A super-easy way to transport your taste buds to the bathhouse of the gods.

Back at the start of the summer, Ghibli’s Table, the series of cookbooks with official recipes for recreating the mouthwatering food seen in the anime movies of Studio Ghibli, got our attention with the announcement that it would finally be releasing a cookbook for Spirited Away. As of July 31, Ghibli’s Table: Spirited Away is now on sale, and as a sort of appetizer, publisher Shufu no Tomo has revealed more details for some of the recipes contained inside.

The Ghibli’s Table recipes are designed to be simple enough for even cooking newbies to enjoy them. For example, even though the recipe for The Sweet Red Bean Paste Buns that Lin Gave to Chihiro is listed as a Level 3 recipe (Level 1 recipes are the easiest), it looks pretty easy. Just how easy? Well, let’s take a look at the full list of ingredients and steps.

The Sweet Red Bean Paste Buns that Lin Gave to Chihiro

Ingredients
● Cake flour (150 grams/5.3 ounces)
● All-purpose flour (50 grams/1.8 ounces)
● Baking powder (3 grams/0.1 ounces)
● Sugar (1 tablespoon)
● Salt (1/4 teaspoon)
● Lukewarm water (Roughly 110 milliliters/3.4 ounces)
● Dry yeast (3 grams/0.1 ounces)
● Taihaku-brand sesame oil (1 teaspoon)
● Koshian/smooth sweet red bean paste (240 grams/8.5 ounces)

● Step 1
In a bowl, sift cake flour, all-purpose flour, and baking soda together. Add sugar and salt and mix all ingredients together.

● Step 2
In a separate bowl, dissolve dry yeast in lukewarm water. Add resulting mixture to bowl containing ingredients from Step 1 and mix lightly by hand.

● Step 3
While mixture is still powdery, add sesame oil and mix.

● Step 4
Press mixture firmly with base of hand, adding a small amount of water if it has hardened. Knead until smooth.

● Step 5
Roll mixture into ball and place in a bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap to prevent drying out. Let sit in a warm place for 30 to 60 minutes to ferment.

● Step 6
Cut dough into three equally sized pieces, re-rolling dough to cover incisions. Place on tray, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for 10 minutes.

● Step 7
Divide sweet red bean paste into three equally sized portions and roll each into a ball.

● Step 8
Spread each piece of dough into a disc about 12 centimeters (4.7 inches) in diameter. Place ball of sweet red bean paste in center and wrap dough around it, making sure to firmly close up any openings.

● Step 9
Place each bun on a square of backing paper inside bowl or on dish. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 20 minutes for second fermentation.

● Step 10
Transfer buns to a bamboo steamer, add water and steam on medium heat for 15 minutes.

▼ Thanks, Lin!

In addition to other recreation recipes like The Chicken Dish that Chihiro’s Mother Ate, The Mysterious Food Chihiro’s Father Ate, and Kamaji’s Tempura Bowl, the cookbook will also teach you how to make revised versions of Spirited Away fare that will be more palatable for real-world diners, such as the Non-bitter Bitter Dumpling, which replaces the fantasy-world magical ingredients of the medicinal dumpling that Chihiro feeds to Haku with mugwort and aojiru (a kind of Japanese green vegetable juice).

Ghibli’s Table: Spirited Away is priced at 1,760 yen (US$12.15) and can be purchased online through Amazon Japan here and Rakuten here. And if this has you in the mood to try your hand at other Ghibli-inspired sweets, don’t forget about the official recipe for Castle in the Sky Levistone candies.

Source: PR Times
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: PR Times, Studio Ghibli
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