Week 5 Term 1 – 9 June 2025

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.

Equipment

  • Cooktop
  • Frypan
  • Cutting board with paper towel
  • Chef’s knife
  • Large bowl
  • Tongs and fork
  • Small container for dressing
  • Piece of foil, about 15cm x 15cm

Ingredients

  • 100g steak, at room temperature (v – 120g firm tofu (pressed if possible), 1 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp garlic powder and a tablespoon of cornstarch)
  • 10ml (2 tsp) vegetable oil
  • 1 large handful salad mix (about 40g)
  • ½ Lebanese cucumber
  • 6 cherry tomatoes
  • ¼ avocado
  • ½ golden shallot
  • ½ lemon
  • 2 tbsp (40ml) soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp (20ml) vegetable oil
  • ½ tsp (2.5ml) sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp (20 ml) mirin
  • 10 g (1/2 tbsp) white sugar
  • 3 tsp (15ml) rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp (3g) white sesame seeds
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Tie back long hair, wash hands and wear an apron. Stabilise your cutting board using damp paper towel.  Gather your ingredients and equipment.
  2. Season the steak with salt and pepper (v – cut tofu into cubes, drizzle with soy sauce and mix, season cornstarch generously, add garlic powder, toss tofu in cornstarch).
  3. Prepare the salad in a bowl:
    1. Finely slice radish
    2. Dice or finely slice avocado
    3. Deseed (if you wish) and finely slice cucumber
    4. Add salad mix and tomatoes. Do not toss.
    5. Very finely chop (mince) the onion and put in small container for the dressing.
  4. Cook the steak (v – tofu):
    1. Heat frypan on high heat, when hot add 1 tbsp vegetable oil.
    2. Sear steak for about 3 minutes on both sides to medium rare (53c). Remove to cutting board to rest. (v – fry tofu in a single layer.  Let a golden crust form on each side for a few minutes before turning.  A fork may be the easiest way to flip the tofu).
    3. Rest the steak on the cutting board under some foil. Leave the tofu in the pan covered with foil with the heat off to keep it warm.
    4. While the steak rests, make the dressing.
  5. Make the dressing:
    1. Add to the shallot the soy sauce, 1 tbsp oil, miring, sugar and rice vinegar.
    2. Squeeze in lemon juice and sesame seeds and whisk together.
  6. Cut the steak into slices.
  7. Plate the salad by placing onto plate/into storage container, placing steak (v – tofu) on top.
  8. Clean down, and run equipment through the dishwasher (leave steak, salad and dressing). Wipe and put cooktop and all other equipment away.  Scrape, clean, squeegee and sanitise bench. Quickly sweep your area.
  9. Pour the dressing over the steak, or if taking the salad home you can keep the dressing separate in a lidded container.
  10. Run dressing container through dishwasher and put away.
  11. Enjoy your food. (If eating in the dining area, please sweep up after yourself and wash and put away your dishes/cutlery/glassware).

Equipment

  • Cutting board with paper towel
  • Spoon
  • Vegetable peeler
  • Medium bowl
  • Tongs
  • Small container with lid for dressing

Ingredients

  • ½ small head of soft lettuce (eg oak or butter)
  • ½ Lebanese cucumber
  • 30g parmesan or other hard cheese
  • 1 tbsp (about 10g) toasted slivered almonds
  • ¼ avocado, thinly sliced
  • ¼ lemon
  • ½ small garlic clove
  • ½ tsp seeded or Dijon mustard
  • ¼ tsp honey/maple syrup/agave syrup
  • 30 ml (1 ½ tbsp) extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
  • Pinch thyme
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Tie back long hair, wash hands and wear an apron. Stabilise your cutting board using damp paper towel.  Gather your ingredients and equipment.
  2. Finely mince garlic.
  3. Make salad dressing by putting the following into a lidded container and shaking it:
    1. Garlic
    2. Mustard
    3. Honey
    4. EVOO
    5. Juice from lemon
    6. Thyme
    7. Salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Make salad:
    1. Pull apart lettuce, wash, dry, and put in bowl.
    2. Deseed cucumber with a spoon and slice. Add to bowl.
    3. Shave cheese with the vegetable peeler and add.
    4. Slice or dice avocado and add.
    5. Add almonds.
  5. Clean down, and run equipment through the dishwasher (leave salad bowl and dressing) and put away. Quickly sweep your area.
  6. Just before serving, pour dressing over salad and toss.
  7. Run all remaining equipment through dishwasher and scrape, clean, squeegee and sanitise bench. Put remaining equipment away.
  8. Enjoy your food! (If eating in the dining area, please sweep up after yourself and wash and put away your dishes/cutlery/glassware).

Notes

Add a protein (the poached chicken from the Term 1 Week 1 Chopped Chicken Salad is good, or the Grilled steak from the Beef Salad with Shoyu dressing from Term 1 Week 3 would be lovely too).

If you don’t have toasted slivered almonds, you can use any nut or seed by heating gently in a frypan without oil until they smell toasty.

The dressing will keep for up to a week in the fridge (let it come to room temp before using, as the olive oil will be hard at fridge temp), and is also good as a dressing for roasted vegies or mixed through cooked grains or beans (add fresh chopped herbs if you wish).

Equipment

  • Cooktop
  • Small frypan with a lid
  • Cutting board with paper towel
  • Chef’s knife
  • Large spoon for stirring and skimming

Ingredients

  • ¼ onion
  • 1 spring onion/scallion
  • 120g thin pieces of steak, a little bit frozen (10 minutes in the freezer should do it)
  • 3 tbsp dashi granules
  • 1 tbsp sake
  • 1 tbsp mirin
  • 1 ½ tbs soy sauce
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 cup cooked Japanese rice (sushi rice/uruchi-mai) – chef to cook
  • 10g pickled red ginger

Method

  1. Tie back long hair, wash hands and wear an apron. Stabilise your cutting board using damp paper towel.  Gather your ingredients and equipment.
  2. Prepare your vegies:
    1. Slice onion.
    2. Slice spring onion on the diagonal (cut off stem, pull off ends of green part).
  3. Cut meat into slices about 5cm wide.
  4. Into cold wok/frypan, add:
    1. Dashi
    2. Sake
    3. Mirin
    4. Soy sauce
    5. Half the sugar.
  5. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
  6. Add onions and spread over bottom of pan.
  7. Add meat and spread over onions.
  8. Cover with a lid. Heat to medium and cook for about 4 minutes until meat is brown.
  9. Use a spoon to skim off any scum.
  10. Sprinkle with sliced spring onions.
  11. Put rice in serving bowl/storage container.
  12. Top with beef and onion mix and drizzle over any extra sauce.
  13. Top with picked red ginger. Cover with a teatowel while you clean down.
  14. Clean down, and run all equipment through the dishwasher. Wipe and put cooktop and all  equipment away.  Scrape, clean, squeegee and sanitise bench.  Quickly sweep your area.
  15. Enjoy your food! (If eating in the dining area, please sweep up after yourself and wash and put away your dishes/cutlery/glassware).

Equipment

  • Cooktop
  • Wok
  • Medium bowl
  • Small bowl
  • Large spoon for wok tossing
  • Cutting board with paper towel
  • Chef’s knife
  • Strainer/colander
  • Teaspoon
  • Paper towel

Ingredients

  • 120g (about 2 small) bok choy
  • 80g beef (flank or minute steaks)
  • Steamed white rice – chef to prepare
  • ½ carrot
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2cm piece ginger
  • 1 small stalk spring onion/scallion
  • 2 tsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce
  • ¼ tsp dark soy sauce
  • 3 tsp Chinese rice wine
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 tsp oil plus 1 tbsp oil
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • Pinch white pepper
  • 3 tsp cornstarch
  • 2 tbsp water
  • ¼ tsp sesame oil
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Tie back long hair, wash hands and wear an apron. Stabilise your cutting board using damp paper towel.  Gather your ingredients and equipment.
  2. Quarter bok choy. Rinse bok choy and drain standing up in colander.
  3. Prepare vegies:
    1. Peel ginger with a teaspoon and cut into very thin slices.
    2. Peel and cut carrots into 1 cm slices.
    3. Slice the whites of the spring onions in half.
    4. Slice the green tops of the spring onions on the diagonal.
    5. Mince garlic.
  4. Prepare beef:
    1. Slice against the grain to get ½ cm strips.
    2. Put in medium bowl and add:
      1. 2 tsp oyster sauce
      2. 1 tsp light soy sauce
  • ¼ tsp dark soy sauce
  1. 1 tsp Chinese rice wine
  2. 1 tsp sugar
  3. Pinch white pepper
  • 2 tsp oil
  1. Mix vigorously.
  1. Prepare thickening agent for sauce (‘slurry’): combine 2 tsp cornstarch and 2 tbsp water in small bowl.
  2. Heat wok to smoking, then lower heat to medium.
  3. Stirfry bok choy, moving it around the wok.
  4. Add half garlic and stirfry.
  5. Add remaining Chinese rice wine and stirfry for about 20 seconds, then add 2 tbsp water (you want some moisture in the bottom of the pan, so add extra water if needed).
  6. Reduce heat to low, cover and steam for about 30 seconds.
  7. Uncover, add salt, stir to combine. Put in bowl you used to rinse bok choy and set aside.  Wipe our your wok.
  8. Increase heat to high and add remaining 1 tbsp oil. Heat until smoking then lower heat and add:
    1. Ginger
    2. Carrots
    3. White part of spring onion
    4. Remaining garlic
  9. Stir fry for 1 minute then on medium heat add the marinated beef using tongs (leave the sauce in the bowl). Spread the meat out around the sides of the wok.  Cook about 1 minute until meat is starting to brown.
  10. Lower the heat and pour in the rest of the sauce from the bowl and stir fry to combine. If the sauce is too runny, add some cornflour slurry bit by bit. 
  11. Turn off heat.
    Clean down, and run equipment through the dishwasher (leave cooktop, wok, bok choy and sesame oil).  Wipe and put all other equipment away.  Do a quick wipe over of the bench.  Quickly sweep your area.
  12. Turn heat back on, add bok choy and stir fry to heat. Add sesame oil.
  13. Plate your meal/place into storage container with rice.
  14. Run all remaining equipment through dishwasher, wipe and put cooktop away,  and scrape, clean, squeegee and sanitise bench.  Put remaining equipment away.
  15. Enjoy dinner! (If eating in the dining area, please sweep up after yourself and wash and put away your dishes/cutlery/glassware).

This recipe makes extra yakisoba sauce for you to take home.

Equipment

  • Cooktop
  • Wok
  • Medium bowl
  • Large spoon for wok tossing
  • Fork
  • Cutting board with paper towel
  • Chef’s knife
  • Piece of foil large enough to cover wok
  • Small container with a lid to take home yakisoba sauce

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp (60ml) Worcestershire sauce (v – vegetarian Worcestershire sauce eg Woolworths essentials brand)
  • 2 tsp oyster sauce (v – use Lee Kum Kee Vegetarian Stir-Fry Sauce or Megachef mushroom sauce for shellfish allergies or vegetarian)
  • 2 tsp tomato ketchup
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sugar (plus more, to taste)
  • 100g sliced pork belly, slightly frozen (v – 125g mixed mushrooms
  • ¼ onion
  • ½ small carrot
  • About 1/8th wombok/green cabbage
  • 1 spring onion/scallion
  • 1 shitaake mushroom
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 90g soba noodles (about half a UHT pack)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Seaweed laver to serve (half a pack)

Method

  1. Tie back long hair, wash hands and wear an apron. Stabilise your cutting board using damp paper towel.  Gather your ingredients and equipment.
  2. Make the yakisoba sauce – In a lidded container, combine the following and taste, adding more sugar if necessary:
    1. 3 tbsp (60ml) Worcestershire sauce
    2. 2 tsp oyster sauce
    3. 2 tsp tomato ketchup
    4. 1 tsp soy sauce
    5. 1 tsp sugar
  3. Prepare vegetables:
    1. Cut carrot into 2mm slices, then cut lengthways into 2mm x 2 mm strips (julienne) (or use a julienne peeler/grater if you have one)
    2. Cut cabbage into 2 cm slices, then cut across into bite sized pieces.
    3. Cut mushrooms into 5mm slices
    4. Cut the spring onion/scallion into 5 cm pieces, slicing any white parts in half lengthways.
    5. Slice onions into 5 mm slices
  4. Cut pork into 3 cm pieces.
  5. Heat the wok to medium high heat, add 1 tbsp oil.
  6. Cook the noodles:
    1. Add the pack of yakisoba noodles in one piece. and when the bottom is hot, flip them. Gradually loosen the noodles using the fork without breaking (if you want to be traditional, use chopsticks).
    2. When all separated, place in medium bowl.
  7. Cook the pork (v – mixed mushrooms):
    1. Lay pork (v – mushrooms) in a single layer in the wok. (V- add ½ tbsp oil).  Season with pepper.
    2. Stirfry until brown.
  8. Add onion slices, separating the slices. Cook about 1 min.
  9. Add carrot, cook about 1 min.
  10. Add cabbage and shitake mushroom, cook until almost tender.
  11. Add spring onions and cook for about 1 minute.
  12. Add noodles.
  13. Add 2 tbsp yakisoba sauce.
  14. Toss to combine.
  15. Taste and add more sauce/seasoning if desired.
  16. Turn off wok, cover noodles with foil.
  17. Clean down, and run equipment through the dishwasher (leave wok and noodles ingredients). Wipe and put cooktop and all other equipment away.  Quickly sweep your area.
  18. Plate noodles/put in storage container.
  19. Run all remaining equipment through dishwasher and scrape, clean, squeegee and sanitise bench. Put remaining equipment away.
  20. Enjoy your food! (If eating in the dining area, please sweep up after yourself and wash and put away your dishes/cutlery/glassware).

These snacks are great at a BBQ or with drinks.  Make one, or make all 3.

Equipment

  • Cutting board with paper towel
  • Cook top
  • Saucepan
  • Fork
  • Colander/sieve
  • Grater
  • Paper towel
  • Piece of foil large enough to cover serving plate
  • Small lidded plastic container to marinate cucumber

Ingredients

Pickled cucumber with ginger

  • 2cm piece ginger (about 20g)
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes
  • ½ a Lebanese cucumber
  • ½ tsp flaked salt
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • ½ tsp rice vinegar
  • ½ tsp soy sauce
  • ½ tsp sesame oil
  • Pinch toasted white sesame seeds

Spicy edamame

  • 2 tsp garlic flavoured oil
  • 100g precooked edamame beans, in their pods
  • ¼ tsp chilli flakes or shichimi togarashi
  • ¼ tsp ground black pepper
  • Pinch salt

Potato takoyaki

  • 100g (1 medium) baby potato
  • 1 tbsp cornflour
  • Pinch salt
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 20ml (1 tbsp) takoyaki or okonomiyaki sauce (v – use vegetarian version of sauce)
  • 20ml (1 tbsp) Kewpie mayo
  • Pinch bonito flakes (about 2g) (katsuobushi) (v – omit)
  • Pinch shredded nori (about 1g)

Method

  1. Tie back long hair, wash hands and wear an apron. Stabilise your cutting board using damp paper towel.  Gather your ingredients and equipment.
  2. Make pickled cucumber:
    1. Grate ginger into medium bowl.
    2. Add chilli, salt, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil.
    3. Put the flaked salt on the cutting board and roll the cucumber in it to score/scrape the skin a little.
    4. Wipe off the salt with paper towel.
    5. Bash the cucumber (not with your knife please) to crush it a bit – do not break it apart. Cut into bitesize pieces.
    6. Add to the bowl, mix to combine. Place into sealed container and put in fridge to marinate for about an hour.
    7. Rinse the mixing bowl.
  3. Make spiced edamame
    1. Gently heat garlic oil in saucepan on low heat.
    2. Add edamame.
    3. Add ¼ tsp chilli flakes or shichimi togarashi, ¼ tsp ground black pepper and a pinch of salt. Taste for seasoning.
    4. Put on plate covered in foil/in storage container.
    5. Wipe out saucepan.
  4. Make potato takoyaki:
    1. Heat a saucepan of water.
    2. Peel and cut potatoes into chunks, wash, and boil them on medium until a fork goes through them easily.
    3. Drain and mash in a medium bowl with a fork while hot.
    4. Add salt and cornflour.
    5. Roll into 4 small balls.
    6. Heat a little oil in the bottom of the saucepan over medium heat. Add balls and cook until brown.
    7. Place on plate with edamame, cover with foil/into storage container.
  5. Clean down, and run equipment through the dishwasher (leave plate with potato balls, takoyaki/okonomiyaki sauce, mayo, bonito flakes and seaweed laver). Wipe and put cooktop and all other equipment away.  Scrape, clean and squeegee bench.  Quickly sweep your area.
  6. Serve dish:
    1. Top potato balls with Takoyaki/okonomiyaki sauce, mayo, bonito flakes and shredded nori.
    2. Add pickled cucumber.
  7. Run all remaining equipment through dishwasher and final wipe and sanitise of bench. Put remaining equipment away.
  8. Enjoy your food! (If eating in the dining area, please sweep up after yourself and wash and put away your dishes/cutlery/glassware).

This class involves you preparing 2 meals to be finished in the oven at home.  If you have them, please bring 1 x casserole dish with lid and 1 x baking tray or dish – small (2 litre capacity) if you are cooking 2 portions, medium (4 litre capacity) if you are cooking 4 portions.  Otherwise, we will provide foil wrapped aluminium trays for you to take home with you.

Mongolian braised beef and broccoli with noodles (v – mushrooms and tofu)

 Equipment

  • Cooktop
  • Saucepan
  • Cutting board with paper towel
  • Chef’s knife
  • Small bowl for sauce
  • Large bowl of iced water
  • Small pan for braising
  • Small lidded container for cornflour slurry
  • Large lidded container for cooked noodles and broccoli
  • Casserole dish/aluminium baking tray

Ingredients

  • 250 g gravy beef (v – 100g mushrooms and 150g tofu)
  • ½ onion
  • ½ tbsp (10 ml) minced ginger
  • ½ tbsp (10 ml) minced garlic
  • 3 tbsp (60ml) soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp (40 ml) oyster sauce (v – use Lee Kum Kee Vegetarian Stir-Fry Sauce or Megachef mushroom sauce for shellfish allergies or vegetarian)
  • 2 tbsp (40 ml) honey
  • 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice
  • Pinch chilli flakes (optional)
  • 2 tbsp cornflour
  • 2 tbsp water
  • ½ head broccoli
  • Thin wheat noodles, about 60g

Method

  1. Tie back long hair, wash hands and wear an apron. Stabilise your cutting board using damp paper towel.  Gather your ingredients and equipment.
  2. Cook the broccoli and refresh in cold water:
    1. Heat a saucepan of salted water on the cooktop (salty like the sea) to boiling.
    2. While water is heating, cut broccoli into bite sized florets.
    3. Put into boiling water and cook for about 3 minutes or until al dente.
    4. Put into iced water to chill down.
    5. Drain and put into lidded plastic container.
  3. Cook the noodles and refresh in cold water:
    1. Cook the noodles for 30 seconds less than the package indicates.
    2. Put into iced water to chill down.
    3. Drain and put into lidded plastic container.
    4. Seal and set aside.
  4. Make the cornflour slurry:
    1. Mix 2 tbsp water with 2 tbsp cornflour in lidded container.
    2. Seal and set aside.
  5. Make the beef base:
    1. Cut beef into cubes.
    2. Add 1 tbsp oil to saucepan and fry beef until brown.
    3. Chop onion into medium dice.
    4. Add beef, onion, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, honey, tomato ketchup, Chinese 5 spice and chilli flakes into casserole dish/aluminium baking tray.
    5. Stir to combine. Wrap in foil – write on top “Cook at 135 degrees for 4 hours – add slurry and cook 30 more minutes.  Check for tenderness, add time if required.  Add noodles and broccoli at end of cook, cover and leave 10 minutes).
  6. Clean down, and run all equipment through the dishwasher (leave cooktop and just wipe out saucepan). Wipe and put all other equipment away.  Quickly sweep your area.

This class involves you preparing 2 meals to be finished in the oven at home.  If you have them, please bring 1 x casserole dish with lid and 1 x baking tray or dish – small (2 litre capacity) if you are cooking 2 portions, medium (4 litre capacity) if you are cooking 4 portions.  Otherwise, we will provide foil wrapped aluminium trays for you to take home with you.

Equipment

  • Cooktop
  • Saucepan
  • Cutting board with paper towel
  • Chef’s knife
  • Vegetable peeler
  • Grater
  • Small pan for braising
  • Small lidded container for rice
  • Casserole dish/aluminium baking tray

Ingredients

  • ½ large onion
  • 1 small carrot
  • 3 chat potatoes (about 100g)
  • 2cm piece ginger
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 50 g red sweet apple (about ¼ small apple)
  • 200g boneless, skinless chicken thighs (v – 100g pumpkin, 100g tofu)
  • 1 tsp tomato ketchup
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 tsp cooking oil
  • 1 cup chicken stock (v – vegetable stock)
  • 50g (about ¼ packet) Japanese curry roux
  • 1 tbsp red pickled ginger
  • 2 cups cooked Japanese short grain rice (chef to prepare)
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Tie back long hair, wash hands and wear an apron. Stabilise your cutting board using damp paper towel.  Gather your ingredients and equipment.
  2. Prepare vegies:
    1. Peel and slice onions about 2mm.
    2. Peel and cut carrot into large cubes.
    3. Cut potatoes into slightly smaller cubes than the carrot.
    4. Grate ginger.
    5. Grate garlic.
    6. Peel and grate apple.
  3. Prepare the chicken: cut off excess fat and cut into bite size cubes. (v – Prepare the tofu and pumpkin – cut into bite sized cubes).  Season with pepper.
  4. Precook the chicken (v – pumpkin and tofu):
    1. Heat the oil over medium heat in the saucepan and add onion. Cook until softened and they have a golden colour.
    2. Add garlic and ginger and mix.
    3. Add chicken (v – pumpkin and tofu) and cook until a little browned on the outside.
    4. Deglaze pan with a splash of apple cider vinegar and pour chicken (v- pumpkin and tofu) and onion mix into casserole dish/aluminium pan.
  5. Make the curry base:
    1. Add stock, apple, honey, soy sauce and tomato ketchup to the chicken (v- pumpkin and tofu).
    2. Add carrots and potatoes. The liquid should barely cover the ingredients.
    3. Cover with foil. Write:  Cook covered at 180c for 1 hour until potatoes and carrots are soft.   Add roux, cook further 20 minutes.
  6. Wrap Japanese curry roux in foil and put to side.
  7. Put rice into takeaway container, top with pickles, and put to side.
  8. Clean down, and run all equipment through the dishwasher. Wipe and put cooktop and all other equipment away.  Scrape, clean, squeegee and sanitise bench.  Thoroughly sweep your area.

At home, cook covered in a preheated oven at 180c for 1 hour until potatoes and carrots are soft.   Then remove 1 ladle of liquid from dish and dissolve curry roux in liquid.  Return liquid and curry roux to casserole dish/pan and cook for another 20 minutes.  Stir a couple of times.   Taste for seasoning.  Serve with rice and pickles.

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