Event Overview
Adopt a Japanese home-style meal to put on your table!
We know you love Japanese food, but have you ever tried to make in your own home? We’ll show you where you can find the finest ingredients in NYC!
In this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn how to cook both delicious and beautifully shaped onigiri, also known as tiny portable Japanese rice snacks. It sounds difficult to make but don’t worry, we’ll provide you with the easiest way to make them! We’re introducing a special cooking tool called ORINIGIRI, made for creating innovative onigiri in only three steps!
To deliver a home-style Japanese meal set, we will introduce ingredients that go perfectly with rice: Japanese tea and pickles! All ingredients you will use in this workshop are easily accessible to purchase here in New York.
After the cooking session, our guest speakers who specialize in each of the ingredients will give lectures on how to adopt healthy ingredients and use them in your meals.
*For further information on the speakers, please scroll to the bottom of the page.
Participants will have their own choice of onigiri flavor and green tea (listed below):
Onigiri Flavor
- Okaka (bonito flakes with sweet soy sauce)
- Seaweed
- Salmon
- Mentaiko (cod roe)
- Pork
Green Tea
- One-Cup Teabag Gyokuro (Green tea with a luxurious, mellow sweetness)
- One-Cup Teabag Sencha (Green tea with a harmonious blend of sweetness, sharpness and fragrance)
- One-Cup Teabag Hojicha (Roasted green tea with a rich aroma)
What is “ORINIGIRI?”
ORINIGIRI is a new type of art (and way of eating!) that combines the fun features of “Origami” and “Onigiri (Rice balls).” It’s easy to make and guests who participate in this workshop can enjoy the great and interesting onigiri experience!
Learn more about ORINIGIRI from our previous workshops:
- ORINIGIRI Workshop 1: A Combination of Origami and Onigiri
- ORINIGIRI Workshop 2: Let’s Enjoy Creating and Cooking ORINIGIRI
- ORINIGIRI Workshop 3: Discover the Real Taste of Rice by Making ORINIGIRI!
Gallery
About the Artists & Speakers
Tomoo Nitta
Architect, Video Artist
Nitta was born in 1971. He studied at Kyusyu Institute of Design (presently Kyusyu University), Rhode Island School of Design and worked at Shigeru Ban Architects. In February 2014, he established Himawari Design, where he started to design varieties of space on public architecture as far as product design based on the study of using one sheet of paper. He is obsessed with design that connects various cultures and various people based on the simplicity of Japanese beauty. He also sends his message to the world through his conceptual videos. Since he married Aiko Sugiura, a writer and a concept designer in 2016, he's set up Project AICHI with her. Their activity of Himawari Design is constantly growing day by day.
Toyo Rice Corporation
Rice Corporation
Toyo Rice Cleaning Machine Co., Ltd., was established in 1961 after the invention of the Toyo Grain Cropping Device, the forerunner of Japan’s modern rice mills. The company then generated new models, acquiring the largest market share of Japan’s modern industrial rice mills.
In 1991, the company developed “BG Rinse-Free Rice,” a revolutionary type of rice that can be cooked without pre-rinsing and is environmentally friendly.
The company has used innovative technology to develop top-selling products such as Kinmemai rice and “Wax Cut Rice” while expanding into soil-building technology and seed development. Handling everything from manufacture and sales to cooking guidance, Toyo Rice has become the world’s first comprehensive rice manufacturer.
Toyo Rice is most well known for their best selling BG (Bran Grind) no-rinse rice. The rice kernels of this brand have a coating called bran that is resistant to traditional rinsing. This is removed by technology known as the B.G. (“bran grind”). Consumers usually remove bran from white rice by rinsing kernels before cooking, but no-rinse rice eliminates that need. BG no-rinse rice dominates the Japanese domestic no-rinse rice market by 73%, with increasing production.
Ippodo Tea
Japanese Tea Provider
Located in the heart of Kyoto, Ippodo Tea Co. has been providing the highest quality Japanese green tea for over 300 years. More than just a retailer, Ippodo is directly involved in the procurement and blending of carefully selected tea leaves. Their teas are cultivated in the lush mountain tea fields in Kyoto and surrounding areas. This region is renowned for its mild misty climate, mineral-rich soil and near-perfect balance of sunshine and rainfall.
Ippodo Tea opened their first store outside Japan in Manhattan, New York in April 2013. In addition to a wide selection of high-quality Japanese green tea for sale, they also provide a take-out tea service as one way of demonstrating and communicating the variety of flavors produced by just changing the way the tea is prepared.
OSAKANA
Japanese-style Fish Market
OSAKANA is a Japanese-style fish market and education center, focused on bringing locally caught, wild seafood to our community. They aim to connect diners with the great variety of species available in the Atlantic Ocean. OSAKANA combines Japanese traditions, with local ingredients in an effort to make both more accessible to home cooks.
OSAKANA currently teaches hands on cooking classes, offer lunch service from 12-5PM, and host private events.
Table For Two
Nonprofit Organization
TABLE FOR TWO USA (TFT), is non-profit organization that addresses the issues of hunger and obesity through a unique "meal-sharing" program.
25 cents from workshop fee will be donated to Table For Two to provide one healthy school meal to a child in low-income communities in the U.S including New York. Thank you for your support!
