Sushi means ‘vinegar rice’ & other lessons from a Japanese cooking class

Speaking of Japanese cooking….

thanks to my super-friend and mega-fab PR Amor Maclang, I was able to join a complimentary Japanese cooking class at the Diamond Hotel, one of her clients (now you know why I felt so privileged eating that wagyu..) Taking a cooking class has always been a fond dream, and Amor must have been reading right through me to think of including moi.

After laying out that nori and rolling the maki in a saran-wrapped bamboo mat, never will I eat my favorite Japanese food in the same way again. The class has highlighted my appreciation of the cuisine even more.

We were a class of ten women (and I sensed that blogger Jayvee must have felt the urge at one point to hide under the table, being the only male student :P.) Our teacher was Chef Junichi Sekiyama , who heads the kitchen at the Diamond’s own Yurakuen Resto, hands-down the best Japanese restaurant in Manila in terms of ambiance and taste.

Kind-looking Chef Junichi taught us all about choosing and filleting fresh fish as well as making the following recipes:

Miso soup
Nigiri Sushi
California Maki
Ebi Tempura (with tempura sauce)
Mixed Japanese Fried Rice

Address of Japanese groceries and the recipes I will b posting in my food blog soon

It’s not as hard as it looks! Though I have to admit that rolling and shaping the California maki in a bamboo mat was a lot harder than I thought.

The good thing about taking a class like this is that you get to know more about the history of the food and insider’s secrets on cooking and where to source the item or produce. It also pays to listen closely as not everything is written in the recipe hand-outs. I was surprised to learn that sushi was originally not from Japan but from China. It was just something that was improved and popularized by the Japanese.

This blogger recommends the Diamond Hotel cooking class not only because you get to learn from the masters, but the classroom itself is superb with masterfully-designed surroundings and flat-screen TVs on both ends of the room where the demo is broadcast live. For a fee of P2,500, participants get a chef’s hat, a Diamond Hotel apron, certificate of completion, complimentary snacks and lunch, 5% discount on jewelry at Jewelmer, maker of luxurious Philippine South Sea pearls plus a chance to be included in the raffle of a Jewelmer gift check worth P2,500.

What more, I get to eat my own maki and sushi.

This photo courtesy of my seatmate/eatmate Noemi Dado.

Tempura set meal at the Yurakuen after the cooking class….. simply the best! 🙂

Forthcoming cooking classes at the Diamond Hotel:
May 19 – Thai/Vietnamese cuisine by Chef Mel Taylo
May 26 – French Bistro Cooking by Chef Jean Pierre-Migne
June 2 – Traditional Cooking Class by Chef Junichi Sekiyama

Call 528-3000 now for details or email events@diamondhotel.com