Lesson Report: Four-Week Summer Course (Part1: 1-week Ramen)
Feb 20, 2025
This article features Isabella, a 16-year-old from the United States, who is participating in the one-month Summer Course held in June. She is very cheerful and unafraid of challenges. Passionate about cooking—especially Japanese cuisine, which she finds delicious—Isabella chose Frontier ZipangWashoku Class to broaden her culinary horizons. If her interest in cooking continues to grow, she may pursue a career as a chef in the future. This summer, she will take courses on Ramen, Popular Japanese Dishes, Yakitori, Izakaya, and Sushi over the span of four weeks. Let’s enjoy the lessons and embrace life in Japan together!
The Summer Course begins with the Ramen Session. Excitedly, she shares that, as a ramen lover, she wishes to learn how to craft different varieties of ramen, along with various toppings and side dishes.
The first day starts with preparing the essential elements that would lead to various types of ramen in the days to follow: a rich, flavorful soup, the kaeshi (sauce base), and handmade noodles.
We also prepare for gyoza, which involves cutting vegetables. Isabella first receives a lesson on how to properly hold a kitchen knife and the correct techniques for cutting. To make food better and tastier, it is essential to follow each step meticulously and handle the ingredients with care. Afterward, she practices wrapping the filling with gyoza wrappers, which seems easy but is actually quite challenging. Not only did Instructor Irokawa and Isabella give it a try, but her father also jumps into the kitchen. However, he admits with a wry smile that it is much more difficult than he expected.
Next up is authentic ramen that can be prepared quickly. She successfully makes it for the staff members.
She appears to have done plenty of preparation for the lesson, allowing her to grasp concepts quickly and ask many questions while taking notes. It’s a fun start to the session, filled with smiles all around.
The second day begins with tasting the soup she prepared the day before. She notices that it has developed an even richer and more complex flavor.
Afterward, there is a lecture on preparing popular toppings like chashu pork and menma. Since toppings are a key aspect of ramen’s appeal, she is eager to learn how they develop such deep and delicious flavors.
She learns that several steps must be followed to transform the dough prepared the day before into fine noodles.
On Day 3, she learns how to prepare another type of chashu pork and seasoned eggs. Their savory flavors might make her eager to add all the toppings during her trial ramen-making.
In addition to ramen, she has the opportunity to learn how to make Instructor Irokawa’s signature spicy curry as a side dish.
On Day 4, she learns to prepare savory seasoning oils and desserts. Then, we head to the instructor’s branch restaurant for a lesson in the middle of the day. Located in the countryside, it offers a fantastic view. It feels luxurious to have a lesson in such a scenic and tranquil setting. During this lesson, she attempts to make fried rice, curry, and other dishes on her own. She is thrilled to gain such a valuable experience!
On the final day, as a conclusion to the Ramen Session, she learns to prepare several types of ramen, combining different soups, kaeshi (sauce base), seasoning oils, and noodles she has made. They bring her a big smile because, although the ramen varieties differ, they all have a depth of flavor and are delicious.
And what a surprise! The restaurant is closed during lesson hours, but at the end of the session, a regular customer walks in by mistake. Seizing this opportunity for hands-on training, and with the customer’s understanding, Isabella makes and serves ramen to him. The customer greatly enjoys tasting the ramen she has crafted.
Such a surprise event makes the 5-day Ramen Session very fulfilling and enjoyable. From the following week, she will start 5 days of Popular Japanese Dishes & Yakitori Session.
Japanese cuisine, regardless of the dish, often requires a long preparation time to achieve the perfect umami. Why not come and experience umami for yourself?
Our Ramen Course comes highly recommended for those interested in mastering a wide variety of kaeshi (sauce base), soups, and ramen each day.
