Weekly AM2 article: Young Ryo's meal recipe

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Weekly AM2 article: Young Ryo's meal recipe

Postby Switch » Fri Feb 05, 2016 5:44 am

Here is a translation of an article published in the Weekly AM2 online magazine in June 2000, as requested by Giorgio.

Giorgio wrote: Not a necessity at all, but any chance to translate the official recipe (by AM2) of how the young Ryo Hazuki ate his carrots (carefully picked by the farmers one by one)? I think for Shenmue fans it would be enticing to try them cooked that way in real life!


Link to original article


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6 June 2000


A Meal at the Hazuki Residence

This project was born from our desire to taste that well-known meal that features in Shenmue.

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a meal featuring in Shenmue are the carrots that Ryo ate when he was a young boy. We will be recreating exactly the meal that was served that day at the Hazuki residence, specifically the stewed vegetable dish containing those rounded carrots - we'll refer to it as "Simmered Carrots".

Recipe for Simmered Carrots

Image Image
[Left] Our ingredients
[Right] The carrot in question


    Ingredients (serves 2)

  • Carrots: 1
  • Potatoes: 2
  • Snow peas: a moderate amount
  • Sesame oil: 2 large spoonfuls
  • Dashi [Japanese soup stock]: 1.5 cups
  • Seasoning: sugar, mirin [cooking sake], sake, soy sauce

Preparation

Peel the carrots thickly, with broad strokes; this will result in a more angular, polygonal appearance as you slice them into rings. To ensure they cook through properly, make a cross-shaped cut at their centers. Also chop up some of the carrot into chunks.

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Don't forget that polygonal look


Peel the potatoes in the usual way, removing the eyes. Cut into quarters and slice off the sharp edges to help stop them from disintegrating during cooking.

Frying

Heat 2 large spoonfuls of sesame oil in a pot. Fry the carrots and then the potatoes on medium heat, mixing any parts sticking to the base or sides of the pot back with the vegetables. (Once the vegetables have browned somewhat, transferring them to a microwave oven can speed up the process).

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Fry thoroughly


When the surface of the potatoes turns transparent, add the soup stock to the pot.

Simmering and Serving

After the soup stock has been added, heat strongly and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a low flame, add 2 large spoonfuls each of sugar, mirin and sake and simmer.

Simmer slowly while skimming the surface. When the potatoes have softened, add 2 large spoonfuls of soy sauce and put the lid on.

When amount of liquid has halved add 1 large spoonful of soy sauce and the snow peas. Simmer until the liquid has gone and you're done.

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Done!


The Meal from "That Day" is Complete!

Image Image
[Left] The meal at the Hazuki residence
[Right] Remarkably sumptuous!


Aside from the simmered carrots, for a perfect recreation serve with white rice (heaped flatly), miso soup (nothing extraordinary; just containing tofu and wakame seaweed), cold tofu - divided into large pieces. katsuo [dried bonito shavings] topped with ginger, and a slice of grilled salmon. Bon appetit!

The Tasting

And so our "Meal at the Hazuki Residence" is ready, but just at the moment of tasting, [staff member] Takuan stubbornly refuses to eat! His reaction is just like Ryo's as a boy, as if to say "I don't like carrots"!

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On hearing this, the chef [author of this article] Nangoku Goro - who loves carrots - gets in a temper.

Nangoku Goro loves to lecture children. He can't let this go without saying a word or two.

"Takuan, while you're still sleeping in bed, farmers are working hard in the fields, carefully picking carrots, one by one. So how can you waste them like that?"

Image

With these words, he encourages Takuan to eat his carrots, and...

"OK... I'll eat them."

Gathering his courage, Takuan takes the plunge and faces up to the hated carrots like a true man!

(By the way, carrots are rich in beta carotene, so eating them daily will help ward off old age and cancer).

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So, how did you like the "Meal at the Hazuki Residence"?

We checked with one of the Shenmue developers about the "Simmered Carrots", and it turns out that the dish should actually be Niku-jaga [simmered meat and potatoes, a popular Japanese dish] ^_^. From its appearance we weren't able to detect any meat so we didn't include it in the recipe, but when you are making "Simmered Carrots" at home you can turn it into the even more delicious Niku-jaga by adding 100g of thinly-sliced meat, 1 onion and 100g of "shirataki" noodles.

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Re: Weekly AM2 article: Young Ryo's meal recipe

Postby Giorgio » Sat Feb 06, 2016 3:15 pm

Thank you for this translation, Switch! They have some funny comments! Now, the difficult part would be to find those ingredients of the Japanese culinary. :P

Giorgio has received a thanks from: Switch
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Re: Weekly AM2 article: Young Ryo's meal recipe

Postby drunkensailor » Sun Feb 07, 2016 11:30 am

my girlfriend will love this!
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