Let's Make Ramen!: A Comic Book Cookbook

by Hugh Amano, Sarah Becan

Overview

A comic book cookbook with accessible ramen recipes for the home cook, including simple weeknight bowls, weekend project stocks, homemade noodles, and an array of delicious accompaniments, with insights and tips from notable ramen luminaries.

LONGLISTED FOR THE ART OF EATING PRIZE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY CHICAGO TRIBUNE • ONE OF THE YOUNG ADULT LIBRARY SERVICES ASSOCIATION’S GREAT GRAPHIC NOVELS FOR TEENS

Playful and instructive, this hybrid cookbook/graphic novel introduces the history of ramen and provides more than 40 recipes for everything you need to make the perfect bowl at home including tares, broths, noodles, and toppings. Authors Hugh Amano and Sarah Becan present colorful, humorous, and easy-to-follow comics that fully illustrate the necessary steps and ingredients for delicious homemade ramen. Along the way, they share preparation shortcuts that make weeknight ramen a reality; provide meaty tidbits on Japanese culinary traditions; and feature words of wisdom, personal anecdotes, and cultural insights from eminent ramen figures such as chef Ivan Orkin and Ramen Adventures' Brian MacDuckston. Recipes include broths like Shio, Shoyu, Miso, and Tonkotsu, components such as Onsen Eggs, Chashu, and Menma, and offshoots like Mazemen, Tsukemen, and Yakisoba. Ideal for beginners, seasoned cooks, and armchair chefs alike, this comic book cookbook is an accessible, fun, and inviting introduction to one of Japan's most popular and iconic dishes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399581991
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	07/16/2019
Series:	Let's Make
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	36,943
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Hugh Amano is a chef and writer. He was the creative consultant and opening sous chef at Chicago’s exploration of Macanese cuisine, Fat Rice, and the co-author of The Adventures of Fat Rice, Let’s Make Ramen!, and Let’s Make Dumplings! Hugh is a graduate of the University of Colorado and New England Culinary Institute.

Sarah Becan has been drawing comics since she was very small. Her food-based autobiographical webcomic “I Think You’re Sauceome” sparked a love of food and culinary illustration, and her work has since appeared in various publications, including Saveur, Eater, Chicago magazine, and Chicago’s Reader newspaper. Her first graphic novel, The Complete Ouija Interviews, was a recipient of a Xeric award, and she illustrated Let’s Make Ramen! and The Adventures of Fat Rice. Currently residing in Chicago, she would be very happy to do nothing but draw food all day.

Editorial Reviews

★ 06/03/2019

Chef and writer Amano and illustrator Becan team up again (after The Adventures of Fat Rice) to celebrate ramen in this fun and accessible graphic guide. The book is divided into basic sections, beginning with “Ramen 101,” in which the authors explain “tare” (the “seasoning that gives ramen its characteristic depth of flavor”). A chapter on stocks and broths includes recipes for shoyu (soy broth), dashi (a stock of sea kelp and shitake mushrooms), and tonkotsu (pork broth). In the noodles chapter, the authors explain various kinds of premade noodles as well as how to make noodles with a pasta machine; and in chapters on meat and accompaniments, Amano and Becan offer ramen recipes using chashu (pork belly) and yakitori (marinated and grilled chicken) as well as pickled shitaki mushrooms and charred shallots and scallions. The book concludes with an “Offshoots & Riffs” chapter, in which the authors improvise on ramen, with recipes for curry ramen and adobo chicken ramen, among others. Becan’s illustrations are both amusing and functional, and Amano’s enthusiastic instructions are thoughtful and encouraging. This delectable fusion of two increasingly popular genres—ramen and comics—will thrill ramen aficionados. (July)

Publishers Weekly

Let’s Make Ramen! not only lays out how to make ramen in an accessible way, but it also packs in a wealth of information about ramen and Japanese culture. You come away with a real understanding of what makes ramen so special.” – Ivan Orkin, author of Ivan Ramen
 
“As a ramen aficionado and lover of comics, I’ve waited for a book like this forever! This book is filled to the brim with in-depth knowledge of ramen told through mouthwatering, easy-to-digest comics. Reading Let’s Make Ramen! is as delightful and satisfying as slurping a delicious bowl of ramen.” – Robin Ha, author and illustrator of Cook Korean!
 
“This book is a gorgeously illustrated love letter to ramen. It’ll walk your feet to the ramen-ya before you’ve finished the first section.” – Lucy Knisley, author and illustrator of Relish and French Milk
 
“From exposing technique to preaching etiquette, Let’s Make Ramen! is a ramen revelation! This beautifully illustrated cookbook will slurp all your senses and leave you crushed. A must-own for all of us ramen freaks!” – Keizo Shimamoto, chef/owner of Ramen Shack
 
“Beware: This book is so compelling, and it so simply facilitates the ramen process from start to finish, that instead of happily lazing around on your day off, you’ll be itching to cook ramen for yourself!” – Bjorn Shen, chef/owner of Artichoke
 
“What I love about Let’s Make Ramen! is that it touches on the tradition of ramen, while giving people practical means to recreate their own unique bowls at home.” – Tory Miller, James Beard Award-winning chef and noodle slinger

From the Publisher