Every anime fan has ever wanted to try a dish of their favorite 2D character. The names of many dishes of overseas cuisine have already become commonplace, and what lies behind these names is still a mystery to some. Let’s analyze the most popular and common dishes in anime.
Takoyaki
One of the most common dishes in anime of any genre is takoyaki. These are small balls of dough with different fillings. The classic is considered to be the octopus filling. The balls are topped with a special Takoyaki sauce, mayonnaise and katsuobushi tuna shavings. Served with takoyaki balls in a disposable cardboard plate. Very often this dish can be found at Japanese festivals.
Okonomiyaki
Slightly less common in anime, but no less interesting dish is okonomiyaki. If you translate literally, you get “fried what you want.”
Interestingly, at its core, the dish is exactly what it is called. It is based on the simplest wheat cake with white cabbage, and as a filling, you can use everything that is in the refrigerator, plus katsuobushi tuna shavings and Okonomiyaki sauce (tuna shavings are added to many Japanese dishes, and almost every dish has your own sauce).
Eggs, bacon, meat, vegetables, mayonnaise, noodles, fish, seafood – all this can be added to the main flatbread. Of course, you should not try all the toppings at the same time, but if you really want to, then why not.
Okonomiyaki is prepared on a special teppan metal plate, and most often right in front of the cafe-restaurant visitors. Some establishments have special tables where guests can fry their own okonomiyaki and add the desired toppings.
Karaage
A very tasty and rare dish. In the anime environment, it was popularized thanks to the anime “Shokugeki no Soma’s Culinary Battles: In Search of the Divine Recipe”, title “Sensual Karaage”.
In short, karaage is fried chicken in batter. But not everything is so simple. Real karaage is marinated in sake with mirin, ginger and soy sauce, rolled in starch and spices and deep-fried in several stages. The dish can be served in different ways: with rice and lemon (according to the classics), as a separate snack, or as a Sumire-karaage roll, as in the aforementioned anime.
tataki
This is not really a dish, but rather a way of cooking, widespread in Japan. Meat or fish is usually prepared in this way. Outwardly, the dish looks like sashimi, but the main difference is that with the tataki method, the product is fried very quickly or burned. Thus, the outside of the dish turns out to be cooked, but inside it remains raw, retaining its natural flavor notes.
Onigiri
Everyone already knows this dish – from young to old. Onigiri – the easiest to prepare, everyone’s favorite balls (usually triangles) of rice with a variety of fillings and wrapped in nori seaweed leaves. The most difficult thing will be to blind those very cute triangles that Japanese anime schoolchildren have lunch. Characters often use tuna, chicken, eggs, or pickled plums as fillings.
ramen
Many know, few have tried. Ramen is perhaps the most famous and popular dish among fans of anime and Japanese culture. This is a very nutritious rich broth with wheat noodles and a variety of additives.
The broth for ramen can be infused for several hours, and as ingredients for the soup in different variations they use: soy sauce, pork, beef, nori seaweed, eggs, pickled bamboo root, seafood, ginger, tree mushrooms, chicken, green onions, tuna chips, miso paste, soy sprouts.
Yakisoba and yakisoba-pan
Another easy dish to make. Yakisoba is fried noodles (wheat, not buckwheat!) with additives: pork or chicken, carrots, bell peppers, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, katsuobushi tuna shavings and Yakisoba sauce. It turns out a fairly quick and tasty Asian dish. Yakisoba-pan deserves special mention. It’s still the same noodles, but it’s served in a hot dog bun.
Donburi
A dish that many learned about after the same anime “Shokugeki no Soma Cooking Battles: In Search of the Divine Recipe”. It also applies to Japanese street food.
There is nothing supernatural in this dish, and the mystery lies in the name. “Donburi” is both the name of the bowl in which the dish is cooked and the name of the rice dish itself. The dish itself implies a double portion of rice with a meat or vegetable additive on top. As a rule, these are stewed or deep-fried meat and vegetables, or fish and seafood.
Teishoku
This is a kind of set meal that most often consists of miso soup, lots of small izakaya appetizers, a hearty main course (it can be donburi, karaage or curry) and a cup of green tea. Such a lunch can be ordered in many catering places in Japan.
rice curry
The Japanese love curry, and this dish can be found in at least every third anime. Japanese curry is slightly different from the Indian basis, but its essence does not change from this. Raisu curry is a favorite classic curry with rice. To prepare curry, chopped meat, potatoes and carrots, the curry mixture itself and flour are used. Served on a plate with rice in a ratio of 50/50.
