What we’ll make together.

We’ll make everyday, traditional Japanese food-stuff that I grew up with!! The “wa” in “washoku” (translation=Japanese food) means harmony, one of Japanese culture’s key values. Thus, there is an emphasis on balance in Japanese cuisine. For example, a Japanese meal should strive to have balance in color ( red, yellow, green, white, and black), balance in flavor (salty, sweet, bitter, sour, and savory aka umami), and balance in preparation ( grilled,/roasted raw, fried, simmered, steamed). There is also a huge emphasis on seasonality and freshness. You’ll find that the preparations are relatively simple, designed to highlight the ingredient’s freshness and characteristics.

Your Shopping List

Vegetables:
-2 bunches of green onion or scallions (10-12 bulbs)
-2 Carrots
-1 whole garlic
-1 small piece of ginger

Meat:
- 1 lb chicken thighs with skin and boneless (note: Japan sells boneless chicken thighs with skin. You can easily remove the bone using a pair of kitchen shears. For more info check out this link. )
- 1 small chicken breast
Pantry
-Salt
-Sugar
-Mirin ( Mirin is a sweetened rice wine. Most places carry mirin, but if you can’t find it you can substitute with sweet marsala wine, or watered down vodka with added sugar). Amazon | Amazon| Jewel | Plum Market | Whole Foods
-Sake (get a dry sake rather than a sweet or nigori sake. If you can’t find it, you can use watered down vodka)
-Soy Sauce
-Rice Vinegar (you can use apple cider vinegar as a substitute)Amazon | Jewel | Plum Market | Whole Foods
-Chili Flakes
-Sesame Seeds
-Sesame Oil
-Vegetable Oil or canola oil

If making miso soup, you’ll need:
- Dashi Granules ( Dashi is a stock that is foundational to many Japanese recipes such as soups, simmered dishes and more) Amazon|Jewel| You can make your own from scratch, but we won’t cover that in class this time. Here is a recipe from Whole Foods or feel free to email me for more info. You can use a light chicken broth as a substitute.
-Miso (a salty, soybean paste that gives miso soup its distinctive flavor) Whole Foods white miso | Whole Foods red miso | Few examples from Jewel: example 1, Example 2, Example 3) FYI: red miso is a deeper, saltier stronger flavor and white miso is lighter and sweeter.
-Silken Tofu
Equipment:
-Meat Tenderizer ( or something heavy like a wine bottle)
-Fork
-Paper Towel
-Knife(s), cutting board(s)
- Ziplock or bowl for marinating chicken
-2 Frying pan (One of them should be pretty large-try a cast iron pan!)
-1 small pot for boiling water
- 1 Medium pot or rice cooker for making rice
-Spatula
-3 small bowls for mixing sauce ingredients
-1 large bowl for mixing salad
- Implement for mixing the ingredients in the frying pan
-Microplane ( if you don’t have one, no worries, you can finely mince the garlic and ginger)
-Measuring Spoons