Discover the Best Asian Cooking Classes Online
Whether you decide to learn Asian cooking to connect with your ethnic identity and ancestral traditions, to recreate dishes you enjoyed when you visited Asia, or to learn about the cuisine of a new culture, taking Asian cooking classes online is an easy and convenient way to begin your journey. Asia contains many separate and distinct countries and cultures, and you can choose from many different virtual cooking classes to learn Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, or Filipino cooking. You can pick between live online classes or on-demand videos when you want to learn Asian cooking online.
Why You Should Learn Asian Cooking Online
Signing up for online classes can make learning Asian cooking much more accessible. As with in-person classes, you have an instructor who will demonstrate cooking techniques, tell stories, and let you know the best place to find ingredients. The only difference is that you and the instructor will interact over a video conferencing platform like Zoom instead of in person. There may also be in-person students in the room with the instructor or everyone will be online and interacting virtually, but you will be able to talk to other students, share ideas, and ask questions.
One difference between an in-person and a virtual Asian cooking class is that you will set up in your own kitchen and use your own equipment, whereas with an in-person class, equipment and ingredients are all provided. Another difference is that you don’t have to spend time commuting to class, and you can log in from wherever is most convenient. You will need a device with a microphone to participate in class. A reliable internet connection is also necessary.
You will receive a list of ingredients before class meets to give you time to go shopping. At the end of class, everyone will enjoy the meal they cooked online together.
Virtual Asian Cooking Classes
Indian Cooking Online with Yamini is presented by the League of Kitchens. This organization strives to connect people who are curious about different cultures and cuisines with immigrant instructors who teach cooking classes. In this class, students will learn how to use popular Indian spices to make aloo paratha, hand-rolled flatbread stuffed with potatoes and onions. Participants will also make two dipping sauces. When you sign up for class, you will get a list of ingredients and equipment you will need for class.
League of Kitchens also presents Japanese Online Class #2 with Aiko. In this class, participants will learn to make temakizushi, which means “hand-rolled sushi.” This dish is very popular at parties and features a platter of ingredients like strips of seaweed, fish, sliced fresh vegetables, and sushi rice. Guests stuff and roll their temakizushi with rice in seaweed, and dip them in a sesame dipping sauce. The class also includes making miso soup, and at the end of class, students will sit down for a virtual dinner and enjoy their creations together.
Kung pao shrimp is a popular choice in Chinese restaurants and The Chopping Block Lincoln Square will show you how to make it at home. In Virtual Kung Pao Shrimp, students will learn about common ingredients in Chinese cooking, how to select and cook shrimp, create stir-fry sauces, steam rice, and cook tofu. Participants can simply watch the instructor demonstrate how to make spicy kung pao shrimp or they can cook along from home.
Private Online Group Asian Cooking Classes
You can schedule a group cooking class online through CourseHorse as a fun team-building event for your business or organization, or as a special birthday party or shower activity. You can book any of CourseHorse’s online Asian cooking classes as a private group event for six or more people. Fill out the contact form to set up your private event. If you need to add more people to an event after you have already booked, let CourseHorse know. They will get back to you within 24 hours and you will not have to pay any extra booking fees.
Get together and make sushi at home in this Virtual Sushi Making Workshop. When you book your online group session, each participant will get a kit with everything needed for the class, including a bamboo rolling mat, reusable chopsticks, sushi rice, rice vinegar, sesame seeds, nori, soy sauce, wasabi, pickled ginger, plus a gift card to purchase the fresh ingredients. Members of the group can follow along to learn how to prepare the rice, compose the rolls using tuna or salmon, and slice the rolls.
Dumplings are a great party snack and your group can learn to make them in Virtual Dumpling Making. From Chinese pot stickers to Indian samosas, dumplings are a popular dish throughout Asia. Learn to make the dough, make vegetable and meat fillings, fold the dumplings, create a dipping sauce, then get together and eat the delicious dumplings you have made.
You could get your group together and go out for bubble tea, or sign up for a Virtual Bubble Tea Making Workshop. This interactive workshop will cover the history of bubble or boba tea, which originated in Taiwan, and explore different flavor combinations. Your group will learn to make three different flavors of bubble tea: layered passion fruit jelly, mint taro milk, and matcha brown sugar. Each participant will receive a kit containing tea, matcha powder, non-dairy creamer, taro mix, syrups, toppings, and a mystery snack.
Mochi is another sweet Asian treat that you can learn to make as a group. Virtual Mochi Making will teach your team to make these delicious frozen treats. The class covers making the dough, wrapping it around ice cream, and eating the delicious, handmade mochi (your group probably won’t need any instruction on this step). Before the class, participants will get a kit with the ingredients they will need, including a dough cutter, ice cream molds, matcha powder, cocoa powder, potato starch, sweet rice flour, and a gift card for everyone to buy their favorite ice cream.
Online vs. In-Person Asian Cooking Classes
When people think of signing up for a cooking class, they often imagine going to a commercial kitchen in a restaurant or hotel kitchen, or to a studio kitchen in a cooking school. They expect an experienced instructor who has spent several years as a professional chef. They want to meet other people in the class and share stories or swap restaurant recommendations. But you can do all of this without leaving your home.
Live online Asian cooking classes are similar to in-person classes. There is an instructor demonstrating techniques, explaining unfamiliar ingredients, and sharing stories about the dishes and culture. You can ask questions, interact with your fellow students, and share your cooking or travel experiences. The only difference is you will be attending over a video conferencing app like Zoom.
To take a live online Asian cooking class, you will need a strong internet connection as well as a device with a microphone. Laptops and tablets are a good choice for live online cooking classes because you can take them into the kitchen and cook along with the class.
When you sign up for class, you will receive a list of ingredients and equipment you will need. Some online Asian cooking classes send out kits with specialty ingredients that can be difficult to find.
Can I Learn Asian Cooking for Free Online?
You can find free tutorials on YouTube from chefs from all over the world showing you how to make many kinds of dishes. Watching and following along with pre-recorded videos is fun, but many people find taking a class with an interesting, experienced chef a better way to learn Asian cooking.
