Savor Japanese Umami: Dashi Tasting & Cooking Class (Tokyo)
Learn how to create deep umami flavors in your own cooking in this dashi tasting and cooking class in a professional kitchen in Omotesando.
Highlights
Learn what umami is and how to make it stand out in your cooking with a professional chef and cooking instructor in this hands-on class
Watch as your instructor prepares three different types of dashi stock, a key ingredient for umami, for you to taste and compare
Guided by your host, learn to make oyakodon (a fluffy chicken and egg rice bowl) with dashi and learn the key ways to unlock umami flavors when cooking
Experience cooking with real tools in a fully-equipped professional kitchen
Indulge in a delicious meal featuring the oyakodon you prepared, along with kombu tsukudani, boiled greens, miso soup, tea, and sake
10 meals
Experience Details
Have you ever found comfort in a warm, savory miso soup or indulged in the complex flavors of soy sauce-based ramen? If so, you've experienced "umami," a robust, deep flavor often likened to the richness of meat. A basic taste sensation (along with sweet, sour, bitter and salty), umami can be found extensively in Japanese cuisine, but do you know how to make it come alive in your own kitchen?
In this cooking class in Tokyo's Omotesando district, uncover the secrets of Japanese umami with a professional chef. Your host will introduce you to Japan's umami powerhouse: dashi. A stock made with kombu seaweed, dried bonito flakes, shiitake mushrooms, or anchovies, dashi is used in many Japanese dishes, from soups to stews. Your host, an expert in the field, will give you a solid overview of this ingredient and demonstrate how to make three kinds of dashi, which you'll get to taste and compare.
After the demonstration, you'll cook an umami-packed meal with guidance from your host, and enjoy your delicious meal with sake and Japanese tea. After this class, you'll have learned how to infuse umami into any dish using dashi.
Experience flow:
- Arrive at the experience venue and meet your host
- Watch a brief lecture on the five tastes and the concept of umami on a wide screen
- Your host will demonstrate how to make three types of dashi (ichiban-dashi, niban-dashi and kombu-dashi) using both thick and thin shavings of dried bonito
- Learn the basics of Japanese cuisine
- Prepare oyakodon (a fluffy chicken and egg rice bowl) with guidance from your host
- Enjoy your meal, which will include oyakodon, kombu tsukudani, boiled greens, miso soup, green tea and sake
Inclusions
Tools and ingredients to make dashi and oyakodon
A meal including oyakodon, kombu tsukudani, boiled green vegetables, miso soup, Japanese tea and sake
English language guidance
Cooking attire rental
Exclusions
Transportation to and from the experience venue
Meeting Point and Meeting Time
Go directly to the venue, located about a 9 min walk from Omotesando Station (A5 Exit). More detailed information and a Google Maps link will be provided upon booking. The meeting time will be 10:45. More detailed information and a Google Maps link will be provided upon booking.
Remarks
This experience cannot accommodate food allergies or dietary restrictions.
Children under 6 years of age can participate for free, but they will not be served any food.
Please arrive 15 minutes before the experience start time.
A private class can be arranged. Please inquire.
Cancellation Policy
Cancel your booking at least 24 hours before the experience start time to receive a full refund minus a 3.2% transaction fee.
Experience Location
Over 14 million residents call Tokyo home. Functioning as Japan's economic and cultural center, it's no surprise the metropolis often appears at the top of travelers' bucket lists. Here, you can find everything from traditional tea houses to futuristic skyscrapers.
The location is easy to access, and the classroom is spacious and filled with natural light, creating a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere. I also appreciated the thoughtful touch of providing ap...read more
Having deep knowledge about Japanese food itself especially knowing 5 tastes with emphasized Umami was very interesting. Comparing the taste of soup gave some idea about what kind of blank the ingr...read more
I thoroughly enjoyed the scientific aspect of the tour, particularly how they explained the different umami types and their presence in the dishes we prepared that day. The host's flexibility was i...read more
It was easy to find the location and convenient distance from bus stop. The class started on time and we got a nice little chef cloth for the duration of the cooking. There were a short introduct...read more
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10 meals
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