Salmon Teriyaki cooking with Canadian family

The main dish for this class was my family’s favorite, salmon Teriyaki.  Plus we prepared Gyoza with pork & veggies, several side dishes, Miso soup with Dashi broth, etc.  All from scratch except Gyoza wrappers, as we can buy them very reasonably at any supermarket here in Tokyo.

I still remember the remark by my guest at our lunch table.  ” Wherever you travel, Good food is always simple!”

The father especially liked the combination of our plain rice and grilled salmon with Teriyaki sauce very much.  They are such simple dishes but so good.

You may find a bottle of Teriyaki sauce at grocery stores but Japanese-style Teriyaki sauce consists of soy sauce, Mirin, and Sake. Period. All three are our staple seasonings and are stocked in every kitchen.

FYI, Mirin is a fortified type of Sake.  Once the liquor with high alcohol is added, fermentation gets stopped and it can maintain a high level of glucose, fructose, etc.  In short, it is very sweet!

Many thanks for coming!

Akiko

 

Ramen & Gyoza lunch with Swedish & American guests

It was a chilly late Autumn day in November & my guests’ choice was hot bowls of Ramen and sizzling Gyoza on a pan, yummmm! My little kitchen was pretty full with a group of fun American girls and a couple from Sweden.

After a brief talk about our recipe, then basic seasonings and ingredients, we were all set to start chopping, mixing, simmering and for sure tasting at times.  We also prepared chicken version of Ramen for some of my guests so there were many things to prepare, but with 12 good hands we managed to handle every process of cooking.

Gyoza is really recommended for a relaxed gathering of good friends!

We had lots of fun moments and laughs over the table! Many thanks for coming!

Akiko

 

 

 

 

Fun family hours over Japanese home made lunch

Welcomed a lovely family from Nevada, USA and their favorite menu choice was Gyoza, of course!

My guests got to learn some basic facts about Japanese Dashi ingredients,  then taste them as well.

This class was actually arranged by a charity organization Make A Wish. We are honored to be chosen as a host for one of their experiences in Tokyo. Big brother, big sister and young boy, 3 siblings and their Mum and Dad all joined in preparation of chopping veggies for Gyoza filling, simmering various  ingredients for Dashi broth etc. After a few hours of lots of tasks, finally our Japanese style lunch was perfectly done.

Great job and great family team work!  I am so grateful to be part of their relaxed and warm family hours in Tokyo. Hope our little boy liked Japanese food and Miso flavor.

Many thanks for coming!

Akiko

Chicken & Pork Ramen Class for American foodies

This was a little busier-than-usual  class as we prepared 2 kinds of Ramen broth, regular pork soup as well as chicken version, since one of my guests preferred non-pork dishes. For Gyoza, we normally use pork for filling but this can also be replaced with something different, such as chicken, beef, mushroom, root veggies, Tofu etc.

If I would be informed of your dietary preferences well in advance, there are several alternative options so please drop us a message before you arrive! Our home cooking class is small with max 6 people only, so  I am very happy to discuss what type of food you are really interested in.

My guests were all Americans on this day, a family visiting from West coast and a group of young officers based in Japan with their visiting friend. So some of them are very familiar about things in Japan, while others are new to this side of the globe. I am sure it was a nice opportunity for my guests to exchange good tips and advices how to enjoy your stay in Tokyo!

Many thanks for coming!

Akiko

Gyoza and Ramen class for a couple from Montreal

As the season heading into late Autumn in Tokyo, hot and comforting bowl of ramen is an ideal choice for lunch, dinner or even your late night snack. On this cool but sunny day, I welcomed a couple from Montreal, Canada.

My guests  have been travelling east and west of Japan for 3 weeks and finally back to Tokyo. Naturally they have tried all kinds of great food but not had a chance to prepare Japanese meals so here we are in my little kitchen.

We prepared Tonkotsu Ramen and Gyoza, plus fresh salad with  pickled Kombu. Gyoza is much simpler and easier than most people think  but Ramen is a tough choice if you dare cook it from scratch. I buy fresh noodles from local shops but the rest are ALL home made.

After few hours of slicing and simmering and frying, our result was a nice and yummy lunch !

Merci beaucoup for coming to my class!

Akiko

Tonkotsu Ramen &Gyoza class for an Italian/French couple

The menu for this early November class was Pork bone broth (Ton-kotsu ) Ramen and Gyoza.

My guest was a fun couple from UK, but they were originally from France and Italy and met each other in London, enjoying Japanese food at my little kitchen in Tokyo on this day.

Ramen is yummy but sometimes a little too heavy for ladies, but my guest lady enjoyed it so much she  finished the bowl of noodles, simmered pork slice and flavored egg! Of course I was so happy to see empty bowls and plates!!

She said that they have had Japanese food many times but never really experienced cooking Dashi broth or preparing  Japanese veggies and herbs with their own hands.  Good food is everywhere but the beauty of home cooking class is that you actually get to see  the whole process, tasting your ingredients at times, and see what they looked like before chopped or cooked.

Many thanks for coming!

Akiko

Egg & Mayo sauce for chicken Nanban style

Welcomed a very  lovely couple of  Rugby World Cup fans from QLD Australia ! They were not just sport lovers but enthusiastic foodies very much interested in our cuisine, so we challenged 2 main dishes and 2 side dishes, plus rice and Miso soup made from Dashi broth.

We cooked A LOT and our menu included:

Chicken Nanban style (sweet and sour, little bit hot marinade sauce for fried chicken, served with boiled egg  & Mayo sauce),

Okonomiyaki (popular savory pancake with pork, cabbage, leek etc.)

Tempura of Kabocha pumpkin and aubergine,

Cold simple (but very yummy!)  salad of fresh cabbage and marinade Kombu,

 

Among all kinds of dishes we prepared, my guests’ best favorite was perhaps our boiled egg & Mayo sauce, which is very yummy even without chicken and perfect for sandwiches as well.

Many thanks for coming to my little kitchen!

Akiko

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 main & 3 side dishes class for UK Rugby fans

My guests for this class (Nov 2019) were from York and London, UK.  Again they were all visiting Tokyo to watch Rugby World cup games. I was very happy to hear that some of their Rugby friends recommended my class  for some experience between the games!

All the dishes were truly authentic Japanese, as my guest lady requested to have ‘no meat, seafood and veggies only’ menu. So we prepared:

Takikomi Gohan with mushrooms & veggies,

Salmon and swordfish Nanban style,

spinach with sweet sesame sauce,

aubergine with white Miso sauce,

perssimmon and greens with creamy Tofu sauce,

We had a lot of  tasks starting from a very Japanese process, grating a piece of smoked Bonito fish to make some Dashi broth of course. Thanks to my very fun and hard working guests, everything went so smoothly and our lunch was beautifully done!

Many thanks for coming!

Akiko

 

Gyoza and Takikomi Gohan (flavored rice with chicken etc.) class

The main dish for this ALL girls class was our all-time favorite Gyoza, plus a few side dishes of auberges with caramel-like white Miso sauce, Kaki (persimmon) salad with Tofu cream, Miso soup with Enoki mushroom, and Takikomi Gohan instead of our regular rice.

‘Takikomi ‘ is a method of cooking rice with seasonings such as soy sauce, Sake etc. and putting a few kinds of vegetables and chicken.  Sounds complicated?  Well, all you need to do is just chop your ingredients and put them into your rice cooker, put seasonings and turn on the button.

This is a typically popular menu in autumn here in Japan, so we cut out some thinly sliced carrot into a maple leaf shapes to decorate our Takikomi Gohan.

My guest ladies were from everywhere, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Honolulu and Tel Aviv, Wow!

It was a lot of fun and we were a great team in the Tokyo kitchen. The result was a gorgeous home made Japanese lunch of course! Some of my guests even had a second serve of our Takikomi, making me super happy.

Many thanks for coming!

Akiko

 

 

Salmon & Prawn lunch for a Rugby family

Rugby World Cup continued… and more Rugby fans at my little kitchen !

My guest was a lovely family from Southampton, England and of course they were here to cheer Red Roses, I thought.   But their big Daddy was actually an enthusiastic fan of All Blacks. So I had to take out my jar of  authentic Manuka honey to serve on top of our dessert after meal.

It was a lot of fun to listen to their Rugby talks being a novice fan of Rugby by that time,  enjoying watching the games on TV .

Main dish menu picked for this class was seafood.  We cooked salmon and prawn Nanban style, plus seasonal Kaki (persimmon) salad with Tofu sauce, miso soup with Dashi, rice etc.

Lots of fun and lots of laughs during cooking !

Many many thanks for coming and sharing great family time with me!

Akiko