To make use of my free time during the soft lockdown.  I've taken up a course on Water Confectionery Art. Water confection (水菓子 or Mizugashi) originally was the term for fruits that were served during summer. Nowadays, it expresses cold summer confections made with Jelly. To mold the confections, various jellying agents are used including Kanten (Seaweed)  Agar, and Kudzu (Arrowroot). 

In this course, you will learn how to express the four seasons with this traditional art as well as learn the techniques on how to use the ingredients that are unique to traditional Japanese sweets. To learn more about this course, please see JSA's official website.

If you are interested in taking this course in English, please contact me through the contact form. This course is also available to take online using zoom. (For Japanese residents only).

I will also be doing a one-day course for this confection in summer.
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Hope everyone reading this post is at home safe and sound. The cherry blossoms along the river in front of our Apartment was in full bloom this week. Despite all the sadness that is going on in the world, the beauty still moves my heart. 
Due to the COVID-19 situation, it seems that it will be a while until I can start classes. So I'm planning to conduct classes online through zoom. Details on which courses can be held on line as well as the class fee will be announced shortly.
Basically it will be the same recipe, but you will have to source the ingredients yourselves and we will cook together! (How exciting!)

If you are interested, please follow my Facebook page or drop me a note on messenger or contact form.

Stay home safe and have a nice day!

Due to the renovation work being done in our apartment, we will be relocating to a temporary housing as of Oct. 28th. Classes will resume on Nov. 5th. There will be some courses that will not be available during relocation.

The new venue will be 1 minute by foot  from Nishioi Station on the JR Yokosuka or Shonan Shinjuku line. Both lines are only one stop away from the Yamanote Line.
We will be returning to our home in Meguro in Mid December, and resume classes after the New Years Holiday. 

Yesterday was the last day before we break for spring holiday. I have two graduation ceremonies to attend this week with a public holiday in between. I will be closed until April 9th when school starts with an exception of one class scheduled on March 28th. This will be an Ohanami Obento Class, as the Sakura blossoms along the Meguro River in front of my apartment will be in full bloom on that day. You can enjoy Ohanami (Sakura Gazing) along the river before you come to my class.
If anyone is interested in joining, please contact me through my contact form.

Ohanami Obento Class

• Date and Time: March 28th at 11 am. - 4 spots left.
• Menu : Yakitori (grilled chicken on skewers, Tamagoyaki (Egg Omelette), Three vegetable side dishes. Onigiri (rice balls)
• Class fee :7000 yen per person

Yesterday was my class before I break for one month. Simply Oishii Japanese Cooking Class and Wagashi School will resume business on Feb. 21st. Also, we will be closed during spring break (March 20 - Apr. 9th) Apologizes for any inconveniences caused. You can still email me for bookings for during my break. 

I look forward to resuming class with more hands-on fun activities for my mochi class.

For class dates, please go to my class calendar.

The sakura season which came a week early this year was an extremely busy period for me as my home sits in front of one of the most famous sakura gazing spots in Tokyo - the Meguro River. I'm not sure if people who book the class knew about it at the time of booking but I'm sure they enjoyed the special scenery when walking to class.

During this period, I welcomed a lovely couple from Malaysia who took the intensive home cooking course. This course is aimed at familiarizing yourself with the basic Japanese ingredients and learn the popular Japanese homestyle dishes in 5 classes.
The first day started with a tour in a local supermarket then went on to a introctory class to prepare Japanese rice and dashi( soup stock). We also made a couple of dishes using the dashi

After the introductory course, there are 4 other classes, Teriyaki class, Tofu Class, Miso Class and the last class can be chosen from all the courses I provide. Please see this page for more details on the Intensive Home Cooking Course. I have also added a new course, Intensive Japanese Cooking Course B for those chefs and restaurant owners who would like to learn Popular Japanese dishes in a cozy atmosphere and lower course fees compared to washoku schools.

Before the start of the new school year, I will be holding a special class for moms whose children are starting youchien this April. If you are new to making obento boxes and have no clue where to start, please join in.  This session is not only about cooking, but also the important factors that you need to keep in mind when making obento for small children (from my personal experience) 

Date & Time : March 23rd. (Fri.) : 10:30 - 12:30
Class fee : 2500 yen 
Min class size 2, Max class size 6.

Topics:

• Basic Rules for making an obento box (nutrition, presentation, taste etc)
• Food Hygiene and preventing food poisoning
• Selecting an obento box (size & material)
• Tips and useful tools for making obento for young children
• Guide to choosing safe food for children (additive free, chemical free food)
• Cooking demonstration on popular obento fillers  (Tamagoyaki, Karaage Chicken, etc. )
• Tasting session 

In addition to the one day wagashi course, I'm pleased to announced that I will be starting the wagashi diploma course in April, There will be two courses that you can choose from:

Nerikiri Art ® Certified Instructor Course
This course created by the Japan Saloneze Association (JSA) to promote the art of nerikiri  wagashi in Japan and overseas. It focuses on teaching you the various designs of the nerikiri art. Once you are certified, you are allowed to use the same textbook to hold a course yourself.  Every time you conduct this course, you will be paying a certain amount of commission to JSA. You will also need to purchase textbooks and materials (including nerikiri dough) from JSA which may be difficult in some countries due to custom regulations. Please check before you take the class. 
Details of  this course can be found here.

Nerikiri  Basic Course
This course is held by myself, and is mainly held for people who would like to learn the nerikiri art from the basics. This 3 day course will teach you how to make your own bean paste, make your own nerikiri dough and learn the  popular seasonal motifs (3 for each season). A certificate of completion will be issued at the end of the course. 
Details of this course including the curriculum can be found here 

Both courses will start from April 11th after my children go back to school. Please book at least 2 weeks in advance. 

For further details on the Nerikiri Wagashi Diploma courses, please contact me.  

In addition to the Nerikiri Art Instructor Course (NACIC), I'm going to start another course called the Nerikiri Master Course (NMC). 

The NACIC is a  12 hour course created by the Japan Saloneze Association (JSA) to promote the art of nerikiri  wagashi in Japan and overseas. It focuses on teaching you the various designs of the nerikiri art. Once you are certified by the JSA, you are allowed to use the same textbook to hold a course yourself.  In doing so, you will be paying a certain amount of commission to JSA every time you hold a class. You will also need to purchase textbooks and materials (including nerikiri dough) from JSA which may be difficult in some countries due to custom regulations. Please check before you take the class. Details of  this course can be found in the Saloneze Association Website. (Please choose language to translate) 

The NMC  is an original course designed by me for people who would like to learn the wagashi in more depth. This course will teach you how to make your own bean paste and nerikiri dough, learn the basic skills, tools, ingredients and acquire the techniques to make popular seasonal motifs. You will receive a certificate of completion upon finishing the class. This course is also made up of 6 classes which are  2.5 hours long (15 hours in total).

Details of each class will be published on my website very shortly.

Also, I've included a short version of the one-day wagashi course for those who don't have time to do the full course. Please see my new wagashi school page for this.

And in case you haven't noticed, I've made minor changes to my homepage and added the wagashi school in it.  Please let me know if you are interested in any of the courses.

Last week I was busy decluttering my boys' bedroom as I got rid of their bunkbeds and put in 2 loft beds so they can have a space of their own. The amount of toys and books and clothes that have accumulated since we moved here 9 years ago is overwhelming and I've been giving things away online. (We have a great website where you can sell or giveaway unused items). 
But there is just too many! So, I've put out a Mottainai Box on my front porch. Mottainai is a Japanese term which expresses regret in wasting things. Those of you attending my class are very welcome to rummage through the box and take home whatever you can reuse. It will release me from the guiltiness of throwing away things that can still be used.