Hochner Family Blog

It’s been a little while. After finishing my Sushi course, I was a bit tired and didn't have much energy to do anything. But time is now limited as we have decided to leave Japan in July — this means that we only have 4 month left to do things and learn. Well, I'll try my best.

Fortunately, I found a cooking class right next to our place and I am now starting a Japanese Cooking Course! I told the teacher, Yanagiya sensei, that I would like to learn as much about Japanese cooking as possible, in 4 month. I am also interested in Japanese formal cuisine, "Edo Kaiseki". The Kaiseki Ryori was born as an adjunct to the tea ceremony. It's made with seasonal foods and we enjoy the table ware and the atmosphere as much as the dishes themselves.

For the first day, Yanagiya sensei started with the basics, Rice and Dashi (Japanese fish soup stock).

Rice
I won't go into details now, but what's important to prepare a good rice is:
- clean the rice fast, so the smell of rice bran doesn't go into the rice itself
- drain the water and leave the rice for 10 minutes
- then leave the rice in water for 20 minutes before starting to cook it.

Dashi (Japanese soup stock)
 This fish based stock is at the heart of quite a few Japanese dishes, somewhat like the various “fonds” are in French cooking. Up to now, we almost always used instant Dashi (preparation), but it was good to learn how to prepare the real thing. This is an excellent base that can be used for a number of dishes, and can really add a great touch to ones cooking. On top of this, it is not difficult to do at all. The difficult part outside of Japan may be to find the ingredients. We use Katsuobushi (shavings of dried bonito or tuna fish) and Konbu (kelp). I was surprised by the volume of Katsuobushi Yanagiya Sensei used for her stock, 10g of bonito for 200 cc of water — I was using about 10 g per liter, so she is using five times more! Simply put the Konbu in cold water and leave it for about 20 minutes. Start to heat the water, and as it is getting warm, take out the Konbu. When the water comes to the boil, add the Katsuobushi, and boil it for a few minutes. Turn off the fire. When the shavings drop to the bottom of the pan, filter the water and you have your Dashi or fish stock. This will be used for a number of dishes. It is so useful in Japanese cooking that usually people prepare it in large quantity and use it little by little over a few days period. Yes, you can freeze what you don’t use right away.

Today's menu was:
Atsuyaki tamago (Rolled Omelet)
Aji no sanbaizu (vinegared Jack Mackerel) Tara to konbu no suimono (Cod & kelp soup) Atsuyaki tamago (Rolled Omelet) At the Sushi Academy, I learned to make egg roll with dashi (fish soup stock) for sushi, but this one is made of pure egg and it's great as an appetizer. It's easy to make and you can prepare it in advance.

[As it contains sugar, this Japanese omelet has a sweet taste. It is really light and very good. I am sure one could try various combinations with other ingredients — I am thinking about some mushrooms, maybe some truffle — ndlr] Ingredients: 7 eggs Preparation (A) 5 Table spoons sugar (use more sugar to keep the roll longer) 2/3 tea spoon salt 1 tea spoon soy sauce 2 table spoons sake (you can use simple and cheap sake)


1. Mix the preparation (A ) in a pot, bring it to the boil and let it cool.
2. Put the eggs in a bowl and beat them lightly.
3. Add 1. into 2 and mix them.
4. Heat a square omelet pan, coat all the surface with oil and pour in 1/4 of the egg mixture.
5. When the surface is half cooked, hold the far end of the omelet with your chopsticks, and fold the egg (roll it) towards you completely to the other end of the pan. Coat oil on the pan, add 1/4 of the egg, and repeat the operation. 6. When it's cooked, let it cool down before eating it. You can keep it in freezer for one month.

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After the cooking, Yanagiya sensei prepared the table. Dishes, cups, chopstick, and trays, all the table ware is very important in Japanese cuisine. We also learned today that we don't use Hashioki (chopstick rest) with lacquered tray. Also plain wood chopsticks are used for special occasions and we wet them with water just before using them. We’re going on vacation for a couple of weeks and the next lesson on cooking will be when we return!

# posted by Famille Hochner @ 4:59 AM