Week 10 Term 2 – 25 May 2026

Why methods?

We teach techniques, not recipes – because techniques are the building blocks of great cooking.  All our chefs are either trade qualified or Le Cordon Bleu trained, and we teach the way we were taught – using a ‘see it, do it’ model.  This means that for most classes our chef instructors use ‘running demos’ where they show you the skill and then you copy it – with assistance from your instructor as needed.   And in our express classes you will cook at the same time as the chef, following their lead.   We will give you an ingredients list and a method for each class, but you do not have to use it.

Our chefs will explain patiently and walk you through each class.   And if your dish doesn’t work out, that is OK – we run most classes 3 or 4 times a week so you can always come and try again!  Failure is part of learning.

Use these methods below to practice at home.

Tuna onigiri with cucumber salad (sunomono) (v – egg onigiri)

Note:  you can make spicy tuna onigiri by adding about half a teaspoon of sriracha to the tuna mix.  Instead of tuna, you can poach  50g piece of salmon fillet in  a tablespoon of sake (covered), drain, flake and use in place of the tuna.

2 x 350ml container

Equipment

  • Cutting board stabilised with paper towel
  • Chef’s knife
  • Cooktop
  • Frypan
  • 2 Bowls
  • Fork
  • Paper towel
  • Small container/dariole mould
  • (v – bowl of iced water)

Ingredients

Tuna onigiri

  • 40g tinned tuna in olive oil (v – 2 eggs)
  • 1 tbsp kewpie mayo (v – omit)
  • ½ tsp soy sauce (v – omit)
  • 220g cooked short grain rice (chef to provide)
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2/3 sheet of nori (or green shiso)

Cucumber salad

  • ¼ continental cucumber
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • Fat pinch salt
  • ¼ tsp soy sauce
  • ½ tsp sesame seeds
  • Handful of podded edamame
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Prepare cucumber and dressing:
    a. Very finely slice cucumber (use side of a box grater or a mandolin if you have one.
    b. Mix with salt and leave to sit for 5 minutes.
    c. Mix dressing in a small container:
    i. 1 tbsp rice vinegar
    ii. 1 tsp sugar
    iii. Fat pinch salt
    iv. ¼ tsp soy sauce
    v. ½ tsp sesame seeds
  1. Make tuna filling (v – prepare eggs):

    a. Drain tuna (discard oil), place into bowl and break up into flakes.
    b. Add mayo and soy sauce and mix.
    c. (v – boil eggs for 6 min 30 sec – set a timer. Remove into iced water and leave for 10 minutes)
  2. Cut nori in half and lay in frypan, flipping to toast each side (you can also do this with a blowtorch or over your gas stovetop.
  3. Prepare rice:
    a. Cool rice a little – fluff and put in a bowl covered with a damp paper towel.
    b. Mix together the following, then add to rice:
    i. 1 tbsp rice vinegar
    ii. 2 tbsp sugar
    iii. ½ tsp salt
  1. Mould onigiri:
    a. Wet onigiri mould and sprinkle a pinch of salt into the mould.
    b. Fill halfway rice, pressing rice into the mould especially the corners.
    c. Add 2 tsp tuna filling (v – 1 egg) to centre.
    d. Add more rice to cover the filling and fill the mould to the top.
    e. Add a pinch more salt and a little white pepper to the top of the rice.
    f. Press down firmly.
    g. Flip mould and press release button on bottom.
    h. Repeat with remaining rice and filling
    i. Note – if you do not have an onigiri mould you can shape using your hands: Wet hands and add a sprinkle of salt.  Scoop ¼ of the rice into your hand and make a well.  Add 2 tsp tuna mix. Cover with ¼ of the remaining rice.  Shape hand holding r ice like a taco and use 2 fingers of your opposite hand to shape the rice into a triangle, flipping as required.
  2. Finish cucumber salad:
    a. Rinse liquid out of cucumber.
    b. Mix with edamame and dressing.
  3. Wrap onigiri with nori: just before serving, place onigiri in centre of nori strip and wrap from both sides, leaving a corner of the onigiri exposed.
  4. Plate (or into container).
  5. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

2 Courses – poached tomato in dashi broth and beef and vegetable rolls with rice (v – eggplant and vegetable rolls)

Sally learned to make a version these dishes on a trip to Japan in 2014.  She recommends Cooking Sun, which teaches a bento class covering dishes like these. 

  • 1 x 650ml container
  • 1 x 350ml container

Equipment

  • Cutting board with paper towel under it
  • Knife
  • Cooktop
  • Small saucepan
  • Frypan
  • Tongs

Ingredients

 Poached tomato in dashi broth

  • 1 ripe tomato
  • 4 tbsp dashi stock (chef to provide) (v – vegetarian dashi)
  • ½ tbsp soy sauce
  • ½ tbsp mirin
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar
  • Pinch of bonito flakes (katsuobushi) optional (v – torn or sliced seaweed laver)
  • 3-5 podded edamame beans

Beef rolls (v – eggplant rolls)

  • 100g sliced beef (v – ¼ large eggplant)
  • ½  carrot
  • 8 beans or asparagus stalks
  • 4 tsp mirin
  • 4 tsp soy sauce
  • 4 tsp cooking sake
  • 2 tsp white sugar
  • 1 tsp plain flour

Seasoned rice

  • 1 cup cooked sushi rice (chef to provide)
  • ½ tsp furikake
  • Pickled ginger
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Make poached tomato in dashi broth:
    • Bring slightly salted water to the boil in saucepan.
    • Cut a cross in the bottom of the tomato.
    • Drop into boiling water for 10 seconds.
    • Remove, cool slightly and peel off skin. (leave water on heat)
    • Put in a ziplock bag with the following and set aside:
      i. ½ tbsp soy sauce
      ii. ½ tbsp mirin
      iii. 1 tsp rice vinegar
  1. Make beef rolls (v – eggplant rolls):
    • Peel carrot and cut into 2 mm batons.
    • Peel asparagus and cut into 2 mm slices/slice beans 2 mm.
    • Boil in salted water for a few minutes until slightly soft. (v – thinly slice eggplant to get 2 large strips, and boil with other vegetables).
    • Line up asparagus and carrot on beef (v – eggplant), season and roll.
    • Roll into a little plain flour.
    • Fry over medium heat in frypan.
    • Add sake when the outside of the roll has some colour. Cover until cooked.
    • Add remaining ingredients to pan and stir to combine.
  2. Make seasoned rice:
    • Mix rice with furikake.
    • Top with pickled ginger.
  3. Plate (or into container):
    • Plate tomato and its broth in a bowl. Add a few podded edamame to broth.  Top poached tomato with bonito/laver if using.
    • Rice onto plate.
    • Cut rolls diagonally, place to side of rice.
  4. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

Sally learned to make a version of most of these dishes on a trip to Japan in 2026.  She recommends Cooking Sun, which teaches an izakaya class covering dishes like these.

3 x 350ml container

Equipment

  • Cutting board with paper towel under it
  • Knife
  • Cooktop
  • Small saucepan
  • Bowl

Ingredients

Karaage chicken (v – karaage cauliflower)

  • 100g chicken thigh (v – 120g cauliflower)
  • 1.5 tsp soy sauce
  • 1.5 tsp sake
  • 1 cm ginger
  • 3 tsp cornflour
  • About 2 cups neutral vegetable oil

Edamame salad

  • 30g edamame
  • 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp mirin
  • 1 tsp dashi broth (v – vegetarian dashi)
  • 15 g daikon
  • 1 seaweed laver or shiso leaf

Sesame carrot salad

  • 50g carrot
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 3 tsp mirin
  • Salt and pepper

Method 

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Marinate chicken (v – cauliflower) for karaage:
    a. Cut into bite sized pieces.
    b. Place in bowl with:
    i. 1.5 tsp soy sauce
    ii. 1.5 tsp sake
    iii. 1 cm ginger

    c. Marinate 20 mins.
  1. Make edamame salad:
    a. Combine in a bowl:
    i. 30g edamame
    ii. 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
    iii. 2 tsp soy sauce
    iv. 2 tsp mirin
    v. 1 tsp dashi broth (v – vegetarian dashi)
    vi. 15 g daikon (grate in)
    vii. 1 seaweed laver or shiso leaf (slice and add)
    b. Leave for 10 minutes for flavour to develop.
  1. Make sesame carrot salad:
    a. Julienne carrot
    b. Cook in 2 tsp sesame oil, until softened but retains a little resistance when bitten.
    c. Add soy sauce and mirin and reduce liquid.
    d. Add sesame seeds and mix.
    e. Rinse and dry saucepan.
  2. Cook karaage chicken (v – karaage cauliflower):
    a. Heat 4cm oil to 180C.
    b. Toss chicken (v – cauliflower) in cornflour.
    c. Deepfry until cooked through (v – until cauliflower is soft).
  3. Plate (or into container).
  4. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

Miso glazed salmon, seasoned rice, grilled shallots (v – miso glazed eggplant)

1 x 650ml container

Equipment

  • Cutting board stabilized with paper towel
  • Chef’s knife
  • Cooktop
  • Frypan
  • Small bowl x 2
  • Small container/dariole mould
  • Clingwrap
  • Foil lined baking tray

Ingredients

 Miso glazed salmon (v – miso glazed eggplant)

  • 1 tbsp white miso
  • 1 tbsp cooking sake
  • 1 tbsp mirin
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp neutral vegetable oil
  • 1 salmon fillet, about 130g (v – ¼ large eggplant or 1 Japanese eggplant)
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Grilled shallots

  • 2 shallots/green onions
  • 1 tbsp neutral vegetable oil

Seasoned rice

  • 1 cup cooked sushi rice (chef to provide)
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp furikake
  • Pickled ginger 
  • Salt and pepper

Method 

  1. Preheat grill to high or oven to 270C.
  2. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  3. Marinate salmon (v – prepare eggplant):
    a. (v – lower oven temp to 220C. Cut eggplant in half lengthways, score, add half the vegetable oil to the cut side and put face down on baking tray.  Cook for 15 minutes. When done, follow steps below.)
    b. Line small bowl with clingwrap.
    c. Place salmon on cling wrap
    d. Mix the following in dariole mould:
    i. 1 tbsp white miso
    ii. 1 tbsp cooking sake
    iii. 1 tbsp sugar
    iv. 1 tsp soy sauce
    v. Neutral vegetable oil

    e. Pour marinade over salmon (v – eggplant).
    f. Wrap and set aside in the fridge (this can be done up to 48 hours in advance)
  1. Char shallots:
    a. Cut off green tops 4cm past the end of the white part of the shallot.
    b. Slice green tops on the diagonal and set aside for garnish.
    c. Heat neutral vegetable oil in frypan.
    d. Cook shallots in the pan until brown and soft (ie until a knife goes through them with no resistance).
    e. Remove from pan and place on small ‘boat’ of foil (to go into oven later).
  2. Make seasoned rice:
    a. Cool rice a little – fluff and put in a bowl covered with a damp paper towel.
    b. Mix together the following, then add to rice:
    i. 1 tbsp rice vinegar
    ii. 2 tbsp sugar
    iii. ½ tsp salt

    c. Mix rice with furikake.
    d. Top with pickled ginger.
  1. Cook salmon (v – eggplant):
    a. Put on foil in a 270C oven or under a grill set to high.
    b. Cook until top is starting to char. This will take about 5 minutes.
    c. Add shallots to the side of the tray on a separate piece of foil for the last minute to reheat.
    d. Drizzle salmon with sesame oil.
  2. Plate (or into container):
    a. Rice
    b. Salmon (v – eggplant) and any sauce over.
    c. Sprinkle with chopped green shallots
    d. Charred shallots to the side.
  3. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

Intermediate French – Beef fillet in tarragon cream sauce, risotto and zucchini (v oyster mushrooms in tarragon cream sauce)

  • 1 x 650ml container
  • 1 x 350ml container

Equipment

  • Cooktop
  • Frypan large
  • Frypan small
  • Small bowl
  • Baking tray lined with baking paper
  • Foil

Ingredients

 Beef fillet in tarragon cream sauce

  •  150g beef fillet
  • Small handful woody herbs
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 20g butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tbsp white wine
  • 4 tbsp beef stock
  • ¼ bunch tarragon
  • 75ml cream
  • 1 tsp butter

 Risotto and zucchini

  • 1 zucchini
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 15g onion or shallot
  • 20g butter
  • 50g risotto rice
  • 30ml white wine
  • 175ml beef stock
  • 30ml cream
  • 20g parmesan cheese 
  • Salt and pepper

Method 

  1. Heat oven to 220C.
  2. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  3. Prepare vegetables:
    1. Finely dice onion.
    2. Diamond cut zucchini.
    3. Pick and chop tarragon.
  4. Cook zucchini:
    1. Toss zucchini in olive oil.
    2. Season
    3. Onto lined baking tray, bake 15 mins or until soft and edges are caramelised.
  5. Cook beef fillet:
    1. Fry in butter and olive oil with herbs and garlic, basting for about 3 minutes per side (longer for thicker fillets)
    2. Remove when internal temperature is 57 degrees for medium, 53 for medium rare, 62 for medium well.
    3. Rest under foil.
  6. Make risotto:
    1. In large frypan:
      1. Sweat onion in butter.
      2. Add rice and cook, stirring, until rice is translucent.
      3. Add stock gradually until absorbed.
      4. Add cream, grate over parmesan.
    2. Add cooked zucchini.
    3. Set aside, covered with foil.
  7. Prepare tarragon sauce:
    1. Degrease pan.
    2. Deglaze with white wine, reducing almost entirely.
    3. Add beef stock and reduce by half.
    4. Add cream.
    5. Reduce to coating consistency.
    6. Season, remove from heat.
    7. Reheat before service and add 1 tsp butter to monte.
  8. Plate (or into container):
    1. Slice beef fillet across grain.
    2. Rice down (should ‘wave’ when you knock the plate).
    3. Top with fillet.
    4. Top with sauce.
    5. Pick over herbs.
  9. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

Intermediate French – Stuffed chicken breast en papillote with greens and roasted potato

Equipment

  • Cutting board with paper towel under it
  • Chef’s knife
  • Boning knife or long petty knife
  • Cooktop
  • Saucepan
  • Frypan
  • Tongs
  • Spatula
  • Piping bag
  • 2 large sheets baking paper
  • Large baking tray
  • Small baking tray lined with baking paper

Ingredients

Stuffed chicken breast en papillote

  • 1 chicken breast, large (about 300g)
  • 1 egg white
  • 150ml cream
  • 10 pistachio nuts
  • Pinch nutmeg
  • 25g butter
  • 250ml chicken stock
  • 50ml white wine
  • 1 sprig tarragon
  • Handful chives
  • 1 shallot

Roasted potato

  • 250g floury potatoes such as Sebago
  • Pinch baking soda
  • Scant tbsp beef fat
  • Handful parsley

Greens

  • Handful green beans
  • 1 tsp butter
  • Salt and pepper

 Method

  1. Preheat oven to 200C.
  2. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  3. Roast potatoes:
    1. Peel and quarter potatoes.
    2. Cook in salted water for about 10 minutes until soft.
    3. Drain and toss in bowl with beef fat until outside is roughened.
    4. Season
    5. Roast on lined baking tray 20 minutes, flip, roast further 30 minutes.
    6. Top with parsley and toss again.
    7. Keep warm.
  4. Make mousseline to stuff chicken breast:
    1. Trim chicken to remove 50g of flesh (use tenderloin, if attached).
    2. Put trimmed flesh in food processor.
    3. Add eggwhite, a pinch of salt, 1 tbsp cream and pepper.
    4. Add pistachios and blend until pistachios are roughly chopped.
    5. Fold in cream.
    6. Season and add nutmeg.
    7. Check seasoning by poaching a teaspoon of mousseline in boiling water.
    8. Put in piping bag.
  5. Stuff chicken:
    1. Cut a pocket in chicken breast using boning knife or long petty knife.
    2. Cut piping bag about 3 cm from end.
    3. Pipe mousseline into chicken breast.
  6. Encase stuffed chicken in paper envelope:
    1. Lay down one sheet of baking paper.
    2. Add 1 chopped shallot and 2 sprigs tarragon.
    3. Place chicken breast in centre.
    4. Put second sheet of baking paper on top.
    5. Crimp and fold sides to start forming a pocket.
    6. When pocket is nearly formed, pour in half stock and half wine.
    7. Finish folding to seal.
    8. Place on baking tray.
  7. Cook chicken:
    1. Put in oven for 15 mins.
    2. Check temp at 15 mins (65C).
    3. Cook for a little longer if needed.
    4. Remove and slice.
  8. Prepare vegetables:
    1. Top and tail beans.
    2. Finely chop parsley
    3. Finely slice chives
  9. Blanch and refresh beans:
    1. Cook in boiling salted water.
    2. Drain and refresh.
    3. Leave in saucepan with 1 tsp butter and salt.
  10. Make sauce for chicken:
    1. Strain cooking liquid into frypan.
    2. Add chicken stock and reduce by 1/3.
    3. Add cream and reduce by half.
    4. Pass through a fine strainer into a clean pan.
  11. Monte beans.
  12. Plate (or into container):
    1. Roast potatoes down.
    2. Chicken sliced to side.
    3. Nappe chicken with sauce.
    4. Beans to side.
    5. Chopped herbs to garnish.
  13. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

Double Meal Prep

This class involves you preparing 2 meals to be finished on the oven or stovetop or reheated in the oven at home.  Please bring: 

  1. 1 x 350ml takeaway container for green beans (double if cooking 4 serves/meal)
  2. 1 x 650ml container for potatoes
  3. 1 x 650ml takeaway container for stock for curry (double if cooking 4 serves/meal)
  4. 1 x 650ml container for rice (double if cooking 4 serves/meal)
  5. 1 x 2l reheatable container with a lid for chicken (double if cooking 4 serves/meal)
  6. 1 x deep baking tray or casserole dish with a tightfitting lid for beef – small (2 litre capacity) if you are cooking 2 serves per meal, or medium (3-4 litre capacity) if you are cooking 4 serves per meal.

Otherwise, you can buy ‘containers’ packs on our website for a couple of dollars each. 

Slow cooked Japanese beef curry (v – tofu and sweet potato)

Equipment

  • Cutting board stabilized
  • Chef’s knife
  • Cooktop
  • Frypan
  • Spatula
  • Microplane
  • Cling wrap

Ingredients

  • 1 small onion
  • 10g butter
  • 1 tbsp neutral vegetable oil
  • 1 potato
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 cm ginger
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 250g chuck beef (v – 200g sweet potato, 200g tofu)
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 3 tbsp red wine
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 2 cups shortgrain rice (chef to provide)
  • 100g Japanese curry roux (eg S &B)
  • Salt and pepper

Method 

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Cook onion:
    a. Thinly slice onion.
    b. Heat half butter and half oil in frypan.
    c. Fry onions on low heat until softened. This will take about 15 minutes, so proceed with next step while onions are cooking.
    d. When done, grate in garlic and ginger and add tomato paste.
    e. Cook for about a minute then remove from pan.
  3. Prepare vegetables:
    a. Peel and cut potato into bite sized pieces.
    b. Peel and cut onion into bite sized pieces.
  4. Brown beef (v – tofu and sweet potato):
    a. Cut meat (v – tofu and sweet potato) into 3 cm cubes, season and coat with flour.
    b. Brown beef (v – tofu and sweet potato) in batches.
    c. Put red wine in pan and deglaze.
    d. Add onion back into pan with beef (v – tofu and sweet potato). Reduce liquid until gone.
  5. Put into casserole dish:
    a. Beef (v – tofu and sweet potato) and onions
    b. Carrots
    c. Potato
    d. Milk
    e. Honey
    f. Bay leaf
  6. Put stock into takehome container.
  7. Wrap curry roux in cling wrap to take home.
  8. Pack rice into takehome container.
  9. Cover beef with lid.
  10. Clean down.
  11. At home:
    a. Put beef into oven for 3 hours at 150C.
    b. When done, remove about a cup of the cooking liquid and stir in the roux. Return roux and liquid to the casserole dish and cook for a further 10 mins.
  12. Serve with rice. You can add some pickled ginger or pickled greens to the dish for balance.

Wine and mustard baked chicken (v – pumpkin and broccolini) with boiled potato and green beans

Equipment

  • Cutting board stabilized
  • Chef’s knife
  • Cooktop
  • Frypan
  • Saucepan

Ingredients

  • 400 g chicken pieces, skin on (v 500g butternut pumpkin, 1 bunch broccolini, 60g soft cheese)
  • 1 onion
  • 1 carrot
  • 150ml pouring cream
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 60ml (2 tbsp) dry white wine
  • 5 chives
  • 400g baby potatoes
    Handful parsley
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 2 handfuls green beans
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Prepare beans:
    a. Cook in hot salted water until tender.
    b. Put in ice to chill.
      i. Put in takehome container with 2 tsp butter.
  3. Prepare potatoes and carrots (v – and broccolini):  
    a. Boil potatoes and carrots in salty water until tender (about 20 mins). 
    b. Season.  
    c. Pack potatoes into takehome container.  Set carrots aside.
    d. Add chopped parsley and 1 tbsp butter to potatoes.
  4. Prepare chicken (v – pumpkin and broccolini): 
    a. Thickly slice half the onion. (v – also thinly slice pumpkin)
    b. Cut carrots into chunks.
    c. Put in roasting tray.
    d. Season.
    e. Add oil and seasoning to chicken (v – pumpkin)
    f. Place chicken (v – pumpkin) over onion.
    g. Salt skin.
    h. Roast at 200C for about 20 minutes until internal temp is 74C (v – until pumpkin is brown and soft.  Add cooked broccolini for the last 5 minutes).
  5. Make sauce
    a. Finely dice remaining onion.
    b. Saute in a little butter.
    c. When translucent, add white wine and reduce until wine has nearly evaporated.
    d. Add cream and mustard and season.
  6. Put sauce in takehome container.  Top with carrots and chicken (v – pumpkin and broccolini.  Sprinkle over soft cheese)).
  7. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.
  8. At home, reheat all components in pan/oven/microwave.
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