Sunday, September 20th, 2026
4:00–5:30 PM EST
Online via Zoom
Zoom link to be shared with attendees upon registering
$10 Members | $15 Non-Members
JASGP Members use discount code: philly
Only one registration per household needed
Join us for this month’s family-friendly online Japanese home‑cooking class series おうちごはん OUCHI GOHAN, and cook along from your own kitchen, or simply watch and enjoy!
The theme for this month will be “Otsukimi – お月見” where we’ll be making :
– Otsukimi Meatballs
– Okura Pickles
– Mitarashi Dango
お月見 (Otsukimi), literally meaning “moon viewing,” is a celebration that honors the autumn harvest moon, historically believed to be the most beautiful of the year.
Traditionally held on the 15th night of the eighth month of the old Japanese lunar calendar, otsukimi now falls on a varying date in September or October according to the modern calendar.
In Japanese folklore, a rabbit lives on the moon, endlessly pounding rice into soft, chewy mochi with a wooden mallet. This image—rather than the “man in the moon”—has shaped the way generations of children and adults imagine the night sky. The rabbit and mochi connection also influences the treats eaten during otsukimi: tsukimi dango, small white rice dumplings stacked in a pyramid, are offered to the moon to pray for a good harvest and prosperity.
Meet Our Instructor:
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. During Covid 19 she is teaching live online cooking programs to youth and adults.
Your donation helps to support Japanese arts, business, and cultural programs in Philadelphia including the Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival, lectures and workshops, preservation of Shofuso, and much more.
