Kikkoman's Oriental Journey Master Class

After attending Kikkoman Soy Sauce' first Oriental Cooking sesh at 25 Mushroom Kitchen, I make sure that we never run out of Japan's No. 1 soy sauce, Kikkoman, and its Teriyaki Sauce.

When you want authentic Japanese taste in your home, never settle for something less specially with how you season your dishes.  I want mine to be as natural as can be, so it's not harmful for my family's health.  I make sure that what I'm serving my husband and kids are top quality products made with passion and never compromising with tradition, after all, that's how we should savor life.

To recap on the aforementioned cooking session, together with other bloggers and influencers, we were able to make our own California Rolls, Sushi Rice, Kani Salad, Japanese Fried Rice, Chicken Teriyaki and Gyudon.

25 Mushrooms Kitchen chefs led by Chef Sari Jorge were so patient with us and she made certain we are able to follow instructions especially when handling knives and when we cook the dishes ourselves.

What happened next was filling Japanese lunches and dinners at home.

On my second journey to Japanese cooking, we were again taught how to make a sensational Japanese staple - sushi rice, but this time it was an assortment of Sushi such as Tiger Prawn Sushi, Salmon and Kani Sticks Sushi, Spicy tuna gunkan maki and Uni gunkan maki.
 

The Sushi Rice was like our ordinary steamed white rice except Japanese sushi vinegar is added to the cooked rice.

Though an elaborate preparation is needed to come up with a beautiful structured sushi, it is fun making it.  You can see the smile in the faces of the executive officers from Kikkoman as they were shaping their sushi rice with their own bare hands.  The rice were sticky, yes, but the trick is to dip your fingers in cold water as you shape each one.

Consistency is the key in making a couple, you have to make sure each sushi rice is the same in size and shape.

And my first ever Sushi creation!  Not a picture-perfect Tuna Gunkan Maki, but a truly delicious one!

My plate of sushi goodness! Oh and yes, I ate them all, no sharing with the family for once.

Next on the roster is the Katsudon.

 Did you know that Katsudon is a portmanteau of two famous Japanese dishes, tonkatsu (for pork cutlet) and donburi (for rice bowl dish), simply put it as pork cutlet on rice.

I thought making it was complicated, but I was proven wrong again.  Japanese dishes are simple to make, what really matters is the authentic clean flavor of Kikkoman to season the meat and the sauce.

The trick to achieving a soft and tender pork is by pounding the meat before it is marinated and cooked.

This reminded me to get one of those metal mallet so making my Chicken Teriyaki and Katsudon a breeze.

Mine still needed a few more elbow grease...#malletpamore.

Here are a couple of crisp-fried cutlets.

To make the sauce, All you need was to saute the leeks, onions and mushrooms over a pan, then the liquid seasoning were added.  Until the sauce reached a semi-glazed, light syrupy consistency, the tonkatsu is placed and simmered.

Lastly, an egg is dropped on it before topping on a bowl of rice.

Tadah! My bowl of Katsudon!  Truly perfect for a don to finish...

With my tummy already filled from grubbing while eating at this event (but not tired of the aroma of the classic brewed soy sauce) another tray was brought to our table, in time for making Beef Sukiyaki.

Sukiyaki is basically a one-pot dish, though this pot does not need rice to ea with, it has noodles instead.  The traditional Sukiyaki makes use of shirataki noodles, but we used sotanghon or vermicelli noodles.

It's as easy as fry, stir-fry and simmer kinda thing, dome in one pot, in Japan, a nabemono or a hot pot is used, in our case a pan, haha...

I tried my best to rack up something that shows Japanese artistry in their food.  Their plating should show the true colors of the elements of the dish as it should be as palatable as it is.

How did I do?

I'm sure after this you would want to try some of the dishes we learned at 25 Mushrooms Kitchen.

Next to this post is the recipe feature of Beef Sukiyaki as I recreated it at my own kitchen.

Before we went home, a surprise was given around.  We were served vanilla ice cream bowl laced with nothing else but Kikkoman Soy Sauce.

I was elated to know that by adding a drop of soy sauce to something sweet brings out its sweetness: the original flavor of any ingredient is enhanced by adding soy sauce.
So it was like eating something like salted caramel desserts.

Using the traditional Japanese process, honjozo, Kikkoman make what they consider naturally brewed soy sauce. The naturally brewed soy sauce is made using only four basic ingredients: soybeans, wheat, salt and water. Careful selection is required for these simple ingredients, as they directly influence the flavor and aroma of the soy sauce

Today, Kikkoman soy sauce is produced in highly automated plants using cutting-edge technology but what makes them above everyhting else is the core brewing process which has not changed for centuries.  This makes Kikkoman a well-rounded seasoning for different dishes, cooked or uncooked.