The other day I made a trip to Tsukiji, where the fish market was. I had always thought that Tsukiji was a bit far from my place and I had to change trains to get there. But actually, If I took the Asakusa Line from Gotanda, which is about 10 min. by foot from my place, it only takes 13 min. to Higashi Ginza which is a short walk from the fish market. So, what have I been doing spending twice as much time and double the train fare to get to the fish market till now? I will definitely be going there more often now! The Tsukiji Fish Market was crowded with tourist as expected and I just wandered around the outer market (場外市場)and did some shopping to get some nori seaweed and green tea. I knew I had some fish left over from the class the previous day, so I didn't get any fish, but needless to say, if you would like good quality tuna for sushi or sashimi at a reasonable price, Tsukiji is the place to go. I got a couple of copies of the Tsukiji Fishmarket Map in English from the information center. If you happen to be in my class and would like a copy, please ask. You can also download it from here (Tsukiji Outer Market Guide) I found a huge shop that carries all sorts of Japanese Pottery on my way to Tsukiji from Higashi Ginza. Don't judge the shop by the ground floor, because if you go upstairs, there is a vast collection of all sorts of Japanese dishes and plates. Urikiriya (うりきり屋) Website (in English) I was also interested in small spice shop in the market that sells all sorts of spices at a reasonable price as well as other condiments. I think I will take a closer look next time Hattori Shoten (服部商店) Website (in Japanese) I also came across a very nice shop that sells all sorts of Traditional Kitchenware. Tsukiji has a couple of these shops so if you don't want to make that trip to Kappa Bashi, you can get some here. Tsukiji Hitachi-ya (つきじ常陸屋) Website (in Japanese)
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Yesterday was this year's first Japanese Style Cocktail Party Class for my vegetarian students. This year, I've come up with a new menu, "Kohaku Namasu (紅白なます)in Yuzu Cups" which is actually a very traditional New Year's dish here in Japan. Kohaku in Japanese means Red and White, which is the color for celebration. Towards the year end you may see a bright red carrot (called Kintoki Ninjin) from Kyoto which is used for this dish. The other dishes are the temari-sushi (Sushi Balls), and Tofu and Avocado Verrine with a hint of wasabi which isn't actually a typical Japanese Dish, but will look good on the table. For the vegetarian course, I've made the Seared Tuna with Yuzu Dressing and Japanese Herbs, which is a typical Japanese dish usually using the bonito fish (called Katsuo no Tataki) instead of the usual Mini Yakitori (Grilled Chicken) This course comes with a glass of sparkling sake. This time I got "Amaneko Spark" which uses the same method as champagne as opposed to the other ones made by adding gas to the sake. It is a bit sweet (as it is made with rice) but not too sweet so you can enjoy it with your meal. You can get it on Amazon but they charge 3 times the market price so look for it somewhere else! I got one at my local liquor shop 内藤商店(Naito Shoten) This shop is great if you like shochu or Sake, as they have a wide selection and the staff is knowledgeable. Naito Shoten: Tōkyō-to, Shinagawa-ku, Nishigotanda, 5 Chome−3, An article on Naito Shoten on Japane Times>>> For details of this course please visit this page. Two days after the first shooting, there was another one for the NHK program. This time it was my class for Tofu dishes. It seems like the trend to be vegetarian in western countries nowadays as I get more vegetarian requests for my class. On the contrary, Japan is consuming more meat as with the rest of the Asian countries.
After class, I introduced my Tokyo Grocery Shopping Guide, which I really hope wouldn't get edited out. This shooting will air in December or January. Website: 2020 Tokyo Minnano Ouen Keikaku (Everyone's plan to support 2020 Tokyo) Today, the camera crew from NHK Education Channel came to shoot my class. They are making a program which introduces people around the nation who are making efforts to show hospitality to foreigners visiting Japan. Simply Oishii Japanese Cooking Class will appear on two episodes to give hints on how to show hospitality by cooking.
Today was a vegetarian gyoza class. I wanted to show that there is a trend that many westerners are now eating less meat and that you need to know the guest's diet before entertaining them. And, that even if they do not eat meat, there are still many ways to entertain them. One example was the gyoza, a staple Japanese dish (although originally from China) usually made from pork can easily be made by just using vegetables and produce a similar taste. Since my students today can eat seafood, I also made a boiled shrimp gyoza with asparagus, which turned out to be a big hit. I hope that the Japanese people watching this program will get some ideas when entertaining foreigners. The program will air on October 28th at 10:00 pm, and the second appearance in December (this is a monthly program) Website: 2020 Tokyo Minnano Ouen Keikaku (Everyone's plan to support 2020 Tokyo) School has finally started today, and my two boys are off to school. Since the new school year is in spring, they are just starting their 2nd term with loads of homework to do during summer (poor Japanese children!)
Peace has finally arrived and I was able to do some house cleaning for a couple of hours today without any disruption. So, I am now ready to start my classes. I'm open for booking on weekdays between 10 am and 5 pm. Just send me your request through my contact form. I just need : requested time and date, number of people - min. 2 and max 6, and the course you would like to take and I will get back to you within 24 hours. If you have not received my reply, please check your SPAM folder or send me a message on facebook. I've also started to post recipes on Cookpad as well as added new recipes to Oyshee Recipes (new recipes not published yet). So do take a look and follow me for more recipes to come. A couple of months ago, I was contacted by a college friend of mine who is involved in creating videos for an online business academy. He said they were looking for a someone who has just started their own business at home that they could interview. Someone who had left their work to bring up their children for a while and came back to the business world in a totally different field.
I thought it was just an interview but, it turned out that they were looking for a candidate for an instructor for a webinar on female entrepreneurship. So, I did my best to disclose some trade secrets on how I started my business at home using my expertise and experience and combining it with my passion - food and cooking. I hope that this will give some inspiration to those ladies who are interested in starting a similar business. This online academy is operated by PASONA, one of the largest staffing and recruit company in Japan. It's in Japanese but you can see a preview video of me in motion! Pasona Biznize Academy Our summer holiday began with a day trip to Nokogiri Mountain, located along the Tokyo Bay off the Boso Peninsula of Chiba, it is a perfect place to go hiking on a day trip. We went by car using the Aqua Line from Kawasaki which only takes about an hour from Meguro if there is no traffic . This place is easily accessible from Tokyo and Kanagawa using trains and ferries as it is closed to the Train Station and the Ferry Terminal. Held a Character obento class by request last week. Since my students could not eat meat, I couldn't make any octopus sausages or any other animal shaped sausages or cut outs using ham. Instead, I made vegetable and cheese cut outs and flowers using thin fried eggs. Main dish for this class was teriyaki salmon.
I also taught them how to make a teddy bear shaped onigiri and Totoro shaped onigiri. I'm very happy that they seemed to enjoy the class. Last month, we went to Kawagoe, an old town outside of Tokyo. We went there by car, but it's only 30 minutes by train from Ikebukuro. Kawagoe prospered during the Edo-period still holds it's traditional charm and is called Ko-Edo (meaning little edo). As you stroll along the streets, you'll find the old-fashioned merchants' shops that you can no longer find in Tokyo. We only went to one part of Kawagoe, but this city seems to have many places to visit. So if you are wondering about places to go next weekend, Kawagoe may be an option.
It was a pure coincidence that my students that came to my class the next day were also in Kawagoe on the day we were there! For details on on sightseeing areas, visit this useful site (Multi-Language) >>> Koedo-Kawagoe On March 10th, The Ohana International School held a Fund Raising event to support the survivors of the Tohoku Earthquake. I donated a couple of Gift Vouchers for the charity auction as I was very much impressed with Ohana's continuous efforts to help the region get back in shape.
It has been 5 years since the devastating event and although they have not fully recovered from the aftermath, the Japanese media and the whole nation are beginning to forget about what has happened and memories of the terrifying tsunami on the television screen are starting to fade. So when I heard that one of my students who is a PTA member has visited the Tohoku Region to help support the Tsunami victims, I was both impressed and a bit ashamed as a Japanese who is starting to lose interest in what is going on there. (And now everyone's eyes are on to Kumamoto) So, it was my pleasure to participate in this event. And today, one of the winners of the auction came to take a Sushi Lesson with her friend. Thank you so much for coming and also for your support towards Japan! |
AuthorI'm Miyuki and I teach Japanese Home cooking at my home in Tokyo. Archives
February 2021
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