Session 3: Cuisine!
This past Sunday, we explored Asian cuisine through a series of five different hands-on recipes!
The first food that we made was Scallion Pancakes. We made these from scratch from dough that we prepared an hour before hand. The kids got their hands flour-y (and oil-y!) rolling out the dough into spirals and patting them down, before we panfried the pancakes and served them in slices with a soy sauce dipping sauce. For those interested, here's the recipe: http://thewoksoflife.com/2014/04/9-layer-scallion-pancakes/
Next we made the Japanese snack inari, which are tofu skins stuffed with flavored rice. The kids had fun stuffing the skins and made them as fast at they could eat them! Some of the kids liked the rice so much they started eating it plain...
Third. we explored the Korean dumpling call Mandu. We learned about their history and place in Korean culture and then discovered how delicious they are. These bite sizes snacks were gobbled up!
Fourth, we continued with Korean cuisine and taught the kids about bibimbap, a traditional Lunar New Year dish that is both colorful and tasty. The kids had a great time picking what they wanted to be mixed in with their rice; many found bimbimbap to be spicy but yummy! For those interested, a good recipe can be found here: http://mykoreankitchen.com/2013/07/12/bibimbap-korean-mixed-rice-with-meat-and-assorted-vegetables/
Finally, it was time for dessert! We had a shaved ice bar where the kids were able to shave their own ice and sample toppings that are traditionally eaten all over Asia, included condensed milk, red beans, and frozen fruit!
It was a sweet end to a fun session. At the end, the kids reflected on which of the five foods we explored today was their favorite, and we had a lively game of Duck Duck Goose and Four Corners to close out the session. See you all in January!!