kamekichi cooking class (ramen kamekichi)

I'm a confessed Asian fanatic. I dig anything Asian not only because primarily I'm an Asian myself but also because I find Asian culture so colorful and lively. In fact, if I were to choose between a European cruise or an Asian cruise, I'd go for the latter even if the former's more expensive and more popular. From the songs i listen to and my clothing preference, even to my taste buds, they're mainly Asian.

In fact, my friends and I frequent Korean and Thai restaurants. I just love the way Asian dishes are prepared. So when i ran across a friend's photo on Facebook, a photo of him attending a Japanese cooking class, i was right away captured. I checked the profile from which the photos were uploaded and it was then that I discovered the Kamekichi cooking class.

Maybe, because of my impulsive character and also because of my interest in Asian culture, I right away enrolled to their class --- at that time, it was already their 8th class.  I tagged along my brother because he's also a foodie and it would also help him in his future profession as he is majoring in Hotel and Restaurant Management.

I learned a lot from the first class that i attended that i decided to join their classes regularly. Early this month, they announced their 9th class which happened to be Chicken Teriyaki!!! Among the Japanese dishes I've tasted, this one's my favorite. Though it's a little pricey, per class will cost you P500, i didn't think twice and registered for the class and still included my brother with me. Good thing they had this mini contest on Facebook which helped me save half of the cost. My entry got chosen as the best answer and so i got a free pass for the class!! hahaha.. Thank you Kamekichi!!

The pictures below perfectly describe my whole experience in the 9th Kamekichi Cooking Class.

This is how you chop the onions ~ make sure your fingers are flexed and the joints touched the knife's surface to avoid cutting your fingers

Then prepare the teriyaki sauce..haha.. to learn more about the complete ingredients, attend the class!! it's fun.. trust me..

Then prepare the chicken... There's an excess meat from the chicken's breast part , called the sasami,  which can be used as a side dish ~~Banbanji chicken , boil it in water for 3 mins and refrigerate

Slightly slice the meat in a crisscross manner (just like how you slice a ripe mango) to allow the flavor to seep in easily in to the meat

then dab the meat with cornstarch

now, you're ready to fry the chicken ~~ make sure the pan's 180 degrees hot before frying (^~^)

Make sure the heat's evenly distributed by lifting the pan up and swirling it gently... then add the special ingredient and cover the pan immediately after adding that special ingredient

make sure that the "special ingredient" has completely seeped in to the meat before putting the fire off. Then wipe away the excess oil and grease.

now you're ready to add your special teriyaki sauce! constantly mix the meat and the sauce to avoid overcooking and to ensure that the sauce is evenly distributed

once cooked, remove meat from the pan and slice into strips (approx. an inch thick)

then add rice... now you're ready to eat!!!

you might be wondering about the excess breast meat... after refrigerating the meat, tear it into strips, following the meat's grain and add teriyaki sauce and vinegar ~~~~ now you have your banbanji chicken as a side dish

to prove that we've completed the course, Kameyama-sensei gave us our certificates!!!

To learn more about the program, please visit their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/kamekichi.cooking . The class is usually held once a month, specifically on a Sunday, at Ramen Kamekichi (F. Cabahug St., Mabolo, Cebu City http://www.cebunihongo.com/2011/08/02/google-maps-kamekichi-cooking-classes-kamekichi-ramen-mabolo-cebu/)