Lets Make Ramen!: A Comic Book Cookbook by Hugh Amano

Lets Make Ramen!: A Comic Book Cookbook Reviews

• 
  Tina Haigler

  Man...making ramen from scratch is intense! It's definitely not for the faint of heart.
  
  This graphic novel for making ramen is awesome! It breaks everything down into very simple to understand (if not simple to make) formulas, that even a novice cook can follow. Don't get me wrong, this is difficult stuff - just making the broth, let alone the noodles, seems like a monumental task - but to have it broken down into steps I can understand is amazing. The chapters are broken down into ramen 101, stocks & broth, noodles, meats, accompaniments, and offshoots & riffs. I knew it was in depth but yikes! It's intimidating to say the least.
  
  In any other form, I think this would've just been too much, and I would've brought it back to the library without ever making anything. However, this form was so fun, simple, colorful, and upbeat, that one of my goals for 2020 is to overcome my trepidation, and make a delicious bowl of ramen from scratch. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to cook, wants to expand their culinary skills, wants to learn a little about Japanese cuisine or learn about the history of ramen, or someone who simply wants to explore this particular genre of graphic novel. Enjoy!
• 
  Gabrielle

  When the weather gets a little cold, I do love a nice, big comforting bowl of soup. And when I don’t have a ton of time or energy left at the end of the day, I often end up making some ramen: there’s always a sad veggie or two left in the crisper that needs to be used up, and a dollop of butter and curry paste brightens up any soup stock. Easy peasy!
  
  When I saw this book, I figured it would make for a great source of inspiration and new ideas to pimp up my fall and winter ramen routine. I also fell in love with the format: I remember having a couple of illustrated cookbooks as a child, which were really great to teach children about basic food preparation (it certainly made it look more fun than regular cookbooks!), so the idea of blending comic books and recipes struck me as pure genius.
  
  While this book is gorgeous and informative, I have to say it seriously lacks in vegetarian options!! While I do eat meat from time to time, it isn’t a big part of my diet or cooking preferences. There is only one vegetarian broth recipe, and while I understand that it's not strictly traditional, a few variations would have been nice. And while there are many recipes for the different meaty garnishes to add to a ramen bowl, again there are very few alternative ideas for meat-free versions included in the book… The meat-balls and marinated eggs recipes look absolutely scrumptious.
  
  While I am not quite ready for the very time-consuming process of making my own broth, I love that the author thought to include a way to make home-made “instant” ramen broth and store it so you don’t have to spend an entire day boiling away pig trotters every time you fancy a bowl.
  
  I'm giving this book 3 stars because despite being a very cool idea, I'm just not going to use it much. This is really more for the ramen purists, as where I'll always be the girl who uses store-bought broth and noodles when she feel like having a lazy dinner.
• 
  Brittany McCann

  This was actually an incredibly fun graphic novel/cookbook. This is so awesomely done. I thoroughly enjoyed reading a story about delicious food and learning the history and the depth of ways to make each ingredient from scratch and what it means culturally :)
  
  Brilliant! I want to buy this one!
  
  5 stars for making me put it on my Amazon Christmas wishlist!
• 
  Carol Rodríguez

  Me ha gustado mucho, lo he devorado del tirón. Sobre todo, es un libro muy bonito, con mucho arte y estilo, ya que todo se cuenta como si de una novela gráfica se tratara: historia del ramen, recetas, combinaciones, modificaciones, acompañamientos, derivados, variantes para todos los gustos, consejos, utensilios... Se nota que está hecho con mucho cariño y, por mi parte, me ha traído muchos recuerdos de las toneladas de ramen que comí en Japón. Este plato es todo un arte, y el libro también.
  
  
• 
  Catherine

  While this book is entertaining, I'm (a) just not THAT into ramen and (b) unable to eat most of the combinations as I don't eat meat. (This book is super meat-centric.)
  
  
  
  
  This is a serious. ramen. cookbook. (in comic book clothes). As in, make your own noodles, broth, etc. That said, it was interesting to read about the (surprisingly recent) history of ramen, ramen culture (it's totally a thing), and the many variations. The illustrations are colorful and fun, which kept me reading even after I knew that I was never going to follow most of the instructions.
  
  Personally, I'll stick to buying ready-made noodles and throwing together some quicker combinations, like
  easy miso mushroom ramen,
  spicy ramen with tofu, or
  coconut curry ramen.
  
  But if you LOVE ramen (and meat), this is the book for you.
  
• 
  maegan

  I had no clue of how to make ramen when I started reading this book, and I still don’t. But it’s cute.
  
  It’s beautiful and didactic, however its major flaw is that it does not alleviate in any way the difficulty of cooking a dish that is not part of your culture for the first time and with no prior knowledge. To me, it was pretty to look at, but unhelpful.
  
  In addition, the authors include a lot of interesting information about ramen, from how it started to become popular, to the etiquette to follow when visiting a ramen shop in Japan. I really liked all of that, but a lot of this information is interspersed with the recipes throughout the book and that made it quite difficult for me to follow.
• 
  Nadine in NY Jones

  This review covers only part of the book. Because this is a cookbook, I read only a few pages at a time, so I did not have a chance to finish it before my library copy was due.
  
  I love the idea of this book, and I love the look - the art is beyond charming!! - but the actuality of the book left something lacking. This book was just okay.
  
  The authors assume little prior knowledge in the reader, which is good, so they include a lot of interesting history of ramen in Japanese cuisine, and a lot of suggestions for equipment and ingredients, which is all good. But they do this all in the beginning. So when you first open the book, you are excited to make ramen!! (I mean, that's what the title says, after all), but you can't ... yet. First you have to read pages and pages of other information. I wish the authors had included a sort of starter recipe at the beginning, maybe starting with instant and adding a few extra ingredients, and building on that as the book progresses. In the time that I had this book, I never actually got to a recipe where I could make ramen.
  
  Other disappointments:
  * although the authors seem to be assuming no prior knowledge, you do need some prior knowledge in order to make sense of things. They leap right in using Japanese terms for ingredients (which is great! I want to use the right terms) so you have to flip around quite a bit to find the definitions before you can go back and understand what they are talking about, which is annoying and time consuming. (The table of suggested ramen combinations was useless to me because of this, because I didn't know what a lot of the words meant.)
  
  * there are very few vegetarian options here. Almost all of the broths include chicken stock or pork stock or both chicken and pork stock. (You really should like pork if you pick this up - there's a lot of pork. I do like pork! But my daughter is a vegetarian.)
  
  * the authors assume we have an enormous freezer in which to store all of the extra stock and other ingredients - I don't have that much space!
  
  * there is no guidance on which brands to look for. I understand that the authors didn't want to seem like sponsors of a brand, but I know nothing about Japanese brands, and I can't read Japanese, so I can't comparison shop very well either. I need someone to hold my hand here. I can tell that the illustrations are depicting actual brands, because I recognized a few, but I didn't know what most of them were, and I didn't want to have to stand in a store holding the book and trying to match the pictures.
  
  * you need a pasta maker. There's a lot of info on making your own ramen noodles (awesome!) but it requires a pasta maker. I don't have a pasta maker. (This was my biggest disappointment.)
• 
  MrsJoseph *grouchy*

  Totally just ordered it at the library. I always "taste test" my cookbooks first. Cookbooks are so very personal...but I L O V E (LOVE) ramen!
  
  Sadly, I live in an area where it's super hard to get good ramen. I have tried to cook my own before. Wooooo! Talk about a slow moving, expensive trainwreck of a dumpster fire.
• 
  vonblubba

  I wasn't really convinced about the idea of a comic book cookbook. And yet, it works. Recipes and techniques are easy to understand and accurate. It's essential, but it contains every info you need to start cooking ramen at home.
  
  My only complain is about units of measurement. I'll never understand how someone can find comfortable cooking with the imperial system. Or those annoying "cups". Every cookbook that aims to appeal to a worldwide audience should in my opinion contain dosages in both metric and imperial system.
• 
  Nicole

  Really neat idea for a cookbook! I picked it up out of curiosity, but it really works. Having the images along with the instructions was very helpful. I also especially enjoyed the history of ramen that was included, as well as the sections from different ramen specialists.
  
  (Will I be making my own ramen? Probably not. But I appreciate knowing what goes into the ramen I eat at restaurants.)
• 
  LAPL Reads

  Walk into any supermarket, peruse the soup aisle, and you will find the ubiquitous paper cups of ramen lining numerous shelves. The variety is terrifc. These instant cups have helped many of us get through a hectic day at work or home because they are convenient, inexpensive, have a relatively long shelf-life, and are easy to make in a microwave or with boiling water poured over the contents to provide a quick meal. Ramen has become a generic name for a large variety of instant noodle soups. What is ramen? Is it the name of a type of noodle, or the name of a soup? What is the difference between ramen, soba, udon and other types of noodles? Is it possible to make ramen at home from scratch? Does it take a lot of time and effort? The most important question--does it taste better? Chef Hugh Amano answers those questions and writes about everything you never thought you wanted to know about ramen in this food and cookbook. Illustrator-artist Sarah Becan's images are clear, bright, perfect additions to Amano's instructions. Her graphic novel format allows her to illustrate the step-by-step techniques that would not otherwise be obvious,and this applies to her pictures of other food products and their preparation.
  
  The origins of the ramen noodle go back to 1868 when Japan emerged from a closed-off feudal period and opened its country to the outside world. Hand-pulled noodles from China evolved into ramen soup bowls that were sold in port cities to working class people. It was during Japan's post-World War II era that the dried ramen noodles, invented by Momofuku Ando, fulfilled the need for something quick and inexpensive to eat. "The fact that there was not a massive amount of Japanese history behind ramen helped it break free from the usual constraints of tradition. Allowing for flexibility in how it is interpreted and created." These noodle soups became a sensation with shops opening all over Japan. This relatively new food allowed for a great deal of creativity in Japan that has a long culinary history. In classic cuisine can be found innumerable variations in prefectures, villages, towns and different neighborhoods in large cities. Variety, ingenuity and a desire for new flavors all come into play with ramen.
  
  Chef Amano might overwhelm you with all the broths, stocks and tares, but he saves the day with some quick takes: instant ramen broth, fast weeknight ramen broth, homemade instant ramen cubes. The information about noodles is fascinating because of the many types and methods to make them. Ingredients and their preparations are also mind-boggling and seductive. The accompaniments and "offshoots & riffs" are equally intriguing and mouthwatering. Chef Amano gives a shout-out to another ramen lover, who has his own simplified ways of making ramen in the home. As in a fine bowl of ramen, everything beautifully comes together in this excellent book that has history, ingredients, techniques and love.
  
  Reviewed by Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & Fiction
• 
  Alle Bücher müssen gelesen werden

  "Ich habs gelesen" ist das falsche Wort für ein Kochbuch. Stimme aber in dem Fall, weil es ja nicht nur ein Kochbuch ist sondern auch ein Comic: Was für eine geniale Idee. Da kommt zusammen was zusammen gehört: Food Porn, Comic und Rezepte.
  
  Außerdem mag ich Ramen.
• 
  Stewart Tame

  As far as I'm concerned, the world needs more food-related graphic novels. And, according to her bio in the back of the book, Sarah Becan shares this dream. I definitely want to track down more of her work …
  
  So this is a cookbook in comics form. It will teach you all you need to know about making ramen, even how to make your own noodles if you wish. Amano and Becan’s enthusiasm for their subject is contagious. And, while I don't think I’m ready to try making any (my kitchen skills could charitably be described as “basic” at best), I’m definitely keen to eat some. There are a few restaurants in my area that do reasonably authentic ramen, or so I've heard.
  
  To be fair, some of my enjoyment comes from the sheer novelty of the concept--a graphic novel cookbook! The art is lovely, the instructions clear and concise. What more could you want except maybe to taste the various recipes while reading? Recommended!
• 
  Ren Puspita

  4 stars
  
  If only those Indonesian chef willing to write their cookbook in the comic format, I might want to read them, lol
  
  Kudos to Hugh Amano and Sarah Becan to bring their vast knowledge about ramen and how to make it entertaining but educating at the same time. Don't blame me when I said that I REALLY crave a bowl of ramen after eating this.
  
  A very yummy, slurpy interpretation of recipe book, indeed :D
• 
  Michelle Bozbay

  I am now even more intimidated to attempt to make ramen myself at home, but I do have an even deeper appreciation for this dish after reading about all of its components. The comic book format makes for a fun, enjoyable read.
• 
  Fani

  Buku masak pertama ku baca tahun ini dengan format illustrasi komik nya yang bikin mau makan ramen😭😭.
• 
  Maya

  yummy
• 
  Courtney

  Art was stellar, loved the background information, and the tone was encouraging.
• 
  Kendrick

  Love this! Such a great way to break down not only how to make ramen, but also what goes in to what you order. What's the difference between Shio and Shoyu etc. Lots of great images in here and such a joy to read.
• 
  nishka chokhani

  this was such a good and informative book honestly i kinda want to make ramen now. someone make it with me thank you
• 
  Pamela Huxtable

  Yumminess abounds, but there’s not enough vegetarian or pescatarian options for me to add to my cookbook library. Illustrations are gorgeous and the recipes are clear and presented in a friendly, non threatening, easy to jump in fashion.
• 
  Taun

  It’s a graphic novel.
  
  It’s a cookbook.
  
  Sometimes you just see something sitting on the shelf that accidentally ends up at the checkout counter & you take it home & love it & use it to create a yummy bowl of something incredible. I offer no apologies. I have no regrets.
  
  Drool worthy watercolor illustrations, noodle history, plenty of recipes, and insight into the Japanese culture.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Personal note: I used these recipes with blood sugar friendly subs (shiritake noodles, etc) to maintain my health. The others in my home eat them as written. We all agree on the deliciousness regardless of recipe deviation.
• 
  Nikki

  The illustrations are beautiful on this book. So full of color and inviting. The instructions seem to be well written as well - I just don't think I'm meant to make Ramen at home, at least right now in my life. There are a LOT of steps and some equipment I think we would need to be successful.
• 
  JoAnne

  A fantastic instruction to Ramen! Not the store bought packages - good ramen. Easy to read, great step by step instructions, and the comic book format actually really worked well!
• 
  Sarah

  So well done. Really great background into the world of ramen and some very instructive recipes and tips. Can't wait to try some of the recipes, especially the ones that are a little nontraditional. Beautiful artwork that really compliments the topic. I love a cookbook I can read cover to cover!
• 
  Linda

  I don't read comics and don't eat ramen much since the broths are usually too rich for me, but I sure liked this book! It's a fun way to learn about ramen and has a lot of recipes, including for broths that are lighter, like vegetarian and chicken. You can put whatever you like in the soup bowl with the broth, but lots of traditional suggestions. Oishisou, made me want to run out to one of our local ramenyas!
• 
  Lauren Salisbury

  I'm Never Going to Make Ramen
  
  I'm never going to make ramen...at least not to the scale and skill level that Amano and Becan describe in such great detail here. Despite that, I was mesmerized by the process. This graphic cookbook is beautifully drawn and organized in a style reminiscent of Lucy Knisley's Relish. Even non-ramen enthusiasts will enjoy flipping through page after page of techniques and toppings as well as tips for enjoying (read: slurping) ramen to it's fullest.
• 
  Marisa

  This book is fabulous! Learning about the history of ramen was cool in of itself - I didn’t realize that this included recipes for making every single component of ramen at home. This was a beautifully illustrated love letter to a delicious dish and I can’t wait to try making my own someday! Definitely one to buy for my collection.