Course overview

Learn how to cook classic Japanese dishes on a culinary journey across Japan with Andrew Kojima (also known as Chef Koj), the award-winning British-Japanese chef, Master chef finalist and author of No Sushi.

You'll be cooking delicious Ramen noodle dishes, Tonkatsu and Japanese rice, miso soup, making perfect Gyoza dumplings, Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes) and Yakitori grilled skewers; these are dishes you will want to cook again and again.

You'll notice this isn't a sushi making class - did you know that less than 10% of restaurants in Japan serve sushi?

Chef Koj will introduce you to some of Japan’s most iconic foods, taking you on a journey from East to West Japan. He will present each dish in the context of its history and inspire you to continue its evolution in your own kitchen, as you immerse yourself in Japanese culture.

Koj will teach you how to cook with Japanese ingredients, and you'll be inspired to put your own spin on his staple dishes.

This Japanese cookery course features everything you’ll need to master authentic Japanese dishes at home.

Choose Expert option for personal feedback from Koj on the Japanese dishes you make on this course.

“There’s a lot more to cooking Japanese food than simply following a recipe of ingredients and methods. It is a chance to immerse yourself in Japan and its culture, as you learn about ingredients, regional specialities, artisanal producers, etiquette and the history of bilateral foreign influence.” - Chef Koj

You'll learn:

how to cook iconic Japanese dishes including Tonkatsu, Ramen, Gyoza, Okonomiyaki and Yakitori
recipes for Japanese dishes
confidence to create your own Japanese inspired dishes
sourcing and cooking with Japanese ingredients

The course includes:

5 on-demand video lessons - presented by Andrew Kojima (Chef Koj)
lifetime access to the videos, notes and interactive class
flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
downloadable lesson notes
practical Japanese cooking recipes (with tutor feedback available)
access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
small interactive online classroom - chat online to students from around the world and share your creative ideas

Time to complete the Japanese cooking class:

Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 14 hours to complete including:

Video lessons: 2 hours in total
Course notes: 30 minutes per lesson
Your planting design projects: at least 2 hours per lesson
Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson
Tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes per lesson

You'll need:

Each lesson includes a recipe with a full list of ingredients, generally you don't need special kitchen equipment.

This course is for the avid home cook, the enthusiastic amateur, the professional chef and everyone in between. More experienced chefs can expand their culinary repertoire and experiment with this iconic cuisine - challenge yourself by experimenting with daring flavours and get personal feedback from a master chef on your choices.

Ready to get started?

Just add the course to your basket above - choose the 'Expert' option for personal feedback from Chef Koj on your cooking.

If you know someone who'd love this course then give it as a gift - just tick "This is a gift" at the checkout.

Any questions? Contact us by clicking on the orange speech symbol - we'd love to hear from you.

Watch course trailer

Lesson summary

Tonkatsu

The journey begins with a dish first popularised by one of Tokyo’s oldest restaurants and one of the first things Koj learned to cook as a child. Originally considered a western import, tonkatsu has now been fully adopted into Japanese cuisine through over 100 years of refinement. It is a perfect start to the course, as it introduces some key Japanese ingredients in a dish that is bound to be a crowd pleaser when you reproduce it at home. Lesson length: 37 minutes Assignment: There are three things to master for this dish; the stock, Japanese rise and the perfect crispy Tonkatsu.

Ramen

After leaving Tokyo, the first stop on the Shinkansen line that runs east to west is Yokohama, home to the ramen museum and theme park. Another dish borne of foreign influence, these noodles were first introduced to Japan in the late 19thcentury via the large Chinese population that settled in this major trading port. Ramen’s popularity and status increased when Japan was suffering post-war food shortages (it could be made from imported wheat) and it became a hit instant food in the 1960s. What originated as a humble bowl of noodles, soup and scraps has achieved iconic cult food status to get the whole world slurping in excitement. Lesson length: 31 minutes Assignment: Master the Tokyo style chicken ramen.

Gyoza

Next stop is Hamamatsu, on the south coast between Shizuoka and Nagoya, renowned across Japan as one of the pre-eminent “Gyoza towns” with restaurants competing to produce the best gyoza. Virtually every culture across the world has its own version of a dumpling, from Cornish pasties to empanadas. Gyozas originated in China, but have won a special place in the hearts and minds of Japanese and are a guaranteed crowd pleaser on any menu. Koj will teach you how to make a filling, how to pleat the thin dough, how to cook them and how to make a dipping sauce. Lesson length: 23 minutes Assignment: Make as many Gyoza as you can, and take care over the presentation.

Okonomiyaki

Osaka prides itself as the home of okonomiyaki, a street food that became popular after the war in Japan as a cheap but delicious and filling comfort food. Sometimes described as Japanese pancake or Japanese pizza, Koj thinks of it more as a Japanese bubble and squeak, with vegetables and meat or fish held together by a savoury batter of flour and eggs. It is served with various sauces and toppings and is a great dish to have in your repertoire as it can be adapted to use up virtually leftovers and ingredients. Lesson length: 20 minutes Assignment: Create your own Okonomiyaki pancake - pay particular attention to the Umami and the batter, and bring in some variation with the fillings and toppings.

Yakitori

The final visit on this culinary tour across Japan celebrates the street food stalls of Hakata serving various examples of kushiyaki. Around the world things get grilled on skewers, from kebabs to shashlik in the Middle East, asados to anticuchos in Latin America. Japan’s most famous grilled skewer is yakitori. Koj will teach you how to prepare and grill the skewers and how to achieve the perfect balance of sweet and salty teriyaki sauce that makes these skewers so addictive. Lesson length: 24 minutes Assignment: Make an assortment of skewers, and focus on which combinations will work well with a teriyaki sauce.

Choose how you want to learn

Expert-level

Develop your learning further with marked assignments and personal tuition:

Start the course whenever you like
Tutor access for personalised assignment feedback & coaching
Certificate of completion and CPD learning hours
Online classroom with up to 20 classmates
Lessons with expert videos & notes
Group chat & direct message with tutor & classmates
Lifetime access to videos, notes & classroom

Peer-level

Get the most from shared knowledge and community study:

Start course whenever you like
Practise what you learn with your peers
Online classroom with up to 20 classmates
Lessons with videos & notes
Course assignments
Group chat & direct message classmates
Lifetime access to videos, notes & classroom

meet the expert

Andrew Kojima

MasterChef finalist teaches Japanese cuisine, combining technical skill, passion, and rich heritage.

Why choose Learning with Experts?

Start whenever it suits you, and immerse yourself in motivational lesson tutorials with expert guidance.

Enhance your learning and personal growth with lesson assignments. Each course includes an optional assignment at the end of every lesson.

Drop a friendly message or respond to your assignment feedback. Our world-class experts are just a click away, ready to help you!

Stay informed about your own progress and those of your peers, and take joy in celebrating achievements along the way.

Chat and share ideas with passionate communities of learners from around the world.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between PEER and EXPERT options?

At Peer and Expert level, you get access to the same core content and features:

Video lesson tutorials led by your expert tutor
Downloadable lesson notes
Option to practise what you learn with lesson assignments
Group learning within an online interactive classroom of up to 20 classmates
Lifetime access to videos, notes and classroom

If you choose Expert level, you get all of the above plus the following:

Personalised assignment feedback and coaching from your expert tutor
Opportunity to interact with your expert tutor through a private messaging system
Certificate of completion.

What is an online classroom?

Our online classroom has been developed to allow you to learn from our experts in a sociable environment alongside up to 20 other students. After each video tutorial led by your expert, you will be encouraged to practice what you have learned with optional assignments - these can be seen by the other students in your class, who are free to share their own thoughts and questions with you.

You will be encouraged to take part in an ongoing class discussion where you can discuss ideas, post images or work, and comment on each other’s assignments. It’s a great way to learn from other like-minded people who share your passion from all over the world.

This means not only do you benefit from people who are outstanding in their field, but also from a close-knit group of like-minded people whom you can learn alongside. Group learning has shown to greatly improve not just the experience of studying, but also how well you retain the knowledge, and we have built our classroom experience around this fact.

When can I start my course and how long will it take?

You can start your course any time within 12 months after receipt of your purchase confirmation email. Once you start, you’ll have lifetime access — meaning you can revisit the lesson videos and notes whenever you want.

Our courses are designed so that you can study at your own pace, some prefer to binge learn while others like to spread their studying over a longer period of time - it’s completely up to you. To give you a rough time frame, each lesson video is approximately 30-40 minutes long, and we recommend that you spend around an hour on each assignment.

How often can I speak with the Expert?

If you opt for the Expert version of your course, the time you have to interact with your tutor is limited to course length. You will have one week per lesson to chat to your tutor and to have your assignments marked, and during this period you can ask them as many questions as you would like.

To find out the length of each course, head to the product page and look at the Course outline to see how many lessons it contains. e.g. a four lesson course assumes that you will have completed the assignments within four weeks.

Your tutor interaction period will start as soon as you enter the classroom. If you find that you are struggling to complete the assignments in the allocated time or you wish to put this function on hold, just get in contact with one of the team via the support button and we will help you out.

Support and full FAQs

If you need any help with a course, be it one you’ve started already, or one you are looking to purchase, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Support email address, or view the full FAQ’s here.

You can also use the orange speech bubble on your page to start a conversation with us.

For privacy or data questions, please contact us here.

Japanese Cuisine