Tag Archive for:  foodie

Ramen & Gyoza class

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Pork Ramen and Gyoza dumpling class for a family from West Virginia, USA!
It was a hot summer day but no worries I got my air conditioner on max. The very first task for my guests was to grate a whole piece of smoked Bonito, of course.

musubi_blog_Ramen & Gyoza class
It is not as simple as it looks but my teenage guest did a great job and we enjoyed rich Umami & slightly smoky flavor in our Ramen broth. Freshly grated ones have a different level of aroma but sadly it does not last very long.

musubi_blog_Ramen & Gyoza class

We moved on to chop several kinds of veggies, including green leek, Nira or Chinese chive, cabbage, etc. for Gyoza filling. Nira has a stronger fragrance on its white part towards its roots so make sure not to chop off  the best part.
Pork slices and chicken minced meat, bean shoots & fresh Mitsuba for topping. Don’t forget everybody’s favorite, flavored eggs!

musubi_blog_Ramen & Gyoza class

My guest lady has some relations with Hong Kong, one of the dream destinations for all foodies in my country. Japanese Ramen has its origin in Chinese noodles so there are many similarities but differences as well. I hope my guest family found our homemade Ramen not too bad!
Many thanks for coming!

Chicken karaage class for a foodie couple

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Our all-time favorite, Chicken Karaage is a main dish today!
Served with “black” rice, Miso soup with potato, Mitsba herb, etc. & vegetable side dishes with sweet and savory sauces.

My guest was a couple from the US. Both of them are great cooks & the husband turned out to be a specialist in pickled vegetables. Of course, I ask him a favor to send me a recipe, which I did receive and am enjoying now, THANK YOU!!!   One of my daughters is a big vegetable eater and she LOVEs pickled food.

Here is the table of our lunch with Karaage, aubergine, etc. Good food, good fun talk with good company.  Always been my favorite moment.
I hope my guests also liked their experience at the Tokyo apartment kitchen.
Many thanks for coming!
Akiko

Seafood lovers from Down Under

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The main dish request was Chicken Karaage, one of our best sellers & very popular home cooked food all over Japan!
We also cooked chicken meat balls with our autumn/winter vegetable, lotus root, seasoned with Miso.
When I cook these chicken menus for my family, I usually pile them up on a simple big plate and tell my kids ‘Help yourself!’ But for my guests from Australia, I chose a little bamboo basket to serve our chickens to add a touch of Japanese taste and welcoming feeling.
In our rice, we added some Black Rice. This type of rice is popular among Japanese ladies lately as it is rich in fiber, vitamin B, minerals etc. In short, good for your health & beauty!
As we enjoyed our lunch, we talked about various social & cultural topics of Japan as well as Australia. Very relaxing moment with yummy food after a few hard working hours at kitchen!
I hope my guest ladies form Australia enjoyed their time at my place as much as I did.
Many thanks for coming!
Akiko

Gyoza party with happy American foodie girls!

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The requested main dish was Gyoza dumplings. I suggested to my guests if they don’t mind putting shrimp as well as pork in the fillings, which they also liked very much and it turned out as a great success!

One of my guests lived in Japan when she was a little girl. She said her memory from those days wasn’t very clear, but she certainly remembered the taste of our traditional Dashi soup stock.
Her friend also tried Katsuobushi (Smoked Bonito) grating and both found it full of flavors, almost like bacon from the ocean!
We made Miso soup from the Dashi soup stock of Bonito, adding some thinly sliced pork, potato, lotus roots, and onion. With a small piece of left-over lotus root, we fried lotus chips, too. This is my favorite appetizer and is nice if you are welcoming vegetarian guests or almost anybody.

Several days after the class, I heard from one of my guest girls that she was doing a Gyoza party with her friends back in the US! What happy news!!!
Many thanks for coming!
Akiko

Pork ramen class with guests from Hamburg & Pescara

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My guests for this pork ramen & gyoza class were couples from Pescara,  Italy, and Hamburg, Germany. It was a terrible morning as the huge typhoon was passing Japan the night before and our notorious rush-hour trains were packed and crowded as ever!  Still, they all managed to arrive at my place & I was very very grateful.

One of their favorites was  ‘Char Siu, grilled pork slices on top of Ramen. They showed me a few photos of Menya Musashi bowls and my goodness, their pork slice is so thick!  For sure, Ramen is evolving in various directions….

It was also very interesting to hear about various types of ramen in Europe today. I love exchanging foodie information!
Many thanks for coming!
Akiko