Anime Recipes

Rice Porridge (Okayu) - SKET Dance

So, I have been terribly sick this last week.  Coughing, runny nose, sneezing, an aversion to anything that involves getting up, the whole shebang.  So, one day when I was particularly hungry, I found the energy to make up some rice porridge.  In Japan, rice porridge is the equivalent of chicken noodle soup when you’re sick.  As such, if a person has just fallen sick with a cold or a fever in an anime or manga (SKET Dance included), chances are a friend will rush over and make them a pot of hot rice porridge.  So if you’re ever feeling like you might be getting sick, call up a friend and hand this recipe to them, or, if you’re feeling cooped up at home and hungry, make it for yourself!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white rice (preferably short grain, but medium is fine)
• Water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Optional ingredients: Eggs, chicken, onion, green onion, kimchee, umiboshi (sour plum), pork tenderloin, mushrooms, sesame seeds, soy sauce, sriracha, just about anything you want.

Directions:

1. Rinse the rice thoroughly in a pot, as per this recipe.
2. Once the rice is clean, add in 3 cups of water and the salt and let the rice soak for at least 30 minutes.
3. Bring the rice to a boil on medium-high heat, and then turn the down the heat to low and cook, covered by a lid, for 30 minutes.  After that, turn off the heat, and let the rice sit for 10 more minutes.
4. Pour/scoop into a bowl, and top with whatever you want!

For rice porridge a la SKET Dance: Once in the bowl, crack one egg and place on top of the rice porridge.  Steam the whole bowl until the egg is as cooked as you like it (I like the yoke really runny).  If you don’t have a bamboo steamer, but still want the egg on top cooked, you can pop it in the oven for a few minutes, but just be careful not to over cook it.

I like rice porridge with kimchee on it, but this time I added miso poached chicken with onions, sriracha, green onions and soy sauce.  Classic Japanese rice porridge just has a simple sour pickled plum in the middle.

Omurice - Hanasaku Iroha

Omurice, believe it or not, is a simplistic, classic dish.  Someone once wrote that it is the Japanese answer to a grilled cheese sandwich: nostalgic, easy, and perfect for brunches and kids’ breakfasts.  So, for someone trying to be as professional with their cooking and impress their crush, it makes sense for Minko to shoot down the omurice idea for her menu. On the other hand, this filling meal is probably a perfect (and delicious) way to let a person know that you like them.  Either way, omurice is a wonderful dish to start off your morning or afternoon.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of cooked white rice (following this recipe if you can)
• 1 small, boneless chicken breast
• 2 mushrooms
• 1/2 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 large eggs, beaten
  
• Salt
• Vegetable or olive oil

Directions

1. Chop up the mushrooms, onions, garlic, and chicken.  I recommend cooking the chicken in the oven a bit, first, with some seasonings (I just use salt, pepper, and some curry powder), so you won’t have to worry about raw chicken.
2. Heat up some oil in the pan (USE A MEDIUM/SMALL PAN.  A little smaller than the size of your plate is good. This is important for the egg) to medium low.  Once the oil is hot, add the vegetables and the chicken with 2 teaspoons of the ketchup and 2 teaspoons of the soy sauce.
3. Once the onion becomes clear, add in the rice, and the rest of the ketchup and soy sauce.  Mix everything together.  Once the rice is hot, and thoroughly mixed with the other ingredients, put it all in a bowl and set aside.
4. Put a small amount of oil in the pan, and then pour the beaten eggs into the pan.  Lift up the pan and tilt it around in a circle so that the egg covers all sides of the pan.  Let the egg cook, occasionally lifting up the egg from the sides of the pan to make sure it doesn’t stick.  If you can manage it, flip the egg sheet over to cook on the other side.  If you can’t, then just turn the heat down to low and wait for the egg to cook all the way through.  You can try to cook the rice into the omlette before it cooks through, but I find it difficult to transfer to the plate if I do it that way.
5. Once the egg sheet is cooked, place it onto your plate.  Move it so it is only on one half of the plate (it should be falling off the edge.  Just fold it over or roll that part up for the time being).  Place the rice in the middle of the plate, over a bit of the egg sheet.  Then fold the egg sheet over the top of the rice, and tuck it under the other side of the rice.  Put some ketchup on your finished omurice.

Voila!  You’re done!  The fun thing about omurice is drawing decorations or writing things with the ketchup.  Just as a warning, it is a lot harder to do this than you would think.  Some common things written on omurice in Japan (which you might want to consider):

すき - I like you!
大すき - I like you a lot / I love you
おいしいよ - This is delicious!
おはよう - Good morning!
オムライス - Omurice!
チユー! - Mwah!

Stuffed Rolled Omelette - Mawaru Penguindrum

To be perfectly honest, I don’t really like eggs.  I never have.  However, Kanba’s and Shoma’s rolled omelettes in Mawaru Penguindrum just looked.  So.  Good.  And I’ll eat anything once.  I’ve tried making plain rolled omelettes before, and just as a warning, it’s tricky.  You need to make sure the egg cooks through, but at the same time, is still raw enough to all stick together.  Don’t forget Kanba’s super special technique of adding chili oil to the egg!

Ingredients

• 3 Eggs
• 1/2 Cup Spinach, Chopped
• 1/3 Cup Grated Mozzarella
• 2 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 1 Teaspoon Chili Oil
• 1 Teaspoon Maple Syrup
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar (Optional)
• 1/4 Teaspoon Dashi Powder (Optional)
• Vegetable or Olive Oil

Directions

1. Heat up a small pan (preferably with high sides) on low-medium heat.  Once the pan is hot, add about 2 tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil.
2. Break the eggs into a small bowl, add the dashi powder, chili oil, sugar, and 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, and beat the eggs with a fork.
3. When the oil in the pan is hot, pour half of the egg mixture into the pan.  Swirl/Spread the egg around the pan so that it fills the bottom, and  then sprinkle half of the spinach and mozzarella over the egg.
4. Let the under side of the egg slowly cook.  Then, using a spatula (or even two spatulas), lift up a 1 inch portion of the egg and fold it over the top.  Let the egg cook a little bit, and then repeat folding the egg, until it’s all rolled up.
5. Push the rolled omelette back to the other side of the pan, and pour the rest of the egg in.  Sprinkle the last of the spinach and cheese onto the egg, and repeat step 4 using the already rolled egg as the inside.
6. Let the rolled omelette slowly cook in the pan until the wider sides are nice and browned.
7. Take the omelette out, and slice it into half inch slices.  Mix together the maple syrup and the last of the soy sauce, and pour on top of the rolled omelette.