Many thanks for coming!