Aiko embraces omotenashi--a deeply caring and attentive sense of hospitality--that you will immediately experience through the peaceful beauty of her home, warm personality, and enticing cooking. Aiko will welcome you with refreshing cold-brewed green and barley teas, as well as an assortment of Japanese snacks, which could include onigiri (sticky rice triangles with assorted fillings) and seaweed salads. You will then learn the secret to making umami-rich dashi, and how it is used as the base of many Japanese dishes. Aiko will share with you the simplicity and balance that underlies Japanese cooking and teach you the respect for ingredients and attention to detail that she learned from her mother and grandmother as a young girl.
Throughout the afternoon, you will have the opportunity to help prepare and taste the unique ingredients and seasonings that form the foundation of Japanese cuisine and learn from Aiko where to buy them and how to select the highest-quality items. You will go home with recipes for the dishes you learned and a shopping guide to Aiko’s favorite Japanese markets, leaving you well-prepared to recreate a satisfying, authentic, and home cooked Japanese meal.
Menu:
Barazushi (Sushi Rice Mixed with Fish and Vegetables)
A spectacular dish of fresh-made sushi rice mixed with eel, sliced shrimp, slivered omelette, quick-pickled lotus root, salmon roe, and a mix of vegetables that have been simmered in a sweet soy/dashi broth.
Gomaae (Seasonal Vegetable and Sesame Salad)
Blanched seasonal greens lightly dressed with a paste of freshly toasted ground sesame seeds, toasted sesame oil, mirin, soy sauce, and kombu powder.
Kabocha No Nimono (Simmered Kabocha Squash)
A satisfying dish of kabocha pumpkin long-simmered in a sweet and savory broth of dashi, soy sauce, and mirin.
Miso Soup with Vegetables
A light soup made from miso and homemade dashi and ribbons of fried bean curd, simmered with a variety of vegetables.
Dango (Rice Flour Dumpling Balls)
Small rice flour dumpling balls glazed in a sweet and savory soy sauce, served on a skewer.
Food Allergies: This menu includes eggs, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat.
All immersion workshops include a light lunch and beverage, 3.5 hours of hands-on cooking instruction, a full dinner, and a booklet of recipes and in-depth culinary info.