SPECIAL GUEST BLOG - Marika on Tsukiji Cooking School

Tsukiji Cooking School Experience by Marika

I have always been a fan of learning to cook when travelling to new countries, I just haven’t been organised enough in the past to make this desire a reality.  This trip I was determined to find a cooking school where I could learn to cook traditional Japanese cuisine.  I did some google research and found “Tsukiji Cooking” on TripAdvisor.  The reviews were positive, the location was near our accommodation and there was a class being held while I was in Tokyo!

We (Mel, Dave and I) arrived at the Tsukiji Fish Markets with plenty of time for me to find the class.  Finding the location was a wee bit tricky, but thanks to Mel and her GPS, we found the street (right next to the markets) and thanks to some helpful store holders (and using lots of non-verbal communication) I was directed to a building with a large fish design on the side.  I entered a very empty stairwell and walked up and up and up and up until there were no more levels and I was still no closer to finding a place that resembled a cooking school.  Finally I walked back down stairs to the level I thought the school was supposed to be on.  As I neared the level I came across a couple from Jordan who were also looking for the class.  Emboldened by numbers, I opened a door and fortunately found our classroom.  We were all half an hour early and the ladies at the school were still preparing.  Happy that I knew how to find the school, I left and promised to come back at 11:30am, when the class was supposed to start.

From Left to Right: Our translator, teacher and kitchen assistant

When I did return, I noticed that signs for the cooking school had been put up on the front of the building and on the unit door (oops, maybe I would have been better to not get there so early).  I was greeted by three friendly staff: our teacher; our translator; and kitchen assistant, introduced to my three other class mates and presented to the class as “Marika-san” :) 

I took my place at the table that was set up neatly with knives, chopping boards and an arrangement of meats and vegetables.  We didn’t sit for long before we were asked to come up and watch a demonstration of our first dish:  1) Miso soup (see picture below).  We started with dashi stock (a homemade stock made from Bonito flakes) and then mixed in a salty miso paste.  A new fact I learnt was that there is more than one type of miso paste.  The miso we used was a fermented soybean and rice paste.  The paste was very salty when we tasted it alone, but delicious in the stock. 

Dashi stock simmering on the hotplate

The second dish we watched being prepared was Spinach Gomaae Salad made by combining a dressing of ground sesames and other tasty sauces/seasonings mixed with blanched spinach (see picture below) (other vegetables such as beans, can also be used in place of the spinach). 

Spinach Gomae Salad

Our third dish was gyoza.  First we watched our teacher and then we got to have a go ourselves preparing the meat and vegetables for the dumplings and filling gyoza wrappers.  I will admit that my first attempt at making the gyoza dumpling, did not look that pretty.  But with detailed instructions and another practical demonstration of how to pleat the edges, from our very apt teacher, I was quite impressed with subsequent gyozas that I made :)  Our teachers was also very encouraging, so secretly I thought my next career move could be as an expert gyoza maker ;P 

Homemade gyoza about to be grilled and steamed

While we had the gyoza’s frying/steaming, we watched our teacher make chicken teriyaki…which is a combination of two words: ‘teri’ meaning glossy and ‘yaki’ meaning grilled or broiled (another interesting fact I learnt at the course).  And indeed the chicken did turn out to be very glossy and smelled so good. 

Teriyaki chicken (“Glossy grilled”)

By this stage it was close to 1pm and my stomach was telling me it was time to eat.  Our teachers served us our meals on black trays (see picture below).  I have to say, the presentation was simple but extremely well done-I was very impressed.  I hungrily finished my whole meal and I chatted with the other students.  There were also plenty of leftovers so I got a doggy bag of gyozas for Mel and Dave.

The fruit of the cooking class’ labour

At 1:30pm we were ready to leave on time.  Our teachers were very friendly, I  had expanded my cooking repertoire, got to meet some interesting people and ate a very tasty meal-what more could you want from a cooking class.  I would recommend this class if you are in the Tokyo area and want to learn how to cook home style Japanese food.  As for the difficulty finding the location, give yourself plenty of time……..and perhaps check your emails a day or so beforehand…….hmm hmmmm..when I got home, I realised I was sent detailed instructions on how to find the cooking school….arh, but it added to the adventure :)