Agedashi Tofu, Okonomiyaki pancake & more

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This was a private class with 2 main dishes & more; Agedashi Tofu (deep-fried Tofu dipped in Dashi sauce), Tempura of prawns and mushrooms, and savory Okonomiyaki pancake with pork, cabbage, etc.
My guests are from Chicago, USA. A lovely couple of an architect and a doctor wishing to try some Japanese homemade dishes.  For some reason, I felt very close to the lady from the beginning, then we found out that we are both mothers of twin kids! meaning you have gone thru a lot and survived those sleepless days…

There was a lot of chopping and slicing and frying to do, but we made it beautifully!  Plenty of food and fun chatting over the lunch table.
Many thanks for coming!
Akiko

Juicy, crispy and chewy!

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It is amazing how Ramen & Gyoza are widely known as Japanese food. Today s guests are beautiful sisters from Australia. Welcome to Tokyo!
If you are keen to experience the local feeling of these comfort foods, home cooking is one of the best options, especially for Gyoza.

Oishii but very hot!! The first bite of Gyoza is always hoooot so be careful.
Enjoy the juicy filling, crispy bottom, and chewy steamed top of dumplings.

Many thanks for coming!
Akiko

Pork Gyoza & Ramen class for Aussie couple

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Gyoza making with an Aussie couple today!
Wrapping a spoonful of filling with Gyoza skin. Dumplings may look a little complicated to make, but Japanese style Gyoza is simple as ABC.

My guest couple has made them very neatly!  Thank you for a great job!!

And of course, Pork Ramen is coming with Gyoza. Now, some people think Ramen is a simple bowl of soup & noodles but it is NOT. That is also why there are layers of flavors.  Come and find out yourself when in Tokyo!
Many thanks for coming!
Akiko

Gyoza and Tempura/ 2 main dishes

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Today’s guests are a happy group from San Diego and it was so much fun!

The menu is 2 main dishes: Gyoza and Tempura
and 2 side dishes: Japanese sesame spinach salad/cucumber salad
tofu and Okura miso-soup
always so much fun to make Gyoza with family and friends! Let’s do Gyoza Party!!

And also preparation of Shrimp for Tempura.

Itadakimasu!
so much fun class was.
Thank you!

Gyoza & healthy veggie sides for American girls

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Today’s main dish was Gyoza dumplings with pork, Chinese cabbage, garlic, green leek & more! Side dishes were eggplant with sweet & savory Miso sauce, fresh cabbage salad with pickled Kombu, etc.

Welcome to my Tokyo kitchen!  It was such a fun class with beautiful American young ladies.  Good friends from high school days, good teamwork naturally!

Can you believe we have made all these Gyoza with hands, the filling was made from scratch?  It is very simple and easy. Gyoza is fun to make with friends, and eat with friends.
Many thanks for coming!!
Akiko

Sushi-making & Sake-tasting for Nike

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In early December we welcomed a group of 20+ people from Nike!

This was the 2nd time organized a gathering for this global company in Tokyo. We were very happy to hear that participants liked their team-building lunch back in August, so they decided to contact us again for an evening function.

We planned a Sushi roll & Temari Sushi cooking class. All ingredients for fillings and toppings were prepared in advance, but the guests had to make their Sushi seasoning and mix it with steamed rice, then start rolling & shaping their Sushi for dinner.

Although this cooking class was held after a long day at their global meeting, everybody did great work and everything went so smoothly that all results were beautiful and delicious!

After enjoying our tasty Sushi and other food including chicken Karrage, spinach with sesame sauce, fresh colorful veggies with Miso-Mayo dip, pork slices, sweet egg rolls, etc., it was time for the Sake tasting quiz! There are lots of types and brands of Sake in Japan. It was hard for us to choose just a few kinds, but we hope it turned out a good opportunity for our guests to try something different.

We would be very happy if we could be of a little help to discover some new charms of Japanese gastronomy!

Yuki & Akiko

 

Temari Sushi class for friends’ reunion

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The main dish was Temari Sushi. ‘Temari’ is a palm-sized ball for children, often decorated with fine colorful embroideries. As you can easily guess, Temari Sushi is shaped like this small ball. It is a bite-size Sushi with a variety of toppings.

In this class, we used boiled prawns, thinly sliced cucumbers, fresh sashimi-quality maguro(tuna) & salmon, Takuan(pickled Daikon radish), and Shiso leaves, etc.

There were also Mentaiko(salted chilly cod roe) and salted cherry blossoms as a few ‘challenge’ items but my guests tried everything and their plates are all empty after lunch hours. Yes, I love seeing empty plates after the class!!

We put the heads of prawns in our Miso soup and I think my guests liked it as well. Believe me, it makes your soup amazingly delicious!

It was a reunion vacation trip of old friends from Maryland and Florida, US. I enjoyed being a part of their happy moments in Tokyo.
Many thanks for coming!
Akiko

Tempura, Sushi and Gyoza class WOW

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This was probably one of the most challenging classes this year but we made it!
Thankfully we had 5 very skilled participants from BC Canada and Michigan US at this class.
The main dish choices are Tempura of prawns, Maitake mushroom (my favorite!), and vegetables, plus Sushi roll with Maguro(tuna), salmon, and greens. For side dishes, we prepared a small portion of Gyoza with pork and shrimp & spinach with our flavorful sesame sauce.

We started grating smoked bonito for Dashi soup stock, then prepared Sushi rice with seasonings, chopped veggies and wrapped Gyoza, and finally deep-fried Tempura and rolled Sushi!

And I was astonished that one of my guest ladies was going to be a speaker at a medical conference held in Tokyo that same evening! Indeed some people are super talented.
I have also learned one new thing in this class. My guest told me that avocado in Sushi rolls are first created by a Japanese chef in British Columbia, although we often call it ‘California’ style. I must visit ‘Tojo’s’ in Vancouver one day.
Many thanks for coming!
Akiko

Seafood but No Sushi Class

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The main dish request for this class was “something seafood, but not Sushi” as the couple has already learned how to make Sushi before. So we did our popular seafood main dish Nanban style marinade of fried salmon & swordfish.

For side dish choices, my guest picked a menu using Kaki, the seasonal fruit of autumn and one of few indigenous kinds for the land of Japan. Plus sweet & savory Miso sauce with grilled eggplant.

My guest couple told me they were living in a motor house and I was as curious as always, so they showed me some photos, and it was way beyond my imagination, truly gigantic! Their kitchen in the motor house is much bigger than mine in the Tokyo apartment, with all kinds of nice equipment.

I am sure they can cook anything in their beautiful kitchen. Hope they have tried out our Japanese home cooking recipe back home.
Many thanks for coming!
Akiko

Private Class for Vegetarian Dishes with Autumn harvests

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The main dish was chosen as Vegetarian Ramen for a guest lady from Israel who has been vegetarian for many years. Side dishes include cold fresh cabbage with Konbu, Gyoza dumplings with lotus root, Kaki (persimmon) & greens dressed with creamy Tofu sauce, etc.
My guest was very interested in Japanese Dashi soup stock with dried Shiitake mushrooms & Kombu kelp. Both are essential products for Umami in our cuisine.
Kombu is very rich in glutamate or glutamic acid, which is contained in most vegetables but by far the most in dried Kombu. Another ingredient known for richness in glutamate is dried tomato.
Dried shiitake is known for its richness in guanylic acid or GMP, like many kinds of mushrooms around the world including dried porcini. This may be explaining why many Japanese people are deeply in love with Italian food!?

My guest lady was a medicinal food professional with vast knowledge about Chinese herbal medicine & diet, so it was very inspiring to share some time with her in the kitchen cooking and talking about various vegetables and foods!
Many thanks for coming!
Akiko