Modern Japanese Cooking Class

For our September Slow Food Waitakere event we had the pleasure of attending a modern Japanese cooking class hosted by Kazuyo at Pine Valley in Sliverdale (a beautiful setting). Spaces for this class were limited to 14 so they were filled really fast!

The menu was very varied and consisted of the following dishes:

• Filo dumplings
• Ceviche Sushi
• Mushroom mixed grain rice
• Seasonal salad with onion dressing
• Sun Pickles
• Grilled Tarakihi roll in a clear dashi soup.
• Panna Cotta with Yuzu sauce

The class was extremely informative and I learnt a lot about Japanese cooking and a few idea's about how I could sew this ornate culture of cooking into the thread of my every day meals to bring them alive with taste. 

One of the key dishes we learned about was Dashi Soup/Stock (below) which forms the basis for soups such as Miso and other dishes like the Grilled Tarakihi mentioned above. The Dashi stock is made with Katsuo flakes, but can be made vegetarian by omitting this ingredient.

My favourite dish was a desert that was so fantastic it felt like there was just not enough! The amazing Panna Cotta with Yuzu sauce. (right) The secret ingredient is Limoncello!

The desert is really easy to prepare and will definitely wow your guests!

I hope you enjoy these simple recipes put together by Kazuyo as much as I have enjoyed cooking (and eating them) and they inspire you to take that step into the unknown of new ingredients and tastes for which I am sure you will be richly rewarded.  

If you have any ideas for an event or experience you would like to enjoy, drop us a line with your idea's.


For any of the recipes mentioned above or my take on the class please visit my blog. Ciao Clint! <end>