Cookery class 2010

Friday night at The Grocery in Bethnal Green preparing Bento Boxes. Bliss! Under master chef Atsuko's watchful eye, ten Year 13 students studying A level Japanese took over the stylish cafe (all chrome, wood and open brick walls) and prepared Gohan (Japanese sticky rice), Teriyaki chicken, Tamaga Yaki (egg roll) and Goma ae (green beans and sesame sauce), in order to pack their own bento (lunch) boxes.

Listening respectfully to her careful instructions, they learnt about seasonings, soy sauce, sake and square frying pans. Grinding the sesame seeds into a paste takes ages! Did you know that there were different kinds of sesame seeds? Or why you use dark or light soy sauce? Or that it's best to ignore the instructions on rice packs? Never again will they slosh water casually into large pans, boil random amounts of rice and strain it. There is clearly a whole new way of thinking to be embraced.

Clever tips? If you want a decorative brown stripe on the chopped leeks, balance them on their sides and use chopsticks to turn each chunk as you fry until it appears. How to make egg roll? The square frying pan makes it relatively easy to roll up an 'omelette' mixture, and the clever bit is sticking the second to the first, the third to the second and so on until the finished roll has several delicate layers. A bit of a mystery until you know how. We were impressed with the paper towel soaked in sunflower oil technique to prepare the pan for frying!

The girls made teriyaki sauce with shoyu, sake , mirin and brown sugar and added it to cooked diced chicken and leeks for the main course. The sticky rice was turned out from perfect moulds, with a sprinkling of spice on top for added zing. There were slices of egg roll and green beans coated with sesame paste, all packed in the different sections of the bento box to keep the individual flavours separate. They settled to enjoy the feast with the pleasure of knowing they'd made it themselves and it was excellent! A treat and a great team effort. Thank you to Mr Okura who had the vision to arrange the evening, and to the wonderful Atsuko and assistant Masami.

Click here for the recipe: Teriyaki chicken