Cooking Papa was right all along!
In his formative years, our Japanese-language writer P.K. Sanjun was an avid fan of cooking manga such as Mr. Ajikko and Cooking Papa, the later dealing a businessman who hides his amazing ability to cook from his coworkers. Each episode would feature a unique recipe that our young P.K. would often try himself with varying results.
▼ Cooking Papa also has its own line of instant curry pouches
However, now a cooking papa himself, P.K. doesn’t have quite as much free time to keep up with his favorite manga, despite the fact that it is still being published after 34 years. Still, there was one recipe that he had never tried that still lingered in his memory: Sushi Fried Rice.
The concept is, very simply, to take leftover sushi and fry it up, and yet for some reason the idea of doing such a thing felt kind of taboo. Moreover, P.K. didn’t have a copy of the original manga where it appeared, so he would have to go by hazy memory. Nevertheless, he thought it was worth a shot.
Here’s what he did:
Step 1: Cut the toppings into small pieces
Step 2: Put the sushi rice (and seaweed if present) into a bowl. Add raw egg and mix together.
Step 3: Chop up some Welsh onions (negi).
Step 4: Add the rice mixture to a heated pan coated with sesame oil.
Step 5: When the rice has browned somewhat, add in the toppings and onion, along with salt and pepper to suit your taste.
Again, this probably wasn’t exactly the recipe as printed in Cooking Papa. P.K. thinks papa might have added in some Korean gochujang too. It looked good, but P.K. was still concerned that he had just fried some sushi rice.
After taking a bite, though, he was blown away by the deliciousness of it all. The sweetly vinegared rice had a light and refreshing taste that was smooth and easy to eat. Also, the thick chunks of seafood mixed in made it seem like an especially luxurious dish.
What’s great about this recipe is that there’s lots of room for personal touches. Some gochujang would probably mix in well, but so would a slew of other ingredients and seasonings. Anyone who tries this out would be best to start simple, like P.K. did, and then think about what would be good to add in.
Of course, sushi by itself is great, but this makes for an awesome alternative in the event of leftovers from a party or other large gathering. It’s no wonder Cooking Papa is such a long-lived series in the world of manga.
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