Join us for the December edition of the family-friendly online Japanese cooking class series おうちごはん！Ouchigohan! – Japanese Home Cooking and cook along with us from your own kitchen! On the menu this month is okonomiyaki, a crispy and fluffy savory pancake made from crunchy cabbage mixed with batter. “Okonomi” means “as you like it” and “yaki” means “grilled,” so you can pick and choose the fillings: keep it vegetarian with mushrooms or add shrimp, thinly sliced pork or bacon—however you like it! Learn how to make traditional okonomiyaki sauce to put on top, along with a drizzle of mayonnaise. Kids will love designing and decorating their very own special okonomiyaki! Then, a simple wakame soup rounds out the meal. Participants can cook their own dishes with step-by-step guidance from TABLE FOR TWO’s Debra Samuels. This month’s dishes can be prepared vegetarian and/or gluten-free.
This month’s program is hosted by Japan Society New York and joined by The Japan Society of Boston, The Japan-America Society of Georgia, Japan America Society of Houston, Japan America Society of Colorado, Japan-America Society of Indiana, The Japan-America Society of Washington DC and Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia. Step-by-step cooking instruction and demonstrations are provided by TABLE FOR TWO USA, which leads the innovative series “Wa-Shokuiku 和食育: Learn. Cook. Eat Japanese!,” dedicated to making simple, healthy, homestyle Japanese food to enjoy with friends and family.
Members of other Japan/Japan America Societies—please enter your society’s discount code at checkout for member pricing. Advance ticket purchase required. One registration per family. The recipe card with ingredient list and Zoom link will be provided a few days before the event. Recommended for children ages 5-10 and their caregivers. Adult supervision required.
$10 JASH Members / $15 Non-members. JASH members use code "Houston" to register.
About the Instructor:
Debra Samuels leads the program content and curriculum development of TABLE FOR TWO USA’s Japanese inspired food education program, “Wa- Shokuiku -Learn. Cook. Eat Japanese!”.
She was a food writer and contributor to the Food Section of The Boston Globe and has authored two cookbooks: “My Japanese Table,” and “The Korean Table.” She curated the exhibit, “Obento and Built Space: Japanese Boxed Lunch and Architecture,” at the Boston Architectural College (2015) and co-curated “Objects of Use and Beauty: Design and Craft in Japanese Culinary Tools,” at the Fuller Craft Museum (2018). Debra also worked as a program coordinator and an exhibition developer at the Japanese department of the Boston Children's Museum (1992-2000).
Debra has lived in Japan, all together, for 12 years and specializes in Japanese cuisine. She travels around the country and abroad teaching hands on workshops on obento, the Japanese lunchbox. During Covid 19 she is teaching live online cooking programs to youth and adults.
This program is made possible by:
Program Note: Photographs may be taken during the event for the records of the program host and for use in public media outlets. Registering for the event generally signifies acknowledgment that your likeness may be used in these ways.