Week Two: A student again - Japanese Language & Cooking
After finishing our first week of Japanese language classes, we are getting more comfortable interacting with locals - trying on clothes in fitting rooms, buying groceries at the supermarket, confirming train directions with station staff. This weekend has concluded on a high note with a half day cooking class learning how to make ramen broth and gyoza from scratch.
Useful (or Fun) Phrases Learned This Week:
|
English Phrase |
How to Say in Japanese |
Japanese Writing |
|
Can I pay by credit card? |
Kādo de ii desu ka. |
カードでいいですか。 |
|
I’m alright / This is fine. |
Daijōbu desu. |
大丈夫です。 |
|
Awesome / amazing / great |
Sugoi |
すごい 。 |
|
May I try this top on? |
Kono, kite mo ii desu ka. |
この、きてもいいですか。 |
|
May I try this bottom on? |
Kono, haite mo ii desu ka. |
この、はいてもいいですか。 |
Cooking Class: Ramen, Gyoza, and Pickles
Two of our classmates invited us to join them for a cooking class with Nariko’s Kitchen. Our first dish was to make Shoyu Ramen Broth from scratch using Nariko’s family recipe perfected by her mom! The broth is cooked for ideally 3 hours and includes: kelp, dried sardines, onion, leek, and chicken bones. All of the stock is strained out and we are left with a beautiful broth that we add soy sauce to. Voila!
The ramen noodles are separately cooked into hot water and then added to a bowl of the broth along with bamboo shoots, pork, soft-boiled egg, and crispy fresh leek. It was truly gorgeous and delicious!
We also learned to make Gyoza (dumplings). The easier and modern way these days is to either buy frozen gyoza or use pre-made dumpling skin and then add your own filling. For this class, we learned to make our own dumpling skin and filling completely from scratch. The hardest part was kneading the dough so it was as smooth as baby’s skin.
But it was worth it, we then made our pork filling and learned how to fold them up like experts. The secret to getting the crispy golden brown bottom is adding water mixed with plain flour into the pan and letting it slowly cook and evaporate. The final product was better than what we have seen in a restaurant (yes, pat on our own back).
And then finally, we also learned to make tsukemono (pickles). We were taught to cut the cucumbers ever so thinly (snake cut), salted them for nearly an hour to get out all the excess water, then do a mix of mirin, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and dried chilies. The end result is a crispy, slightly spicy and sweet preserved vegetable.
