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Hey everyone! Welcome back to “eat like your anime faves,” a series where I teach you just how to eat like characters do in anime. That’s right; you learn how to cook real Japanese food from anime. I’m back again to give you more of what you love!

This week I’m bringing you two more fresh recipes from anime in hopes that you will enjoy it just as much as I have. One is an everyday staple that many people eat, and the other is a very popular meal that is great at any time of the day! As with the previous article, we will talk about the show that it comes from very briefly and then introduce how to make the recipe. Without further ado, let’s get started!

While I was writing this, I actually happened to stumble across a picture of Jesse and James eating Onigiri in an episode of pokemon. It was a screenshot but I remembered that they were eating them frequently throughout the show, and that Brock/Hitoshi had made them a few times too. Then I remembered what the dub had called them. “Jelly Doughnuts.” I don’t know about you, but if someone stuck a rice ball in my face and said, “look! It’s a jelly doughnut!” I’d probably laugh as I walked away saying “nope.” Looking back on watching pokemon even as a kid, I knew that there was no way those were jelly doughnuts.

Onigiri can have, depending on what is inside of it, a decent nutritional value. These are really easy to make and you can put whatever you want inside of them. I’m going to show you probably one of the most popular in all of Japan and give you a few examples as well. Ultimately, YOU have the freedom to make them to your liking!

Onigiri (rice balls) from Pokemon (Tuna & mayo version)

Riceball Ingredients 2-4 balls

Canned Tuna ∗

1 Can

Mayonnaise ∗

to season

Salt and Pepper

to season

Nori (seaweed)

2 Sheets

Freshly cooked white rice (still hot)

2 Cups

That’s it. No really. That’s it. It’s that easy to make them. I placed a star next to the mayo and tuna to designate what can be swapped out. Some common variations of the onigiri are:

• Umeboshi (Pickled plums), bonito flakes, & a dash of salt
• Konbu seaweed
• Tamagoyaki (scrambled sweet eggs), shredded lettuce, & mayo
• Hijiki & sesame seeds. (Hijiki (dark edible seaweed) will probably only be at an Asian supermarket)
• Fried chicken & mayo (one of my personal favorites!)
• Furikake (flaked of dried food)

Just bear two things in mind when making this, the amount of rice will make about 2-4 onigiri depending on how big you make them. My advice is don’t make a lot of filling or you’re going have a lot left over.

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How to Cook It:

1. 1

   First things first, cook your rice. If you have a rice cooker, great! If you don’t, follow the packaging’s instructions.

2. 2

   Next, mix the filling ingredients together. So with the mayo and tuna, simply drain the tuna and add enough mayonnaise to your liking.

3. 3

   Take a clean bowl and line it with one generous sized sheet of saran wrap/cling wrap.

4. 4

   Next, take ¼ of the rice when it has cooled a bit, not all the way, and not piping hot so you burn yourself, and place it in the bowl on top of the saran wrap.

5. 5

   Make an indentation and spoon some of the filling into the center.

6. 6

   This is the tricky part, now. Take the edges of the saran wrap and wrap up the rice around the filling. Next, form the rice into a triangle. The saran wrap should then peel off of your almost done onigiri!

7. 7

   Finally, place the onigiri in the center of a sheet of nori seaweed and wrap it up along the sides as pictured below.

8. 8

   Eat!

That’s it! Isn’t cooking awesome? It might be fun, so if you’re feeling adventurous, make a few variations of onigiri. A side note about the optional furikake ingredient: You don’t actually put that in the center. What you do, is mix it in with the rice, and then simply form the onigiri with no filling and wrap it with the nori seaweed.

Yum!

Tonkatsu (Pork Cutlet) – Prison School

Tonkatsu (Pork Cutlet) Ingredients (1 to 2 portions)

Pork loin/cutlet (Pork chops are okay too!)

450 g/ 1 lb.

Egg

1

Plain, all-purpose flour (any kind will work)

1 bowl

Panko bread crumbs

1 bowl

Oil

for frying

Salt and pepper

to season

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How to Cook It:

1. 1

   Cut off anything off the meat that you do not want and season it with salt and pepper.

2. 2

   Begin to heat up your oil to about 170 C / 350 F. Only pour enough oil in to coat the bottom of the pan. You are not deep frying this! Also, keep an eye on it to make sure it does not spit!

3. 3

   Pour your flour and panko into separate bowls or plates. Either works just fine.

4. 4

   Beat or whisk your egg in a bowl. Generously coat the pork with the flour.

5. 5

   Dip the flour coated pork into the bowl with egg covering it completely.

6. 6

   Next, roll the egg covered meat into the Panko bread crumbs.

7. 7

   Fry the cutlet. Cook till both sides are golden brown.

8. 8

   If you’re not sure if it is cooked all the way through, simply cut one in half. If it’s cooked, dig in!

Ketchup, sweet soy sauce, or plain tonkatsu sauce will go great on it!

Some Optional add-ons:

• Minced garlic
• Krazy salt
• Cheese
• Wasabi-mustard (for a kick if you’re brave)

(Note: If you are underage, or new to cooking, be sure to let your parent/guardian know what you are doing. We don’t want you to get hurt!)

Yum!

Editor/Translator

Author: Nagareboshi

American by birth; international by choice. I am trying to bring attention to one of my favorite causes; me. I translate by day and write by night. Aspiring polyglot. My dream would be to be the personal translator for Amuro Namie. Other than that, my hobbies include languages, weightlifting, sleeping, karaoke, GOOD coffee and music. When I’m not doing any of the above, I am most likely laughing hysterically at Willam Belli videos or EV farming. I ain’t gunna Rupologize for it neither. Waifu are Shirai Kuroko & Euaerin.

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