The Manga Cookbook: Japanese Bento Boxes, Main Dishes and More! [Paperback]

The Manga University Culinary Institute (Author), Chihiro Hattori (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 12, 2007

Reading manga sure can make a person hungry! Food appears frequently in Japanese comics, but what exactly is it that the characters are eating? Introducing The Manga Cookbook, an illustrated step-by-step guide to preparing simple Japanese dishes using ingredients found in every Western kitchen.

Learn to identify and make the same things you see in all your favorite manga: authentic onigiri (rice balls), yakitori (skewered chicken), oshinko (pickled vegetables), udon (Japanese noodles), okonomiyaki (Japanese-style pizza) and many others! Includes sections on how to assemble bento boxed lunches and properly use chopsticks. Features original manga illustrations by Chihiro Hattori. Soon, you too can enjoy a meal fit for a manga character!

Editorial Reviews

Review

Youngsters can participate in manga cooking with The Manga Cookbook from The Manga University Culinary Institute, which offers 27 basic recipes by Yoko Ishihara introduced with color photographs. Additional black and white step-by-step comic book illustrations by Chihiro Hattori show how to make rabbit-shaped apple slices, rice hamburgers, pickled vegetables and teriyaki chicken.

Readers are guided through the cookbook by three cartoon characters: a young girl, Miyuki, who calls herself the kitchen sensei; Hiroshi, her boyfriend who likes to eat; and the feline-like mascot, Coo, identified as the book's culinary mastermind. In addition to recipes, more information about many of the dishes and ingredients are presented through Miyuki's notes. --San Francisco Chronicle

After many of the recipes is additional information, often quite fascinating, about the dishes and ingredients. You will learn plenty of Japanese culinary terms as well as elements of Japanese culture. --Richard Auffrey, The Passionate Foodie,

A "Top 10 Popular Paperbacks" selection for 2011 --American Library Association

About the Author

YOKO ISHIHARA is a certified nutritionist and chef, having earned her degree from Japan's prestigious Kagawa Nutrition University. Ishihara-sensei contributed the recipes and notes to this book, and as a mother of three, knows nearly as much about manga as she does about cooking.

CHIHIRO HATTORI is best known as the artist whose delightful illustrations in Manga University's Kanji de Manga series have taught thousands of students how to read and write Japanese. An avid cook, she created some of the cute bento designs in this book, and has been known to sneak an Usagi Ringo or two into the lunch her husband carries to work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Japanime Co. Ltd. (December 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 4921205078
• ISBN-13: 978-4921205072
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > Asian > Japanese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for bento, April 18, 2008

By 

snappiness (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Manga Cookbook: Japanese Bento Boxes, Main Dishes and More! (Paperback)

I am active on LJ's bento community and was happy to find this book. It is GREAT if you are into bento. There isn't much out there in English for bento (I have several Japanese bento cookbooks), and this has very clear, easy to understand instructions for all kinds of Japanese recipes, and includes a whole bento section on how to pack a box and suggestions of what to include. Step by step instructions for making a train bento, and garden bento, also instructions for making several decorative foods to go in bento.

It's organized really well, with recipes and illustrations, then a page of text that tells about the recipe or food item - history, culture, stuff like that. For example, I finally learned about those traditional bento of scrambled egg, ground meat and sliced snow peas over rice. They're called Soboro, and there are some examples of making pretty bento with that. The recipes look easy enough that my 12-year-old said she wanted to try some.

All in all, I wish I'd found this book a year ago when I started being interested in bento, but it's not just for newbies. I am seeing recipes in here that I really want to try, including some cute bento ideas that I haven't seen or thought of. Lots and lots of recipes, it's a thicker book than I expected.

If you are a big Manga fan, you might expect the book to be read back to front/right to left, Manga-style, but it's not. It's American manga, which is fine with me. Very easy to read. Much more helpful and "how to" than the (very cute) "Face Food" book.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BUY THIS BOOK!, July 7, 2009

By 

Fritters (Los Angeles, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Manga Cookbook: Japanese Bento Boxes, Main Dishes and More! (Paperback)

I bought this book on a whim at Anime Expo. I've read recipes before on making Japanese food, and generally thought, well, that's nice, but it's a lot of effort. After getting halfway through this book in one day, I went shopping and tonight I have umeboshi onigiri made with sushi rice in my fridge, a bento for my lunch tomorrow and have finished a dinner of karaage. This book is PERFECT for the beginner, especially those introduced to the delights of Japanese food through manga or anime. It makes everything simple enough to dive right in and enjoy the delights of Japanese food in your home. The authors have made a real effort to adjust things to American kitchens and measurements. It's even an entertaining read. I can't wait to get through the second half of the book and see what I'm making later this week!

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who knew Japanese recipes were so easy?, May 13, 2008

By 

Jefa N. Sheehan "Just Jefa" (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Manga Cookbook: Japanese Bento Boxes, Main Dishes and More! (Paperback)

This book is fantastic. I just received my copy a few days ago and have already made several of the recipes with no problem at all. The instructions are very clear and easy to follow. The book is full of pictures (color and b&w), extended notes on the customs and history surrounding the recipes and has lots of suggestions for switching up your recipes. I think this book is perfect for anyone just getting into Japanese cooking or bento and would be great for beginners as well as seasoned chefs. I was surprised at how much useful information they stuffed into this book! A great value for your money!