おうちごはん！(Ouchigohan) – Christmas Cake and Karaage

おうちごはん！(Ouchigohan) 

Christmas Cake and Karaage

Japanese Home Cooking with Table for Two

in partnership with the Japan-America Societies of Boston, Colorado, Georgia, Houston, North Carolina, Philadelphia, Washington DC and USJETAA

Sunday, December 21, 2025

5:00 - 6:30 PM EDT

$10 JSB/JS/JETAA Members / $15 Non-members

Hosted online via Zoom

(Ingredient list, recipe card, and Zoom link will be provided the week of the class)

Let’s celebrate the season, Japanese style!

In Japan, Christmas is 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 Samuels 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/US JETAA can enter their society’s discount code at checkout for member pricing. Advance ticket purchase required. Only one registration per household need. 

(JSB members: find the discount code on the JSB Member Portal!)

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!”.

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.

The Japan Society of Boston is pleased to work with our friends at The Japan-America Society of Houston, The Japan-America Society of Georgia, The Japan-America Society of Washington DC, The Japan-America Society of Greater Philadelphia, The Japan America Society of Colorado, The Japan-America Society of North Carolina, and the US Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme Alumni Association (USJETAA) to present this family-friendly cooking series おうちごはん！Ouchigohan! - Japanese Home Cooking with TABLE FOR TWO USA, part of the innovative food education program, Wa-Shokuiku: Learn. Cook. Eat Japanese!, where participants make simple, healthy, homestyle Japanese food to enjoy with friends and family.