We reach out to die-hard anime fans from Mumbai to discuss their favourite inspired dish for the year. Consider this the 2023 Otaku wrap
Representation Pic
For this writer, her highlight for 2023 is undisputedly the soulful East Asian food she has sampled at several new eateries across the city. As the Indian palate is warming up to this cuisine, one of the possible reasons for this curiosity emerges from the rapidly multiplying anime and manga communities. And this love for the shoot of Japanese popular culture has made many Mumbaikars turn to cooking, trying their hands at the tempting fare featured in their favourite shows. So high is the craze that some even try to source their ingredients from Japan. The many Comic Cons being held across the country has added to the buzz.
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Ichiraku ramen gets my vote
Rahil Parkar, 23, founder of Japanese cloud kitchen Catsu, Nerul
I was introduced to anime and manga in 2011. I had a troubled childhood and so, I relied on the characters for personal growth and to help build a positive world view. At some point, I was introduced to Japanese food. I found it appealing and so I began making it myself, which led me to discovering their cuisine. I dropped out from college in 2018, and went to London to learn cooking. I joined Le Cordon Bleu to study French cuisine. After graduating, I was accepted to be trained at Nobu and thus got an opportunity to learn Japanese cuisine.
A scene where Naruto eats ramen. PIC COURTESY/YOUTUBE
>> Why did I make it? Naruto played a big role in my childhood. He doesn’t have parents. While growing up, he is surrounded by two non-judgmental people who loved him. One is a trainer who cares for him and usually takes him out for ramen. The second is the owner of the ramen place frequented by Naruto.
Ingredients to make ramen are difficult to source. We have multiple suppliers for specific ingredients. But we make most of it in-house, from scratch. For example, we use a blend of three flours to prepare our noodles. We also procure ingredients like meats, dried fishes and dried shrimp locally, to make our broths. Even the sauces and tare for the broth are made in-house.
>> Role of food in anime: If you look at characters portrayed as sad or gloomy, you’d find them to be stay-at-home gamers who eat cup noodles for all meals; there will always be a dark messy room with towers of empty cup noodles laying around.
Log on to: @rahil_parker564 (for detailed recipe videos); @catsu_by_rahil (to order)
Ramen all the way
Padmavati Kadam, 29, content writer, Wadala
I began watching anime in 2013. It has been part of my life since then. I was experiencing a bad patch in my life after graduating from college, and anime gave me a lot of courage to overcome it. I was also introduced to anime by my younger brother; we are close but work life keeps us apart. Anime is one of the ways we stay connected, and discussing the type of anime food we want to try next constitutes a huge part of this.
>> Why did I make it? After watching hours of Naruto, we decided to make ramen on our own. The recipe is elaborate and messy but we had so much fun making it. We couldn’t find any dried ramen or udon for noodles so we used hakka noodles. While the broth needs miso, soy sauce and cayenne pepper, we only had chicken broth with dark mayo and chilli flakes. Instead of spring onions, nori, ramen eggs and fish cakes, we added normal hen eggs, spring onions and spinach as toppings.
>> Role of food in anime: Anime such as Food Wars or Kiyo in Kyoto, that are based around food, present Japan’s food culture in a beautiful way. On the other hand, in Shonen anime, food helps in character development. A calm-natured character would often like simple food such as sandwiches or onigiri, while an active character prefers wholesome food such as ramen or takoyaki. Cute characters indulge in desserts like mochi.
Souffle omelette, please
Pranav Joshi, 28, food blogger, Pune
Making food for someone portrays affection. Anime portrays this emotion of love well. Apart from this, food shows are pleasing to watch.What Ghibli Studio does best is that it connects the audience to the heart of the film by depicting rural Japanese landscapes, where food plays a key role.
>> Why did I make it? I was inspired by Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma. You would expect that a recipe in anime would not be given its due diligence. I love that every dish in the show has been well researched; if you try to make it in real life, you would be able to. Souffle omelette is easy to make — super jiggly, nice to look at and fun to eat! Couple it with red sauce, as shown in the manga for an even
better taste.
Log on to: @floydiancookery (for the recipe)
Oshiruko is my pick
Sachin M Athavale, 27, student and part-time fitness trainer, Dahisar
I have been watching anime since 2015. At first, they were just like any other animated series but as I continued watching it, I understood the depth of its plots and variety of genres. Some anime helped me get goal-oriented. It is now part of my routine.
>> Why did I make it? The dish is emotional for all One Piece lovers. In the show, an adorable kid named Otama doesn’t get to eat fresh food or water since her birth, as some evil organisation was ruling over their country. So, the first time she eats real fresh food was this dish. She has tears of happiness and smiles widely. I imagined her face in front of me, and decided to make this dish. All you need is red beans (small red rajma), sugar, salt, glutinous rice flour and milk. Make your soup and mochi separately. It takes over three hours to cook it well.
>> Role of food in anime: Food acts as an essential touch in a manga/anime as people around the world get to learn about different kinds of cuisines and from our end, we make a dish inspired by our favourite manga/anime, like I did.
First love means chicken katsu ramen
Jagruti Singh, 23, 3D Motion Designer, Virar
I started watching anime in 2010 on Animax because I found the Japanese language interesting. The storylines would get me so invested that I would use anime as an escape from reality.
Some of the ingredients sourced from Japan include traditional sauces
>> Why did I make it? I decided to cook this dish because Naruto was the first anime I watched and it has always had a special place in my heart. It took me 35 to 40 minutes to cook it. I had some ingredients from Japan like miso paste, soup base and noodles. Rest were bought locally.
>> Role of food in anime: The involvement of food in anime/manga brings the cultural element into light! The more I watched anime, the more I grew curious about Japanese culture. Some food-based anime series are comforting to watch when I’m not in the mood for action or romance.
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