Food Forum Food Education

KCC Food Culture and Cooking Workshops

October 6, 2022

For over 40 years, Kikkoman Corporation has been holding KCC Food Culture and Cooking Workshops at its KCC Hall in Tokyo. These workshops feature global culinary experts, chefs and other food professionals who share food culture and cooking from Japan and around the world, and provide information and insight into a range of everyday foods and dishes. Through their demonstrations and entertaining talks, KCC workshops introduce cooking tips and explore recipes that can be easily made at home. These workshops are designed to pass on traditional Japanese food culture, discover new delicious experiences and create value through the international exchange of food culture. KCC workshops were originally held for onsite audiences, but recently, Kikkoman has begun to live stream them on YouTube and upload shorter YouTube versions on its website, so they can be viewed by anyone (both in Japanese only). Here we introduce two recent KCC Cooking Workshops.

Nishime simmered satoimo taro, carrot, bamboo shoots, prawns and anago conger eel, prepared by Chef Takahashi
Above, clockwise from left by Chef Rácz are meatballs in tomato sauce, palacsinta and goulash

New Year's Nishime

Chef Yoshihiro Takahashi is fifteenth-generation successor to the renowned Hyotei in Kyoto, a 400-year-old ryotei (ryotei are refined and exclusive Japanese-style restaurants). In a KCC workshop held in December 2021, Chef Takahashi presented the classic dish nishime, as well as how to prepare dashi. Nishime is a Japanese dish prepared by simmering vegetables and other ingredients until the broth is fully absorbed; it is typically part of osechi ryori, the traditional auspicious foods served during the New Year. Chef Takahashi demonstrated techniques used at his ryotei that enhance the flavor of each ingredient, as well as cutting and presentation methods that make a dish more visually appealing.

Hungarian Homestyle Cooking

Chef Gergő Rácz is head chef at the Embassy of Hungary in Tokyo. In May 2022, he presented three typical Hungarian homestyle dishes: goulash, a traditional stew seasoned with paprika; classic Hungarian meatballs in tomato sauce; and palacsinta Hungarian-style sweet crepes. Chef Rácz carefully explained various cooking methods, including how to handle the timing for adding individual ingredients, and how to make thin crepes. For the goulash recipe, the chef used Kikkoman Soy Sauce and Manjo Mirin, which go well with both vegetables and meat. Chef Rácz also talked about Hungary and its foods to better familiarize the audience with the country and its cuisine.

Through activities such as KCC Food Culture and Cooking Workshops, Kikkoman continues to share the food cultures of Japan and the world while conveying the
joys of cooking.