On Thursday, November 19, the Louisville Vaad Hakashruth partnered with Keneseth Israel Congregation to host a culinary cooking class. Led by Sasha Chack, Vaad promoter, professional cook and restaurateur, the class focused on knife skills and professional techniques from the restaurant world.
Attendees learned the professional way to hold a knife and techniques to avoid lopping off a finger. Then they practiced those skills on onions, carrots, garlic and ginger, learning a medium dice, mince technique and chiffonade on cilantro and scallions for garnish.
Those ingredients then went into the cooking demonstrations for the second portion of the class. While Chack assembled the ingredients that attendees had prepared, the participants relaxed and enjoyed wine.
Chack also demonstrated how to prepare a Japanese Ramen Bowl, showing how to use miso, a fermented soybean paste prevalent in Japanese cooking, and Kombu seaweed, another popular Asian staple, both of which are available with kosher hechsher at Whole Foods.
Combining those ingredients and then adding a light stock made with natural gelatin from the head of a red snapper, creates an Umami flavor profile for the soup. Umami is the fifth taste and is detecting as a pleasing and savory taste.
The ramen was then added to broad egg noodles and garnished with scallion. The attendees each enjoyed a large bowl and some wine. Check the Vaad’s Facebook page for upcoming programs.
