How’s your summer so far? I will be on Ms. Deborah Moore’s radio show on AM 1470 Fairchild Radio this morning at 10:30am Sharp! Below is the outline for today’s segment; content is subject to change according to Ms. Moore and flow of program; I look forward to chatting with her about food and everything else (OO)  Thank you for tuning in!

TKC Gourmet Kitchen: Three weeks ago I had my first formal Japanese cooking lesson (I’ve always learnt  through cookbooks, my Japanese friends or my Mother-in-law)! Our instructor, Mr. Hasegawa taught us how to make a teriyaki sauce which we can use as a base and transform into different dishes:  Chicken Teriyaki, Sukiyaki, Saba Nitsuke, Japanese style Roast Beef.  Have you ever had vanilla ice cream with teriyaki sauce? It was absolutely delish! Hasegawa-sensei, thank you very much, I had the best time!  Look forward to joining another class in the near future! It was a very educational 2 hour demonstration class followed by sampling of the dishes at Guu Otokomae (in Gastown, Vancouver, BC).  English and Japanese classes are available, check their Page on Facebook for schedule.  

Here’s the basic recipe for teriyaki sauce, courtesy of Mr. Hasegawa, TKC Gourmet Kitchen:

Soy sauce 400 ml + 100 ml (add in the end as finishing touch)

Sake 500 ml (Drinking sake, for example Gekkeikan)

Mirin 500 ml

Sugar 150 g (you can adjust the amount to adjust the level of sweetness)

Water 200 ml

Garlic 2 cloves (thinly sliced)

Ginger 5 grams (thinly sliced)

Onion (about 200 g, half or one small onion), skin on)

green onion (1 bunch – green part only)

Carrot (about 50 g, half piece)

Kelp (about 5 g)

– In medium size pot,  rehydrate kelp in 200 ml of water at least for 10 minutes

– Add all the ingredients (except 100 ml of soy sauce) into the pot

– Using high heat, bring sauce to a boil

– Reduce heat to low setting (make sure there’s no “bubbling” action) and cook sauce for another 30 minutes

– Add remaining 100 ml soy sauce to finish the sauce, turn off heat

– Strain the sauce, let it cool down completely before storing in refrigerator (*store in clean glass container up to 1 month)

Father’s Day Dinner: Fresh Seafood from Seafood City, Granville Island – Vancouver, BC Last weekend I had the best time shopping at the Trout Lake Farmer’s Market and Granville Island, searching for ingredients and new ideas for Father’s Day Dinner.  I went to Seafood City to buy the mackerel to prepare the “Saba Nitsuke” dish which I learned earlier from Hasegawa-sensei at #TKC Gourmet Kitchen.  While I was standing in front of the counter waiting for my mackerel, these beauties “stared” at me.. I simply could not resist but purchase one of them and got the most helpful cooking tips from one of their staff, William (a million thanks!).  Service is always great as they are all very passionate about food: http://www.seafoodcitygi.com 

Using the basic teriyaki sauce, I prepared the “Saba Nitsuke”, a traditional Japanese fish dish, stewed in ginger and sauce;  will be posting the recipe shortly!

And here’s a picture of our family dinner: I’ve also prepared my duck breast dish; I changed things up a bit with the saucing (check out my recipe published in September 2014); eggplant “pickled” in shiso plum dressing, Asian green salad with simple lemon olive oil dressing, mixed rice (Japanese/brown/Black Gaba) and the beautiful tender broiled bream fish.  Recipes coming soon! Got room for ice cream? Check out Rain or Shine, new location on Cambie (Original location on West 4th near Burrard) http://www.rainorshineicecream.com Anytime for good reads? Marie Kondo: The life changing magic of tidying up The enlightened kitchen: Vegetarian dishes Harumi Kurihara’s cookbook: Chinese version

http://www.tidyingup.com

http://www.yutori.co.jp/en/about_harumi/

Two weeks ago,  my #Ask of Luigi #brunch photo entry won the picture of the week!  I’ve won a $25.00 gift certificate from Ask for Luigi restaurant in Railtown; it’s fun to participate in these interactive contests through Instagram:

 I love Vancouver! Lots of events this summer and I will be back as market host at the Trout Lake market next month.

http://www.foodcartfest.com

http://www.carfreevancouver.org

http://www.italianculturalcentre.ca

http://www.eatlocal.org

http://www.greekday.com