KARACHI: There were two little frying pans and some chicken for the two delicacies, Chicken Tasuta Age and Chicken Teriyaki, being cooked by none other than Katsunori Ashida, the Deputy Consul General of Japan, at the Japan Information and Culture Centre here on Saturday.

The Deputy Consul General of Japan was demonstrating his culinary skills during the live Japanese cuisine cooking demonstration as part of the ‘Hamara Dostana’ celebrations to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Japan and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Pakistan Japan Cultural Association (PJCA), Sindh.

The diplomat started by cutting one portion of a couple of chicken thighs that he had de-boned already into bite-size pieces before marinating them in soy sauce and ginger garlic paste for the Chicken Tasuta Age. That done, he turned his attention to the other portion for making Chicken Teriyaki. He prepared the sauce by mixing soy sauce, sugar and honey before grilling the chicken on either side. And doing so, he apologetically announced that he was also supposed to coat the chicken with cornflour, which he forgot. Still he was careful not to repeat that mistake with the Chicken Tasuta Age.

But what seemed more worrisome at that point was his packed audience and the two little frying pans and the small chicken portions. But reading everyone’s minds, Deputy Consul General Ashida smiled. “I was in the kitchen at 9am today to prepare 12 kilograms of chicken for you all,” he announced. And in preparing that chicken, he had not even forgotten the cornflour. Everyone was treated to a nice little feast then.

Speaking to Dawn later, Deputy Consul General Ashida said that he had a spicy palate and liked several Pakistani delicacies such as siri paye and gol gappay but he hadn’t tried preparing these himself as yet.

Earlier, while welcoming everyone to the demonstration, president of the PJCA Sadia Rashid spoke about the steadfast friendship enjoyed by Pakistan and Japan through these years. Speaking about the other hidden talents of the Deputy Consul General of Japan, she said that he is fluent in Urdu and Punjabi and loves to play several musical instruments as well as sing many Pakistani songs including the devotional ‘Dama Dam Mastt Qalandar’. “He loves and respects our culture and is here to spread the love by exchanging cultures,” she said.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2022