Let’s make 巻き寿司 (Makizushi), and Shabu-Shabu, a year-round popular Nabe/ hotpot dish, from scratch by shaving katsuobushi/ dried bonito. At the end of the Shabu-Shabu, we’ll enjoy Ramen with the remaining flavorful umami packed broth!
✼••┈ Shabu-Shabu ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈••✼
"Shabu Shabu is a popular Japanese hot pot dish, featuring thinly sliced meat, usually beef or pork, cooked by quickly swishing it in broth that vegetables, mushrooms and tofu are lightly simmered in.
Our shabu-shabu is so much more. The remaining broth has a rich umami flavor that is brought out of each ingredient. You can enjoy ramen with the umami packed soup.
■Katsuobushi shaving
Take a step back in time and shave Katsuobushi/ dried bonito to make authentic Japanese dashi from scratch. The flavor of freshly shaved flakes is absolutely different from packed flakes. You’ll have a unique and unforgettable experience.
■Dashi/ Japanese broth
Japanese broth known as “dashi”, is more than just a broth. It’s a symphony of umami and it’s used for countless dishes in Japanese cuisine. You’ll learn how to make the most popular dashi called 一番だし (Ichiban dashi) which is the combination of Kombu/ kelp and Katsuobushi.
■Nabe no Shime
鍋の〆 (Nabe no Shime) is the final course or way of enjoying the remaining soup and ingredients after finishing a hot pot meal. Rice or noodles are used to add to the pot. In our class, you can enjoy ramen with a flavorful soup and have a satisfying end to the meal.
鍋の〆 (Nabe no Shime) brings a satisfying end to our hot pot meal. It is common to use Udon noodles or rice, but we will be using Ramen to enjoy the flavorful soup that remains.
■Ingredients
・薄切り和牛 Thinly sliced wagyu beef
・薄切り豚肉 Thinly sliced pork
・葉物野菜 Leaf vegetables (白菜 hakusai / Chinese cabbage or lettuce. Depends on season)
・大根 Daikon radish
・人参 Carrot
・椎茸 Shitake mushroom
・エノキ Enoki mushroom
・豆腐 Cotton tofu
●Soup
・かつお節 Katsuobushi / Dried bonito
・こんぶ Kombu / Kelp
●Dipping sauce
・ポン酢 Ponzu
・ごまだれ/ Sesame sauce (白ごま White ・sesame seeds/ マヨネーズ Mayonnaise /砂糖 Sugar/ しょうゆ Soy sauce/ ごま油 ・Sesame oil /米酢 Rice vinegar)
●鍋の〆 Nabe no shime
・中華麺 Ramen noodles
・ねぎ Long onion
・ねぎ油 Onion flavored oil
・ごま油 Sesame oil
✼••┈ Makizushi/ Sushi rolls┈┈┈••✼
Today, the world is filled with a variety of 巻き寿司 (makizushi)/ Sushi rolls. Japanese households have been making this traditional food for generations. Once you master the proper way of making it, you can create your own style of Sushi roll.
■Ingredients
・海苔 Seaweed
・米 Japanese rice
・すし酢 Sushi vinegar (rice vinegar | sugar | salt)
・かんぴょう Simmered Kanpyo (Kanpyo | Soy sauce | Sugar)
・しいたけ Simmered Shiitake mushroom (Dried Shiitake mushroom | Dashi broth | Soy sauce)
・出汁巻き玉子 Japanese Rolled Omelette (Egg | Dashi broth | Sugar | Light color soy sauce | Salt)
・茹で海老 boiled shrimp
・きゅうり Cucumber
✼••┈ Ume sorbet ┈┈┈••✼
梅 Ume/ Japanese plum is deeply rooted in Japanese food culture. It’s harvested from the middle of May to July, and then used to make syrup, liquor and salty pickles called umeboshi. Today, I’m going to make dessert using the syrup. Enjoy the flavor of Japan in a cold sorbet.
■Ingredients
・Ume syrup
・Water
✼••┈ Others ┈┈┈••✼
Japanese Green tea
Senbei/ Rice crackers
Ramen is a noodle soup dish and perhaps one of the most popular Japanese dishes. There are many flavours of ramen, such as Shoyu (soy sauce) ramen, Miso ramen, Tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen and so on. Common toppings are Chashu (braised pork), Negi (green onion) and Nori (dried seaweed).
Udon (うどん) is a type of thick wheat flour noodle. It is similar to Italian pasta, but much thicker. It has been eaten all over Japan as an easy-to-eat popular meal, and a substitute meal for rice dishes. Udon is often served hot as a noodle soup in its simplest form, as "kake udon", in a mildly flavoured broth called kakejiru, which is made of dashi, soy sauce, and mirin. The flavor of broth and topping vary from region to region.
Rice is a staple food in Japan. In all most every family, there is a rice cooker. There is variety of Japanese rice brands such as Koshihikari and Hitomebore.
The astringent constituent in Japanese tea is a type of polyphenol called catechin. Japan has done a great deal with the humble tea leaf. For example some benefits of the catechin in the tea leaf can lower cholesterol in some cases. Roasted over charcoal at a high temperature and grown under shade for at least 20 days are one of the examples. The most popular Japanese tea might be ryokucha. Depending on the timing of picking the leaves, the grade, the price can be noticeably different.
In my class, you will:
- Uncover the secrets of umami flavor.
- Master the art of making flavorful broth with shaved bonito flakes.
- Learn to prepare perfect sushi rice.
- Create delicious sushi rolls like a pro
- Prepare and enjoy an authentic shabu-shabu experience.
Let's meet at Heiwadai station! It's a quick 7-8 minute walk to my place, and we can enjoy some fresh air and conversation on the way.
Once we arrive, feel free to make yourselves at home enjoying delicious Japanese tea and Senbei/ rice crackers while I provide a short introduction to the dishes we will make. Once our journey has ended I will send you all the slides and recipes.
Have fun transforming a rock hard block of smoked and fermented fish into delicate, flavor-packed flakes.
Tickle your tastebuds and sample authentic dashi broth as I present the secrets of umami.
Learn the techniques of sushi masters and uncover the art of the bamboo mat.
Cut, slice and arrange the freshest ingredients in a hands-on experience of guaranteed scrumptiousness!
Hotpots provide a moment in time to share great food with friends and loved ones. Let’s eat, chat and laugh!
I was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, where l raised two children. I hold a chef's license, am qualified food education instructor, dashi/Japanese broth specialist and Japanese tea advisor.
After culinary school, I worked as an instructor at a cooking school. I learned a lot during this time and cooking at home for my family further improved my cooking skills.
Occasionally, I hold cooking classes at my house for residents in the Tokyo area both Japanese and people from other countries.
I’m friendly and talkative. I enjoy eating, cooking, and I’m also very interested in the food culture of the world. When I visited foreign countries, I always found that visiting food markets was more interesting than visiting tourist attractions. I want to know what normal people normally eat at home and I wonder if someone has the same idea as me. That’s why I decided to start hosting cooking classes for international tourists.
I love seeing people smiling while eating. I would be extremely happy if I could make you smile with my food!
I look forward to cooking with you at my house.
The closest station
Heiwadai
How to get to the station?
From Ikebukuro station : 10mins
Free pick up service
This host can pick up you for free from the closest station!
Exact location provided after booking.
Ron, Canada
★★★★★We had a wonderful time! Not only did we learn a lot and make and eat delicious food, but Mika’s personality put everyone at ease and made us all feel welcome.
Nov 2023
Response from Mika
Thank you so much for the great review! You guys are so kind and fun. I really enjoyed cooking and eating with you and we laughed a lot in the class! I truly appreciate you all coming and I hope you come back again soon! Thank you!!!
Karen , Denmark
★★★★★We had a really great cooking class at Mikas house. She was so sweet and very helpful. We leaned a lot about traditional Japanese ingredients and how to cook them. At the end we had a very delicious meal with a great host. We would definitely recommend Mika to others.
Nov 2023
Response from Mika
Thank you so much Karen for coming. I appreciate your nice and kind review. It was a great time having such lovely guests like you guys!
Both you and Benjamin have amazing cooking skills. I was so impressed! Hopefully, I can cook with you again! Thanks again for spending time with us!
Cristina, Italy
★★★★★Amazing kitchen class Well explained and cooked Thanks a lot
Sep 2023
Response from Mika
Thank you so much for the kind words! It was an absolute pleasure to have you in my cooking class. I also appreciate you listening so intently to my explanation and how well you get along with another Japanese guest. I hope we'll have the chance to cook together again in the future. Arigatou gozaimashita.
Peter, Denmark
★★★★★The cooking experience was incredible and being invites to Mika's home made the experience feel extra authentic. We spent more than the allocated 3 hours of the cooking class, however at no extra charge which was super cool. If we are to visit Japan again we would definitely take another class with Mika's and we would encourage other travellers to do as well. All in all an incredible experience.
Jul 2023
Response from Mika
Hi, Peter. Thank you so much for coming. I appreciate you giving me such a nice review. It was a great experience for me and I had a lot of fun with the lovely couple. I'm glad you didn't mind that the lesson took a little longer than planned. I'm going to create different types of classes in the future. I would be extremely happy if you could come back to my house again. Thanks a lot for the amazing time! Mika
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Response from Mika
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Up to 4 people can join Mika's cooking class.
It costs 10000 per person.
Duration of this cooking class is 3 hours.
Please go to Heiwadai which takes 10 mins from Ikebukuro station . Then Mika (host) will pick you up there!
You will receive the confirmation within 24 hours.
We accepts these cards on airKitchen.
Cancellations up to 48 hours prior to the class begins will be fully refunded by the airKitchen cancellation policy.
