Not Love But Delicious Foods

 Not Love But Delicious Foods 

by Yoshinaga Fumi

https://yenpress.com/not-love-but-delicious-foods-make-me-so-happy/

Yoshinaga Fumi is one of my favorite mangaka. I don't care what the subject matter is, if she wrote it I will buy it. While her range of stories has broadened Yoshinaga started out as a writer of Boys Love (BL) works and that history is folded into this title. The protagonist of Not Love But Delicious Foods makes a living writing BL. Each chapter is her and her assistant going about their daily work and ends with a meal at a restaurant where they discuss the food. The final page is information as to the location of the restaurant. Manga where a real restaurant is part of each story is not unique to this title but this is the first such work to be translated into English. Once Japan starts allowing tourists in again I'll try to check some of these places out.

The Untold History of Ramen

 Solt, George

The Untold History of Ramen: How Political Crisis in Japan Spawned a Global Food Craze

Berkeley: University of California Press 2014

 

Rāmen is one of the most recognized Japanese foods worldwide. However, did you know rāmen has its roots in a Chinese dish served in 19th century restaurants in Yokohama, that the first reman restaurant was established by a former Japanese civil servant in Asakusa Tokyo with a kitchen staff of Chinese cooks, that rāmen was once called Shina soba (even though it has no buckwheat in it) until restaurant owners in Sapporo started calling it rāmen, that it was considered poor person's food until the late 20th century? 

 

That information and much much more can be found in this excellent history of the humble hand pulled wheat noodle that evolved into something very different. If you like rāmen, are curious about Japanese cuisine in general, or even just interested in the history of post Edo Period Japan, this book will be informative.

A Dictionary of Japanese Food

Hosking, Richard

A Dictionary of Japanese Food: ingredients & culture

Rutland, Vt.: Charles E. Tuttle Co., c1996.

Many years ago a professor at the university I worked at came into the library with a question for me. You see she was going to be teaching in Tokyo for a term and knowing of my knowledge of Japan wanted to know what book to buy. I did not hesitate I immediately took her to the reference section and pulled out our copy of this title. She had been expecting a travel book. I explained that she could peruse several at the public library to gain some useful tips and compare which were the most informative. I stated that the dictionary would be a far better choice.

After her return she took me out for a very nice lunch at a private club and thanked me. She said she kept the book in her purse and put it to use in dining out and shopping on a regular basis.

For anyone interested in Japanese food or traveling to Japan this is a book I recommend. One advantage is that it includes kanji and kana which can be an asset in communication with locals who may not understand your language.

I purchased my copy in the late 1990s, recently I also bought the e-book version to have at hand on my iPhone and iPad for quick lookups.

Flat and tasty

This week I cover a food item few non-Japanese know about. Originating in the Kantō region it is a tasty treat I plan to have in Tokyo when I visit again this fall.

It is: monjayaki もんじゃ焼き

Forever Foodie

If you do sushi you have had this one.

inarizushi いなりずし or 稲荷鮨

If you have not had it order some next time.

Seafood in the shell

This week I'm posting a little late as I was at Fanime Con 2010 until last night.

Here are two posts in S, a popular mollusk and common way to prepare it:

sazae (turbo or top-shell) 栄螺 or 蓑座絵

sazae no tsuboyaki (sazae cooked in the shell) さざえの壷焼き

Japan's Tasty Secrets

Thanks to my friend Esteban in Tokyo I now have a copy of Japan's Tasty Secrets sitting on my desk.

If you want a quick overview of the regional varieties of Japanese food check it out.

Of course as soon as I get a paper copy I find out the book is now available for download as a PDF.

Izakaya

When hunting for information about Japanese food one sees eaten in anime, manga and movies one of the places you expect to find something, but rarely do, is cookbooks. The simple reason for this is that most Japanese cookbooks are either modern high cuisine or fancy stuff a housewife may prepare on occasion but not the day to day stuff of the home and small eateries. In other words pretty useless unless you want to try out the recipes.

This book is a notable exception.

Why? Well it has a good variety of interesting dishes to try out that are based on actual food served in eight Tokyo izakaya. It also has descriptions of these izakaya, including interesting details about them. If you don't know what izakaya are go out and buy Anime Companion Volume 2 and look it up. The short description is that izakaya are very cozy neighborhood pubs where you can relax and enjoy a drink as well simple but delicious food for very good prices. For even more information on izakaya just check out this book, you may find yourself purchasing a copy, and if you like to cook just buy it. You may even find yourself booking a flight to Japan to visit some izakaya, sounds like a good idea to me.

Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook (Hardcover)
by Mark Robinson (Author), Masashi Kuma (Photographer)
Kodansha International
ISBN-10: 4770030657
ISBN-13: 978-4770030658
$25.00

Rice, Soy, and Vegies

3 new entries added to the Anime Companion Supplement. All for food and referencing Doing Time by Kazuichi Hanawa as mentioned on Thursday.

abekawamochi
kinako (soybean flour)
nozawana (turnip greens)

Big House grub and trippin'

I recently finished taking notes on the Fanfare release of Doing Time by Kazuichi Hanawa. This manga is an account of the three years he spent in prison for illegal firearms possession and deals with the day to day tedium of prison life there is a great deal of material on the food served.


I am also planning a two week trip to Tokyo in October. One of my goals is to try as many different Japanese foods there as I can, especially foods I cannot get here in the US. For this reason I will be adding a pile of new food entries to the Anime Companion Supplement over the next two months starting with many of the items mentioned in Doing Time. An easy way to combine the labor of two projects.