Traditional Japanese Breakfast

In most manga and anime that I have seen I usually see characters eating a western style breakfast or a traditional Japanese breakfast.  A traditional breakfast usually has a grilled fish, soup, rice, pickles, and natto.  Here are some various breakfasts from different anime of a traditional Japanese breakfast.

The breakfast I made today had miso soup, grilled mackerel,  takuan, natto, and rice.  Most of these items can be bought in an Asian market.

Grilled mackeral

• Ingredients
• 1 whole cleaned Indian mackerel
• sea salt
• Directions
1. Put 3 angled slits on each side of the mackerel.
2. Salt the fish on outside and inside of the fish.
• Make sure not to put to much salt.
3.  Set a non stick pan on medium and put a little olive oil to coat the bottom.
4. Once the oil gets hot add the fish.
5. Brown each side until the meat is cooked.

Miso Soup

• Ingredients
• 16 oz dashi stock
• Miso paste
• 1/2 cup small chunk tofu
• some wakame seaweed or nori pieces
• Directions
• Heat up the dashi stock to a boil and turn off heat.
• Add 1 tbsp miso paste
•  Dissolve the miso and add more to taste.
• You do not have to add salt to this dish because the miso paste already has a slightly salty taste.
• Add a tofu and small amount of wakame seaweed
• Wakame seaweed is usually found in stores in a dried state.  When you add it to any liquid it tends to expand.  So make sure you do not add to much to the miso soup or you will just have only seaweed to eat. 
• Serve when ready.

The breakfast was very tasty, except the natto.  This is the third time I have had natto and I still can not get over the texture and taste.  The fermented soybeans is completely different than tofu or tempeh.  The texture is very slimy.  I think it is an acquired taste.  Supposedly, eating natto helps people lose weight. Also, takuan has pungent smell.  Some people might be put off because of it. Here is what my meal looked like.

Castle in the Sky - Beef Stew

The most famous dish in the film Castle in the Sky is the fried egg on a large piece of toast.  Many people have made that dish and I do not expect myself to make it any time soon.  To be honest, it is just a overcooked egg on toast.  There is not much flavor to the dish unless the bread is super soft and buttery.  So, I am making beef stew instead.

This dish can been seen being made by the main character Sheeta in Dola's galley.

The crews ends up gobbling the stew up within minutes.  They way they eat the stew makes it look so delicious.

Beef Stew

• Ingredients
• 1 1/2 lbs stew beef
• 1 large onion, diced medium
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 3 peeled russet potatoes, each cut into 16 pieces
• 2 pieces of celery, sliced into 1/4 in
• 2 peeled carrots, sliced into 1/4 in
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tbsp thyme
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 64 oz beef broth
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Olive oil or butter to cook with
• Directions
1. In a large pot add some olive oil or butter and heat it up on medium low.
2. Add beef and brown.
3. Add onion and saute for about 5 minutes.
4. Add garlic and saute for about 1 minute.
5. Add beef broth, bay leaves, thyme, potatoes, celery, carrots, peas, and corn. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir intermittently and remove foam that collects on the side of the pot.
• Make sure to remove foam throughout the cooking process.
6. Add Worcestershire and stir.
7. Remove 2 cups broth and mix in the cornstarch.  Make sure there are no lumps in the mixture.
8. Add the cornstarch broth mixture into the stew to thicken.
9. Once the stew gets to a good consistency add salt and pepper to taste.

 Beef stew is one of my favorite entrees to eat, especially if it is a nice cold day outside.

Ponyo-Ramen

I did not have much time this week to make a anime dish that was time consuming.  So I decided to make something that was quick and easy.  This dish was from the Studio Ghibli film Ponyo.  It is such a cute film where a little goldfish wants to turn into a person.  There is a scene where Ponyo eats a delicious bowl of ramen.

All you need is to get some bowl ramen, ham, a boiled egg, and some sliced scallions.  Cook the ramen and ham.  Then, assembled everything together.

I had some Asian soy milk and Pocky along with my ramen.  The meal was delicious in a unhealthy way.