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 
.) 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
Blogging since 2004 and recently married to Mr Z. I can't live without coffee....and brown sugar.
We will be experienced chefs by the end of our culinary experience.
Hope so Noemi. Am dying to test the recipes in my own kitchen. I can’t roll rice with nori perfectly, but practice I hope will make it perfect in due time;)
2,500? That’s not a bad deal at all. And look at the meal you get with it too! You all look fab in your chefs outfits, bagay.
Thanks Christine. Yes I agree, not bad at all considering the classy surrounding, the quality of the teaching and most of all, the to-die for Yurakuen meal:)
Oh, how cool to make your own sushi… and get to eat it too.
And to learn how to do it from a master too… ma-enroll nga yung asawa ko… hehe!
Hi Toe. Honey should learn..if you both love Japanese food:)