Few things could delight kids (and big kids!) more than mimicking their favourite TV shows, movies and videogames, and sitting down to the exact same meal that their heroes enjoy.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles always had the most mouth-watering pizza; Ponyo and Sousuke had home-made ramen noodles; Pop-eye had canned spinach… OK, so maybe not every cartoon meal is the greatest, but putting together food that looks exactly as it did in our favourite shows is sure to inspire even the most kitchen-shy of us to have a go, not to mention encourage fussy eaters to try something new.
If it’s anime-inspired food you’re looking for, cooking website Bistro Animeshi (a combination of “anime” and “meshi”, meaning rice or food) has everything from the fish pie delivered by Kiki herself in Kiki’s Delivery Service to Naruto’s favourite ramen noodles. As well as providing step-by-step recipes for each dish, the food blog makes every effort to match the original dishes as much as possible. We’re sure that you’ll be blown away by what they have to offer.
Plenty of tantalising food photos after the jump!
This is your Throwback Thursday article of the week, your peek into the archives of RocketNews24 featuring articles from back when we were just getting started. We’d hate for you to miss any of the quality quirky news from Asia and Japan just because you recently stumbled upon our site. And if you’re a devout RN24 reader, thanks for sticking around! Enjoy this blast from the past!
(Originally published on November 19, 2012)
Those familiar with Studio Ghibli’s creations will no doubt already know how often food makes an appearance. In fact, we’re struggling to think of a single Studio Ghibli movie that doesn’t dedicate at least a couple of minutes to scenes in which the heroes are eating or preparing wholesome, mouth-watering dishes. In Spirited Away, Chihiro and her family discover a seemingly abandoned food stall stacked with delicious-looking grub; in My Neighbour Totoro we see Satsuki carefully preparing a packed lunch for her younger sister; and in 2011’s From Up On Poppy Hill, almost an entire minute of running time is dedicated to the heroine preparing her family’s morning meal.
Needless to say, food is a big deal in Japan, and Bistro Animeshi’s incredible creations, as we’ll soon see, are testament to just how much passion Japanese people have for their grub.
Let’s take a look at what they have to offer!
- Kiki’s Delivery Service
Mid-way through the movie, Kiki is tasked with delivering a home-made herring pie to an elderly customer’s granddaughter. As we see in the movie, the pie is topped off with a beautiful pastry lid in the shape of the fish, which is then baked in a wood-burning oven. By no means an easy recipe to pull off…
Now that’s pretty impressive!
- My Neighbour Totoro
While their mother is in hospital, older sister Satsuki takes care of a number of household chores, including making her sister’s packed lunch featuring fluffy white rice, fish, even a died plum as we see here:
The real thing:
- Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea
While it’s hardly the greatest culinary creation ever, the ramen Risa makes for her son and new friend Ponyo is a definite kids’ favourite. Made with instant ramen and a few simple toppings, even fussy kids won’t mind tucking in to this one.
And Bistro Animeshi’s version:
- Spirited Away
One night after a long shift working in the spa hotel, Chihiro- or Sen as she’s been re-named- stands and looks out over the sea while eating an enormous anman (a sweet bean-paste-filled pastry). The first time many westerners see this scene, many wonder whether this is simply lazy animation and that Ghibli simply coloured the inside of the bread dark brown as a way of cutting corners. Rest assured, Ghibli wasn’t pulling your leg, but that is a particularly humongous pastry!
The real thing:
But it’s not just Ghibli that Bistro Animeshi is known for!
Fans of Naruto, Disney, Dragon Quest and even the Ninja Turtles will find something to please their palate here!
- Naruto
Mmmmn, looks good! Char-sui pork, hard-boiled egg, spring onions, naruto maki, strips of dried seaweed all in a rich soy broth…
OK, the real thing looks better!
- Dragon Quest
Clearly it’s not just our Mr. Sato who loves blue slimes…
- The Lion King
Lost in the jungle, poor old Simba is offered food by his new friends Timone and Pumbaa. Live insects, anyone?
The sight of a platter of bugs might not appeal to most, but there’s no denying that this creation is impressive!
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
I have these green guys for opening my eyes to food. When I was a kid, I was a terribly fussy eater, and wouldn’t go near anything with onions, peppers or mushrooms on it. Thanks to the heroes in a half shell I suddenly wanted to eat them all- so long as they came on a dough base with tomato sauce, anyway…
Did that make anyone else hungry!?
Is there a food or a drink that you’ve seen in anime or a movie and always wanted to try? What recipes would you simply love to learn and try out yourself? Let us know in the comments section below and, if you’re really good all week, we might just be able to help you out!
Source/food images: ビストロアニメシ
Original images: スタジオジブリ / Disney