Experience
Kura Cooking in January 2026
The new year arrived, and a month passed very quickly.
My first task in January was preparing ingredients for miso making.
We divided 6 bags―65kg of soybeans into 1.15kg portions, adding three types of koji (the culture that ferments the beans) and salt to each. This year, we prepared portions for 37 people.
Preparations complete! It was a lot of work with so many portions, but imagining the students happily making their miso kept me going.
On the 5th, Nagoya TV’s “Dodesuka Plus” featured Kura Cooking.
The footage showed the guests having a great time making ramen, gyoza, and uiro. And Iwakura station was also featured, I thought I managed to promote Iwakura a little.
In January we had a lot of snowfall. I enjoyed the snowy garden scenery many times.
The welcome tea that every student loved was “Kabosu Honey” made from large Kyushu kabosu citrus. The balance of tartness and sweetness is exquisite—I thought I did good work.
The guests from Australia were girls aged 2, 6, and 8 with their parents. They said they loved Japanese gyoza very much, so they ate gyoza everyday in Japan. They skillfully kneaded, rolled out, and wrapped the dough. They also ate a lot of gyoza at Kura cooking. They looked happy to see snow again in Nagoya after skiing in Hakuba.
In Japanese cuisine class, after making miso, we made medicinal cuisine focused on nurturing the kidneys. Despite using very few seasonings, the dishes turned out delicious, allowing us to appreciate the natural flavors of the ingredients. The only seasonings were salted rice koji, soy milk yogurt, freshly squeezed yuzu juice, and white soy sauce. Everyone who participated said it was surprisingly delicious.
The menu was grilled yellowtail with ginger and leeks, steamed lotus root, carrot and black wood ear mushroom salad, roasted radish rice, vegetable soup, and miso uiro
In the afternoon tea class, we made black bean scones, roselle biscotti, roselle and cheese bread, smoked salmon (made by my husband), and apple vinegar prepared last autumn. We drank 2 kinds of tea with sweets.
All classes started with miso-making before regular cooking, so they began an hour earlier than usual. However, everyone arrived on time and worked hard making miso. It’s sure to turn into delicious miso.
We replaced the lighting in the tatami room where we always dine with guests from overseas. The string hanging down in the center occasionally hit guests’ heads, which bothered me. The new fixtures are very stylish, Japanese-style lights, they made the room feel more spacious.
This year’s Kura Cooking classes were also bustling with many students.
Kura Cooking is a cooking class that energizes you. Please come take a look!
The yellow robai (wintersweet) blossoms are now in full bloom. Soon, you’ll be able to enjoy the red and white ume blossoms.
