"And from that, you can add sesame oil and red chili flakes, and have a kalbi sauce," said Sato, a chef instructor at Kapiolani Community College since 1998. "Or, you can blend in red food coloring and Chinese 5-Spice and you've got char siu."

This simple recipe is one of many that students will learn how to prepare during Sato's upcoming basic-cooking skills non-credit courses.

Buoyed by the success of his previous for-beginners series, Sato has added a fall lineup of courses, which will provide amateur chefs with a primer to the ABCs of culinary arts.

"It's cooking for the average person," Sato said. "We've made everything simple so that anyone can go home and prepare an entire three-course meal."

Sato's four-hour, hands-on cooking classes are held on Saturday mornings from 8 a.m. to noon. Enrollment is limited to 24 students per class, with most spots accounted for almost immediately.

Scheduled for Sept. 24, the first class will teach students the basic knife skills, showing them how to choose, maintain and sharpen their knives.

Instructions on "basic cuts," such as mincing and dicing, as well as "trendy cuts," such as chiffonade, will also be given.

Cost for the four-hour session is $45.

"We emphasize good technique and safety," said non-credit culinary arts program coordinator Frank Gonzales, who helps develop the courses with the chef instructors. "In the past two years, I think we've put together a really good program and most of our classes are now maxed out. "

With hit reality shows like "Hell's Kitchen," a series of local cooking shows and a station totally devoted to food, the interest in cooking at home has skyrocketed in the past several years, according to Sato.

"More and more people would rather cook at home than go out to a restaurant," he noted. "They want to learn how to replicate the dishes that they would find at a restaurant."

But first, they've got to learn the basics, such as knife skills, and the preparation of simple entrees, side dishes and desserts.

Scheduled for Oct. 1, Sato's "Quick Main Dishes" class will show students how to whip up a dinner in 30 minutes. Cost is $55.

"We'll do dishes like chicken parmesan, Yankee pot roast, shoyu chicken and sweet-and-sour pork," Sato said. "All of these require little prep work and minimal time."

More advanced students can expand their culinary horizons and enroll in classes that feature exotic cuisine of the Middle East and Thailand.

Formerly of Hajibaba and The Pyramids, chef Magdy Elzoheiry will lead students on a culinary tour of Morocco, Egypt and Lebanon during "Flavors of the Middle East I," slated for Aug. 27. Cost is $50.

Students will find comfort food during "Mom's Home Cooking" with Rie Sakio on Sep. 3 and Bernadette Benigno on Oct 8.