HIROKO’S SPECIAL HANAMI BENTO MENU:

• Easy & festive inarizushi (seasoned rice in beancurd pockets)

• Dress up each upsidedown inari w/ amazing toppings (roe, shiso, gomaae, pickles etc)

• Tsukune seasoned bite-sized chicken meatballs in special sauce

• Carrot kimpira & Japanese style picnic potato salad

• Hawaiian chi chi dango (mochi), plus green tea & fruit

(photos courtesy of Hiroko Aiba, 2024)

Cook’s Bio:

Hiroko Aiba’s passion for food is rooted in her Japanese heritage, her last name meaning “gathering together and sharing food.” She recalls from an early age her family’s house filled with friends gathering to enjoy mom’s home cooked meals while everyone talked food.

Reflecting the tastes and cultures of places she has lived—Ann Arbor in Michigan, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Vancouver—Hiroko combines cuisines and flavours from all over, using simple, fast techniques and seasonal ingredients (she was a sous chef of the macrobiotic restaurant Mominoki House, in Harajuku, Tokyo).

Pescatarian and vegetarian growing up, Hiroko skillfully recreates recipes for meat dishes by using fish and vegetarian substitutes; although a non meat-eater herself, friends and family agree she cooks the best chicken kara-age and otherworldly meatloaf!

For all program inquiries & information please email Michael the co-ordinator: torabc@gmail.com