Let’s Make Ramen!: A Comic Book Cookbook

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. [em](July) [/em]