Ryuji Learns "How Hard His Own Recipes Are" at His First Cooking Class for Kids

At the start, Ryuji introduced the day's dish as "penne," explaining that it's a relative of the macaroni found in gratin. Spaghetti is delicious too, but macaroni-like pasta shapes don't go soggy easily even if you work slowly. So it turns out tasty without rushing, which is why he chose this pasta for kids. The toppings were mushrooms and chicken.

That alone wouldn't provide enough vegetables, though, so they also made a spinach salad. People don't usually eat spinach raw, Ryuji said, but soaking it in water makes it delicious as a salad.

When he first asked about their cooking experience, the kids answered, "Fried eggs." Ryuji was impressed: "Being able to make fried eggs at this age is amazing. I couldn't."

The first task was preparing the spinach. According to Ryuji, it's generally said that spinach is better not eaten raw. That's because the vegetable contains a bitter compound, and cutting it and soaking it in water makes it suitable for salad.

Since kids were handling it, they used scissors instead of a knife. First, cut off the stem at the base, then cut once or twice more into bite-sized pieces. The leafy parts can be torn by hand. Watching the kids cut deftly after seeing it done just once, Ryuji laughed, "You've gathered some kids who can really do this," and when he asked their grade, he was surprised: "First graders, that's amazing."

The cut spinach goes into cold water. The bitter compound steadily leaches into the water, so after washing it later, it can be eaten raw. He said it's best to let it soak for about 20 to 30 minutes. All dishes were made in 2 servings (2 adult servings).

While the spinach soaked, they moved on to preparing the pasta. There were two kinds of mushrooms, and the white ones (button mushrooms) sometimes have black dirt on them. Wiping them lightly with a paper towel removes it. A little left over is fine, but it's good to clean them anyway, he explained.

The other mushrooms (oyster mushrooms) are pulled apart by hand into individual pieces, with large ones torn further. The button mushrooms could be cut with a knife, but this time they were crumbled apart by hand. Ryuji gave his reasons: once cooked, they become a size that's easy to eat along with the macaroni, and since no knife is needed, it's safe and easy.

When one of the kids said, "This is fun," Ryuji responded, "Thinking it's fun is the most important thing" and "Cooking is fun, it warms your heart," then joked, "No online arguments today," drawing laughs. He also said that as an elementary schooler he couldn't cook at all and probably would have run away.

For meat, they used chicken thigh. Bacon or pork would be perfectly fine, but he went with chicken this time. This too was cut into bite-sized pieces with scissors. He worried it might be hard for kids because of its thickness, but the kids cut it without any problem. One child cut it into large pieces first and then into smaller ones, and Ryuji praised them: "This kid can probably handle a knife too," "Might be better than me." At home, he said, using pre-cut pork such as thinly sliced pork scraps also tastes great.

Ryuji reminded the kids to always wash their hands after touching chicken. The reason is that a bacterium called "Campylobacter" is present, and when he saw it wasn't getting through to the kids, he rephrased it as "because there are germs." He also instructed them not to touch it with bare hands when putting it in the frying pan.

Put about 1 tablespoon of tube garlic into the frying pan. Fresh garlic is delicious too, but for a dish like macaroni, tube garlic works plenty well, he said. Adults using fresh garlic should finely mince about 15g. Incidentally, Ryuji himself let slip, "This is my first time using tube garlic."

Add the chicken before turning on the heat, and cook over medium heat. Fat comes out of the chicken, so there's no need to add oil. Spreading the meat out makes it easier to cook. Raw garlic has a strong smell, but it becomes fragrant when stir-fried. Cooking until browned all over makes for savory, delicious chicken, Ryuji explained. Along the way, noticing the pieces were a bit large, he cut them further in the frying pan, being careful of the heat, so they'd be easier to eat.

Once browned, add all the mushrooms the kids tore and mix. When the mushrooms have softened, add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. According to Ryuji, his own recipe would normally add a pinch of salt here too, but he held back since kids would be eating it.

Next, 8 shakes of Ajinomoto. He showed it to the kids, asking, "Do you know this?", and explained that adding it mellows the soy sauce and gives a delicious flavor, and that it contains glutamic acid, the same umami component found in kombu. Once the soy sauce aroma had developed, he took it off the heat, and the sauce was done.

Boil water in a pot to prepare for cooking the macaroni. Adding salt when boiling pasta makes it tastier, so add 1 heaping teaspoon. At one point Ryuji himself muttered, "This is totally different from my usual Buzz Recipes."

While waiting for the water to boil, they made the dressing for the spinach. The quantities are as follows:

• Vegetable oil: 2 tablespoons
• Mayonnaise: 2 tablespoons
• Vinegar: 2 teaspoons
• Lemon juice: 1 teaspoon
• Pepper: about 3 grinds
• Ajinomoto: 4 shakes
• Salt: 1/3 teaspoon

Using both vinegar and lemon juice gives it a refreshing flavor, Ryuji explained. The struggle was the "1/3 teaspoon" of salt. He tried saying "just a little on the tip of the spoon," but agonized, "How do I explain this? 1/3 is hard," and in the end adjusted the amount himself while watching the kids' hands. He added that too much salt makes it salty, so start with less and sprinkle more on top later if it's not enough. Mix with a spoon, and once the lumps of mayonnaise are gone, the French dressing is done.

Put the macaroni into the boiling pot. Boiling time is 12 minutes. Since it sticks easily, he told them to stir the bottom of the pot occasionally.

Meanwhile, they finished the salad. When the soaked spinach is drained in a colander, the bad compounds have dissolved into the water. Rinse it again with water to remove any sand.

The problem was draining it. Ideally you'd have a salad spinner, but there wasn't one there. As a method easy enough for kids, he explained that wrapping it in paper (paper towels) and kneading it gently removes the moisture and helps the dressing cling deliciously. But as he watched the kids work, Ryuji kept repeating, "This is hard for kids," "Ridiculously hard," "Looking at it from a kid's perspective, my cooking is really hard." He also said, "You don't know until you actually do it," "My cooking is this hard," "I never thought my own cooking was this difficult." The bacon to top the salad was originally supposed to be fried with the kids too, but since it would take too long, Ryuji fried it separately.

After plating the drained spinach, take out the boiled macaroni and put it into the frying pan with the sauce. Macaroni is tasty even when it gets soft, so there's no need to hurry, Ryuji told them.

Warm over medium heat, and once the macaroni and toppings are heated, add butter and mix until it melts. Once everything is coated, it's done. Pepper might not be needed for kids, so it was left for adults to add. Finally, sprinkle parsley all over for color. Top the salad with the cooked bacon and pour on as much dressing as you like. Ryuji himself said, "This old guy pours on all of it." Looking at the finished plates, he praised the kids: "You've got good taste. You could become cooking researchers," and the "Butter-Soy Mushroom Penne" and "Spinach Salad" were complete.

When the tasting began, the kids dug in eagerly. When Ryuji asked what they thought of the spinach, they said "It's good," and he repeated "Thank goodness, what a relief" again and again. Ryuji also ate the vegetables first and said, "I love this salad." The kids kept eating the macaroni too, saying "It's good" and "It's really good," and Ryuji was delighted: "I'm seriously about to cry," "I'm glad I became a cooking researcher. Really."

As for why the salad went over well with the kids, Ryuji offered the view that because the bitterness had been removed, it probably suited children's palates.

On the other hand, he also revealed that while cooking he'd had quite a bit of internal conflict, wondering, "Is this really okay?" He had thought things through for today, but once he actually did it, lots of things came up where "it'd be better this way, or that way." Reflecting, "This was a learning experience," he promised the kids he would study more and learn to make simpler dishes that are easier to cook.

He told them to take home whatever they couldn't finish and eat it with their dads and moms. Finally, Ryuji summed up that although it was his first time and there were shortcomings, it was a success for now. He asked the kids whether they would cook with him again, since he'd study more before next time, and upon hearing "Yes!", he wrapped up his "first cooking class ever."