Cook healthy at Down to Earth

Down to Earth stores in Hawaii are offering an array of cooking classes in August. Advance registration is required.

A description of the classes follows:

Kapolei, 4460 Kapolei Parkway, 947-3249:

» Aug. 17, 5 to 6 p.m.: "Wraps & Burritos" (collard green rolls, fresh vegetable enchiladas and easy Tofurky wraps)

» Aug. 20, 11 a.m. to noon: "Rocking Vegetarian" (boiled green bananas sautéed with greens and veggie sausage, coconut rice with black beans and peach treat with coconut whip cream and pineapple ice)

» Aug. 24, 5 to 6 p.m.: "Date Night" (date energy bars, espresso date cake and banana date scones)

» Aug. 31, 5 to 6 p.m.: "Vegan Party Foods" (rosemary white bean dip, coconut black beans and cilantro cashew cheese)

Pearlridge, 98-129 Kaonohi St., 488-1375:

» Monday, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. "Mabuhay Monday" (veggie arroz caldo, vegan adobo and baked banana lumpia)

Kailua, 201 Hamakua Drive, 262-3838:

» Tuesday, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.: "Rocking Vegetarian" (boiled green bananas sautéed with greens and veggie sausage, coconut rice with black beans and peach treat with coconut whip cream and pineapple ice)

Make Chinese food, sushi and more

Here are this month’s cooking classes and tours from Walter Rhee:

» "Basic Cantonese Cooking: Techniques, tips and ingredients" (2:45 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday): Recipes covered include steamed whole fish, beef with broccoli, Yang chow fried rice, steamed Chinese broccoli, wontons, ginger chicken and the real chow mein (the origin of cake noodle).

» "Secrets of Making Sushi Rolls" (3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Friday): Regular, reverse and battleship rolls will be covered. Bring a nonserrated knife, a small cutting board and a cooler with ice to take your sushi home.

» "Taste of Chinatown Eateries Tour" (8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday): Fee includes all food and taxes. The tour meets at the Hawaii National Bank corner of the intersection of King and Smith streets.

» "How to Make Kimchi & Related Dishes" (2:30 to 5 p.m. Saturday): Learn how to make kim chee from scratch plus kim chee-related dishes like fried kim chee, kim chee noodles, kim chee chige (stew), kim chee pancake, kim cee stir fry with pork and tofu, fried pork with kim chee juice and kim chee fried rice.

» "Secrets of Japanese Cooking" (2:30 to 5 p.m. Aug. 18): Class covers recipes for beef teriyaki, fish shioyaki, shrimp tempura, agedashi tofu, chawanmushi, sukiyaki. Japanese knife techniques and the best Japanese restaurants and cookbooks are also discussed.

» "The Only Korean Cooking Class You Will Ever Need" (2:45 to 5:30 p.m. Aug. 19): Learn the basics of beef bulgogi, BBQ pork, Korean rice dumpling soup (ttuck guek), spicy fried rice cake (ttuck bokki), chap chae and fresh sautéed spicy cucumber (oi moochim).

» "Ultrafast Meals in 19 Minutes or Less" (2:30 to 5 p.m. Aug. 20): Recipes include broiled chicken wings in Singapore sauce, moo shu pork, vegetarian pad Thai, Oriental steak, Peking chicken, shrimp and eggs, Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce and ma po tofu.

» "Secrets of Making Finger Pressed Sushi" (3 to 6 p.m. Aug. 25): Topping selection, cutting techniques and storage will be discussed. Bring a nonserrated knife, a small cutting board and a cooler with ice to take your sushi home.

» "Asian Dumplings" (2:45 to 6 p.m. Aug. 26): Prepare different kinds of dumplings from China, Japan and Korea and discuss the differences between them.

» "More Ultrafast Meals in 19 Minutes or Less" (2:30 to 5 p.m. Aug. 27): Recipes include Vietnamese wonton soup, Thai chicken curry, Japanese chicken with eggs over rice, Korean spicy squid stir fry with vegetables, Korean soft-tofu seafood soup and Chinese paper bag shrimp.

Cooking classes are held at Palama Market, 1210 Dillingham Blvd., behind Zippy’s. Cost is $80 per class and for the tour, cash only. To make reservations for the classes and the tour, call 391-1550 or email walter@waltereatshawaii.com.