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Los Angeles magazine and fancy home store Snyder Diamond hosted a cooking class recently as part of its Culinary College program. The second in a three-part series, this class, “Taste of Asia,” featured — you guessed it — Asian-inspired food prepared by Andrew Kirschner, executive chef at Wilshire restaurant, and Bridget Bueche of appliance brand Sub Zero/Wolf. The wine was chosen by Ian Blackburn of LearnAboutWine.com.

The class, which was really a demonstration as opposed to hands-on instruction, started out with an appetizer from Bueche of cherry wood-planked salmon on a fried wonton wrapper atop a bed of greens tossed in a miso and salted plum dressing.  The dish was simple and refreshing. What came next really hit the spot, though: slow-cooked beef cooked in a clay pot, or danabe, with wide noodles, small Japanese mushrooms and greens. All of us, including Caroline on Crack, e*starLA, Gourmet Pigs, fauxLAhipster and Wandering Chopsticks, finished every last bit of our soup. I know I slurped mine all up!

Salmon appetizer

Bueche cooking up the beef dish...

...and here it is!

Next came Kirschner’s two dishes. First up was shrimp summer roll with a chili garlic dipping sauce. The rolls were wrapped in rice paper like Vietnamese spring rolls. I’m normally not a big fan of rice paper-wrapped rolls as I prefer the crispiness of fried egg rolls, but these were served with the most amazing dipping sauce that I forgave the rolls their rice paper wrapping. The sauce was a mixture of red jalapenos, garlic, rice wine vinegar, sugar and fish sauce, and had such a delicious kick that I gobbled this down quickly, too. The sauce’s kick was potent yet not overwhelming and was the perfect complement to the delicate summer roll.

Shrimp summer roll with the chili garlic sauce

The second of Kirschner’s dishes didn’t disappoint, either. The steamed black mussels in a red curry coconut broth was more than satisfying and only made us want more. I had never had mussels prepared with curry before, so this dish was a surprising yet welcome addition to my palate. It looked relatively easy to make, too — you basically put everything for the broth into a sauce pot, and once that’s cooked, you throw in the mussels, cover the pot, and cook until the mussels open. This dish is on the menu at Wilshire for $14. (There’s a veggie version of the summer roll on the restaurant’s menu for $13.)

Kirschner cooking up some mussels

Black mussels in red curry coconut broth

Now let’s not forget the wine. We had five — yes, five! — throughout the night, one to start the evening off and four that were paired with our food. All were really good, but two stood out for me: the 2004 Semler Cabernet Sauvignon from Malibu, which I would describe as well-balanced (I’m no sommelier, so bear with me), and a Curran Gewurztraminer from the Santa Ynez Valley that I’ve never had before. The Gewurztraminer was light and dry with some spicy and acidic notes, and even a sweetness, if that makes sense.

I wish the class were more hands-on, but it wouldn’t have been feasible with the number of people there. Tickets to the classes are $50 and includes small-plate size food as well as a gift bag. Ours contained a bottle of the Semler I liked so much, so that was a great bonus.

The next and last class will be Aug. 19 and will feature Jason Travi of Fraiche and Riva. Call 323-801-0034 to purchase tickets.