INFORMATION

The Hiroshima Prefecture Japanese Culinary Technicians Association, which is part of the ``A Taste of HIROSHIMA Project (representative group)'', invites instructors to teach cooking techniques four times a year, with the aim of improving the skills and motivation of Japanese cuisine chefs in the prefecture. We hold "technical training sessions" (approximately 4 minutes) to provide guidance.

This time, the 9th time, it was held at the kitchen of "Garden and Japanese Restaurant Hanbee" in Minami Ward, Hiroshima City.The instructor was Michio Kitaoka, the owner of Japanese Restaurant Kitaoka.Mr. Kitaoka chose ``sea bass'' and ``conger eel'' from the seasonal ``Setouchi fish'' as theme ingredients, and demonstrated how to prepare several of them.

[Today's dishes] Grilled sea bass with miso, cucumber pickled in lees, parboiled sea bass, crispy cucumber, steamed boiled conger eel, and winter melon with bean paste

The training session was attended by 25 Japanese chefs from within the prefecture.Participants listened intently, taking notes and taking videos and photos.Also, since the distance between the participants and Mr. Kitaoka is close, there were times when the participants asked questions directly.Mr. Kitaoka listens carefully to each one and responds.The event proceeded in a peaceful atmosphere from beginning to end, with explanations sometimes accompanied by laughter.

During the main dish, ``Sea Bass Grilled with Tademiso,'' there were many scenes where Mr. Kitaoka explained the portion sizes and cooking process, as well as his thoughts on the dish, which you would not normally hear, making for a valuable time.In particular, I mentioned the merits of the old-fashioned manual method of grinding the tade. ``It's easier if you do it with a mixer, but once you do it by hand, you can tell the difference in taste.Customers are happier if you grind it by hand, even if it takes more time.'' It was impressive.The faces of the participants were serious, trying not to miss a word from Mr. Kitaoka.They also talked about how Tadashi goes well with sea bass, despite its strong spiciness, and how to present it well.

The scene that particularly impressed the participants was the scene in which the sea bass is grilled with salt (before it is coated).Salt-grilling river fish is said to be extremely difficult, and Kitaoka says, ``Salt-grilling means grilling the salt. It's not grilling the fish. If the salt is grilled, the fish is also grilled, so there's no need to worry.''He continued, ``Put vinegar and water in a sprayer and spray. This also has a synergistic effect that brings out the flavor.''While touching the grilled sea bass so that they could see it with their own eyes, participants were told, ``You might think it would be better to cook it a little more, but if you cook it any longer, the meat will become tough.'' All of them focused their eyes on Mr. Kitaoka's hand to see how well the sea bass was grilled.Many participants said, ``I've been overcooking until now.'' ``This is the first time I've ever heard of salt grilling, which means grilling salt.''

In addition, in the ``Steamed Boiled Conger Eel'', participants were amazed by the speed and beauty with which Mr. Kitaoka handled the conger eel.Many people shot videos at close range, with one saying, ``I took this so I could practice when I got back to the store.''There is also a scene in which Mr. Kitaoka shows us the thickness of the sauce with a spoon, saying, ``This is what it looks like when boiled down.'' ``You can tell whether it's been boiled down properly or not by the way it drips (from the spoon).It's good to add vinegar or tomato juice to the boiling process to remove the edges,'' he says of the secret ingredient. was also talked about.Instead of throwing away the belly of the conger eel, you can make it delicious by dipping it in potato starch and placing it in oil, and also mentioned ways to use leftover ingredients.

In between cooking sessions, he gave detailed advice for everyday cooking, saying, ``It's convenient to make and keep kelp soup stock that you can use to adjust the flavor.''
After cooking, a tasting session was held.All items were distributed to all participants.Another good thing is that you can review the cooking points for each item.Afterwards, the participants took some time to take individual photos and exchange information, but the event ended with an opportunity for the participants to interact with each other.

Once again, we asked several participants for their impressions.

Hanagokoro Yumena Kawano
“I was able to attend this course three months after joining the company, and it was a really good experience.In particular, I learned about salt-grilling fish, saying that ``salt-grilling'' meant that the salt was grilled, and up until now I had only thought of ``grilling fish.'' I learned a lot because I didn't have any leftover ingredients.I felt that ``Sea Bass Grilled with Tademiso'' had a deep flavor and brought out the best of the ingredients.I also learned a lot about how to use leftover ingredients. I did.”

Uoike Hiroki Fujii
“This is my third time participating in the course.I have learned a lot each time.This time I learned a lot of things that I didn't know, from how to grill fish to how I do it. It was so different and I was so surprised. I recorded a lot of video from start to finish, so I'm going to go back to the store and watch it again and practice a lot."

guntu (Setouchi Cruise) Yoshihiro Fujii
``I've been close friends with Mr. Kitaoka, but it's been a while since I last attended a class.So it felt very refreshing.``Tade miso'' was particularly impressive, and I was able to see the teacher's traditional techniques. Thanks to this opportunity, I learned something new, and I feel like I was able to accumulate new skills.I would definitely like to attend another study session if the schedule allows.”

We are planning to develop new menus at each store through this study session, so please look forward to it.In addition, the next study session is scheduled to be held with the theme of seasonal Setouchi fish in autumn.

Click here for restaurants where you can enjoy Japanese food made with local ingredients.

Additionally, until November 11th, we are running a campaign where you can eat Setouchi fish cuisine at participating stores and win wonderful prizes through a lottery.

Click here for more information about the EattripHIROSHIMA campaign