Ouchigohan Christmas Cake and Karaage

 

Join us for a special holiday session of Ouchigohan

Let’s celebrate the season, Japanese style!

In Japan, Christmas is not a religious holiday, but it is still a beloved time for family gatherings – complete with eating KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) and enjoying Christmas cake: a light-as-air sponge cake decorated with whipped cream and strawberries.

Guest chef Chieko Sakiyama (Boston-based) will demonstrate how to make and decorate a classic Japanese Christmas cake, including adorable strawberry Santas. Debra-sensei will lead us in making JFC—Japanese Fried Chicken (karaage).

We invite you to decorate along with us! Because the sponge cake itself requires more time than the class allows, the recipe will be provided, and you will be able to observe how it is made. For the class we recommend preparing a simple yellow cake or cupcakes ahead of time or purchasing an angel food or sponge cake to decorate together during the session.

A full list of ingredients, recipes, and instructions for both the cake and karaage will be sent the week of the class.

  

        

Members of Japan America Societies / Japan Societies / USJETAA, enter your discount code in the “JAS/JS Member” option below to receive member pricing.

JASB: boston
JASNC: carolina
JASH: houston
JASC: colorado
JASG: georgia
JASWDC: washdc
JASGP: philly
JASA: JASA
USJETAA: usjetaa

 

**Please be sure to click the "Submit Form" button at the bottom of this page to register for the event.**

About the Instructors

Chieko Sakiyama has loved baking since childhood and began baking for friends and family at an early age. She has worked in the Boston area with Japanese bakeries and markets, making pastries, breads, and of course traditional Japanese Christmas cakes! You can find her beautiful creations on Instagram at @3104_boston.

Debra Samuels leads the program content and curriculum development of TABLE FOR TWO USA’s Japanese inspired food education program, “Wa- Shokuiku -Learn. Cook. Eat Japanese!” (Wa-Sho).

She was a food writer and contributor to the Food Section of The Boston Globe and has authored two cookbooks: “My Japanese Table,” and “The Korean Table.” She curated the exhibit, “Obento and Built Space: Japanese Boxed Lunch and Architecture,” at the Boston Architectural College (2015) and co-curated “Objects of Use and Beauty: Design and Craft in Japanese Culinary Tools,” at the Fuller Craft Museum (2018). Debra also worked as a program coordinator and an exhibition developer at the Japanese department of the Boston Children's Museum (1992-2000).

Debra has lived in Japan, all together, for 12 years and specializes in Japanese cuisine. She travels around the country and abroad teaching hands on workshops on obento, the Japanese lunchbox. 

 About Japanese Cooking with Kids

A great gift for the holidays!

Our new cookbook is the perfect way for you and your kids to learn about Japanese cooking while having fun in the kitchen — and getting them to eat more healthy meals. Some of these dishes may even become their new favorites!

Each chapter in this book contains a fun, hands-on activity like counting to 10 in Japanese while washing your hands, growing your own green onions or making your own chopstick rests! In addition to preparing delicious Japanese recipes, kids will learn the basic principles of Japanese cuisine — eating foods that are in season, and only eating until you feel 80% full—to help you live a healthier life.

Japanese Cooking with Kids will give you and your family a whole new perspective on food and eating—the Japanese way!

Register

for Ouchigohan Christmas Cake and Karaage

on December 21, 2025 at 5 PM EST