How to recreate your favourite dishes from Anime films and TV shows

 Katsudon

A crispy pork cutlet on a bed of steaming hot rice. A favourite dish in shows such as My Hero Academia, Yuri! On Ice and Food Wars! The dish holds global appeal with the highest number of searches coming from the Philippines. The nation stands far out from the rest with searches in second place Singapore being only half this number, with Australia (23%), Panama (21%), and Bolivia (16%) also being hotspots for the dish. This Japanese dish is also a staple in Western culture and would go down a treat when entertaining family and friends. 

INGREDIENTS - 1 Serving

• Cooked rice – KELLY LOVES
• 1 egg

Pork Tonkatsu

• 1 pork cutlet
• 35g of flour
• 1 egg
• 50g of panko

Onion Marinade

• ¼~1/2 onion
• 2 tbsp of soy sauce – KELLY LOVES
• 1 tbsp of mirin
• 1 pinch of sugar

RECIPE

MAKE PORK TONKATSU

• Put 2cm of oil in a pan and heat it until 180°
• In the meantime, place the pork cutlet rinsed and dried on a cutting board and gently beat it with a rolling pin. Cut the side of the meat every 1.5cm. Season the meat with salt and pepper
• Put the meat in the flour (previously placed on a plate) and make sure all the meat is covered
• Then, cover the meat with the beaten eggs and the panko.
• Fry the cutlet (max 5 min).
• (Before dressing) Pre-cut the tonkatsu so it is easier to eat.
  
  
• In a frying pan, stir fry the onion, then deglaze with soy sauce, mirin and sugar. There should be some “juice” at the bottom of the pan.
• Lower the heat and pour the beaten egg on top of the onions, and briefly cover. Cook the eggs as you like them.
• On a plate, place the cooked rice, then the onions and the eggs and the tonkatsu on top.

Onigiri

Sticky rice accompanied by sheets of nori and paired with tuna and spicy mayo make this recipe a firm favourite in Pokemon, Demon Slayer, Sailor Moon and Fruits Basket. The food is triangular-shaped and commonly made with vegetables or meat. The dish generates global interest but is most popular in Guam, an unincorporated territory of the United States in the North Pacific Ocean which has the highest volume of searches for the recipe.

INGREDIENTS 

• Rice – KELLY LOVES
• Nori sheets – KELLY LOVES

For the Tuna Mayo filling:

• Canned tuna 
• Spicy mayo – Kelly Loves

RECIPE

• Prepare the filling by mixing drained canned tuna with the Kelly Loves Spicy mayo.
• Rinse the rice 3 times and leave it to soak in water for 30 minutes then drain it. Then cook the rice using your favourite method. The most popular methods are rice cookers or using a pan.
• You can use 150g of raw rice to get approximately 450g of cooked rice. You will need to add to your rice cooker a pan of 250ml of water.
• Prepare a bowl of water and humidify your hands to prevent the rice from sticking.
• Take approximately 100g of rice and form a ball, press the centre to make space to place the filling. 
• Close the ball and shape with your hand to make a triangle shape. That being said, there are several methods to make onigiri, you can even mould it so you can get creative.

Miso Chashu Ramen

Naruto’s staple dish is Miso Chashu Ramen, which also features in Dragon Ball and Dr. Stone. The bowl of steaming noodles, chicken broth, boiled egg and slices of chicken tossed in with aromatic vegetables is a go-to dish for comfort food. Singapore searched most for the dish, showing their love for the Naruto classic. In North America, fans are searching for their favourite anime food as well, with the US and Canada being in the top 5 countries to search for the dish. The Belgians and Dutch lead the European searches at around 50% of the rate of those fans in Singapore.

INGREDIENTS - 2 servings

Broth: 

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 knob of ginger 
• 1 shallot
• 1 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds – KELLY LOVES
• 1 tbsp roasted sesame oil
• 110g ground pork
• 3 tbsp miso
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp sake
• 700ml chicken stock/broth (350ml per bol)
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp white pepper powder

For the ramen and optional toppings:

• 2 servings of ramen noodles – reuse from KL cup noodles.
• Chashu (homemade or store-bought)  
• Ajitsuke Tamago 
• Narutomaki
• Crispy Nori Snacks – KELLY LOVES
• Chopped green onion

RECIPE

1. MAKE THE BROTH
   
   

• Mince the garlic and ginger. Mince the shallot. Set these three prepared ingredients aside. 
• Grind the sesame seeds, leaving some seeds unground for texture.
• In a medium pot, heat the sesame oil over medium-low heat and add the minced garlic, ginger, and shallot and stir fry.
• Add the meat and increase heat to medium. Cook the meat until it’s no longer pink. 
• Add miso and quickly blend well with the meat.
• Add the ground sesame seeds, sugar and mix well.
• Add the sake and chicken stock and bring the mixture to a simmer.
• Taste your soup and add salt (if needed!) and white pepper. 
• Cover with the lid and keep the ramen soup simmering while you cook the noodles.

2. PREPARE THE TOPPINGS
   

• Chashu is the most famous topping but if homemade, it can take a few hours to cook
• Menma can be marinated with Chashu broth
• Ajitsuke Tamago can also be marinated with Chashu broth. Cut it in half before serving.
• Chop the green onion and the Narutomaki
• Take the Kelly Loves Crispy Nori Snacks out of their plastic tray.

      3. COOK THE RAMEN

• Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a boil (ramen noodles already include salt in the dough). Meanwhile, rinse the noodles – it will help to loosen them up.
• Cook the noodles according to the package instructions. When the noodles are done, drain them well to not dilute your soup.

4. EVERYTHING COMES TOGETHER
   

• Place the noodles into the two bowls.
• Pour approximately 400-500ml of broth
• Place the toppings of your choosing on top

Gyoza

One of the most popular recipes to recreate from anime shows and TV programmes. Gyozas are Japanese dumplings or small, filled dough packages made from wheat flour and filled with juicy meat and cabbage filling. The Idolmaster’s favourite food and a popular dish in other animes like Food Wars, Dorohedoro, Sakura CardCaptor, and Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles. Whilst the fusion dish originated in the South-East, it’s now most globally searched for in Singapore with Europe also showing strong interest, particularly from Belgium, Netherlands and Denmark.

INGREDIENTS - makes 30 gyozas

Filling

• 200g Napa Cabbage
• 200g of minced pork
• 2 chopped green onions
• 1 clove garlic 
• 1 knob of ginger (2.5 cm; grated)

Gyoza Wrapper

For the filling seasonings

• 1 tsp sake
• 1 tsp roasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp soy sauce – KELLY LOVES
• ¼ tsp salt
• ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper

For the dipping sauce

• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar – KELLY LOVES 
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce – KELLY LOVES
• 1 tsp sesame oil

RECIPE

MAKE THE GYOZA FILLING

• Optional step: As cabbage leaves are thick and hard, we use different ways to wilt them. You can blanch or microwave the leaves for a minute or two. You can also sprinkle them with salt to dehydrate the cabbage, then squeeze the water out. Or you can skip the entire process altogether.
• Discard the core of the cabbage leaves; mince the leaves into very small pieces.
• Mince the green onions.
• Combine the ground meat, cabbage, and green onions in a large bowl.
• Add the minced garlic and grated ginger to the bowl.
• Add the seasonings to the bowl.
• Mix well and knead the mixture with your hand.

FOLD THE GYOZA

• Take a wrapper and place it in the palm of your non-dominant hand. Use a teaspoon to take a small amount of filling and put it in the centre of the wrapper. Dip one finger in a bowl of water and draw a circle around the outer ¼ inch (6 mm) of the wrapper with your wet finger until it’s wet all around.
• Fold the wrapper in half over the filling.
• Using your left thumb and index finger, start making a pleat about once every ¼ inch on the top part of the wrapper.
• Continue all the way toward the left until there is no more top wrapper to pleat.
• Press the pleats and shape the gyoza. Repeat folding the remaining wrappers.

Okonomiyaki

A dish best known for its feature in Ramna 1 and 2, this recipe is for pancake lovers with a twist. Okonomiyaki is a delicious Japanese savoury pancake made with flour, eggs, cabbage, and protein, and topped with a variety of condiments."Okonomi" literally means "to one's liking", so this versatile dish can be created with ingredients of your choice. 

INGREDIENTS - Makes 2 pancakes

For the pancake batter

• 140g of flour
• 4 tbsp of yam (yamaimo or nagaimo – optional)
• 120ml of dashi broth
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder / You can also use Okonomiyaki pancake premix instead!
• 750g of minced cabbage
• 6 slices of pork belly

Special Okonomiyaki Sauce

• 2 tbsp of ketchup
• 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
•  1 tbsp of sugar

Toppings

• Spicy Mayo – KELLY LOVES
• Katsuobushi
• Beni Shoga
• Aonori

RECIPE

MAKE THE PANCAKE DOUGH

• In a bowl, mix the flour and the baking powder.
• Add the yam if you have some and mix in the dashi broth. Set aside at least 30 minutes (until you’re ready to make the pancakes).
• At the last minute, add the egg and the cabbage.
• In the hot pan, pour half of the batter.
• Place 3 slices of pork belly on top of the batter. 
• When the pancake is halfway cooked through, turn it down!

MAKE THE PANCAKE DOUGH

• When the pancake is cooked, place it on a plate. Add the okonomiyaki sauce on top and the Kelly Loves Spicy Mayo.
• Add all the other toppings to your liking.

Key findings from our research:

• December and February are the top months for peak searches worldwide for anime recipes
• December and January are the top months for the countries that hit peak search volume 
• Lunar New Year is celebrated across January and February in East Asia - this is a popular time for people seeking traditional recipes to cook for their families 
• Singapore is the most common country to hit peak search volume. 3 times the number of searches than any other country
• Asia is responsible for 71% of peak searches for dishes, North America (14%), South America and Europe (7%) each
• The UK makes the top ten of peak search averages in 10th place, ranking below New Zealand

Methodology