In this class you will learn the techniques of high heat cooking on a steel plate or grill. Teppanyaki is a method of quickly grilling meat, chicken, shrimp and vegetables. Teppanyaki traditionally means that the cooking and eating are done at the same location.

Most of us have been exposed to Teppanyaki style cooking at Japanese restaurants that feature Teppanyaki dining. The typical teppanyaki table seats 8 people and has a large steel grill in the center of the table. The chef cooks each person’s meal in front of the awaiting diners and serves the food directly from the grill to the plates. This experience is usually accompanied by a showy demonstration of the chef’s lightning fast knife skills.

In this class, we’ll show you how to recreate the flavors of your favorite teppanyaki restaurant in the comfort of your own home; and without the worry of cross-contamination. Don’t worry, you don’t have to have a teppanyaki table, a large grill will work just fine.

The beauty of the teppanyaki cooking method is the simplicity of the ingredients and that the quick, high heat cooking method brings out each ingredients full unique flavor. Japanese food is always served on the merit of each ingredient. Unlike other cultures, Japanese foods are served and prepared separately, not combined together in medleys or with sauces. Teppanyaki is no exception.

For this class, we have selected a typical teppanyaki meal, one that you might order in a restaurant.

Menu:

• Beef
• Chicken
• Shrimp
• Zucchini
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Bean Sprouts
• Steamed White Rice
• Sesame Dipping Sauce
• Ginger Dipping Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 small top sirloin or New York steaks, trimmed of all fat
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 12 large shrimp
• 1 onion
• 2 medium zucchini
• 16 mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cups bean sprouts, washed and drained
• 1 lemon
• Gf soy sauce
• Mirin
• Vegetable oil for grill
• Salt and pepper
• Sesame seeds
• Lemon Garlic Mayonnaise

Step 1. Bring Food to Room Temperature

Remove beef, chicken and shrimp from refrigerator and let come to room temperature.

Step 2. Making the Lemon Garlic Mayonnaise

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Process all ingredients except the oil in a food processor. Add the oil in a steady stream through a feed tube until all the oil has been incorporated and the mayonnaise is thick. Adjust seasonings. Refrigerate.

Step 3. Make Dipping Sauces

For Sesame Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup gf soy sauce
• 3 Tablespoons mirin
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 Tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until blended.

For Ginger Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup gf soy sauce
• 1/3 cup sake
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until blended.

Step 4. Cutting the Vegetables

Peel the onion and cut into thin strips. Wash the zucchini and cut off the stem end. Cut each zucchini into thirds and then each third into thirds lengthwise. Place each of these pieces on a cutting board so that they lie flat and cut each into 3 strips. Repeat for all zucchini. Wash mushrooms and trim ends. Slice the mushrooms into 1/4" slices. Place all the vegetables, including the bean sprouts into neat, separate piles on a large cutting board.

Step 5. Preparing the Meat and Shrimp

Cut the beef and chicken into 1" bite-size pieces. Shell and devein the shrimp. Place the beef, chicken and shrimp into neat, separate piles on the cutting board with the vegetables.

Step 6. Organizing the Ingredients

The art of teppanyaki is in cooking all the ingredients individually and perfectly. The key to this begins with an organized and thought out preparation. The ingredients should be organized on your cutting board in order of what will take the longest to cook and therefore what should be cooked first. In our menu, that would be the beef and chicken, then zucchini, then mushrooms, then onions, then bean sprouts and finally the shrimp.

If you will be cooking at the stove on a grill, everything you will need should be ready at your fingertips.

Seasonings you will need:

• Gf soy sauce
• Mirin
• 1 lemon, halved
• Sesame seeds
• Vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper
• Lemon Garlic Mayonnaise

Kitchen Tools you will need:

• Metal spatula
• Wet cloth
• Squirt water bottle
• Serving plates

Step 7. Heating the Grill

When you are ready to begin, turn the grill on high. Pour enough oil on grill to coat the cooking area. The cooking will be done in the center of the grill or over where the flame is the hottest. As food is cooked, move it off to a corner of the grill where the cooking process will be slowed and the food will stay warm.

When the grill is hot, add the beef and chicken over the hottest part of the grill, keeping them separate. Let them cook for a couple of minutes then turn. Sprinkle with salt and a small amount of soy sauce. Continue to turn until the beef is rare and the chicken is almost done. Push the meat and chicken off to the side. Add more oil to the grill and add the zucchini. Again, sprinkle with salt a little mirin and cook and toss until it begins to soften. You don’t want to cook it too much because it will continue to cook even after it has been moved to the side. So, undercook the vegetables. Move the zucchini to the side. Next, add the mushrooms and cook in the same way. You can experiment with seasoning, but generally a little salt, soy sauce and a sprinkle of mirin or sake is sufficient. Next add the onions and bean sprouts. These you can mix together as you toss and cook. When they are just about done, sprinkle with sesame seeds. Move to the side. Finally add the shrimp. While they cook, squeeze a lemon half over the shrimp. Turn them over and add more lemon juice. Smear the shrimp with a layer of the Lemon Garlic Mayonnaise. Divide all ingredients between the plates and serve with steamed rice and the dipping sauces.

The entire cooking process will take about 15 minutes.

Step 8. Cleaning Your Grill

Immediately after you serve the food from the grill, turn the grill off. Scrape any food left on the grill off the grill or into a tray and squirt a fair amount of water directly on to the grill and place a very wet cloth on the grill and scrub. The water will steam and the food will very easily be wiped clean. Use the metal spatula to move the cloth around. It is too hot to use your hands. Keep adding water and wiping the cloth around the grill until it is clean. This will only take a few minutes.

Join your family or guests and enjoy your teppanyaki! Now all you need is to practice those daring knife tricks!