Cooking With

Ghibli
Mica Hopper
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 3 5
Introduction Kiki’s Potato and Chihiro’s Onigiri
Herring Pot Pie

2 4 6
Ponyo’s Favorite Satsuki’s Bento Box Sophie’s Surprisingly
Ramen Simple Breakfast
Welcome to Cooking With Ghibli
Brush off the dust that soot sprites have left behind and get ready to taste a little bit of the magic that Studio
Ghibli has been dishing out for years. Studio Ghibli is known for creating beautiful, thought-provoking works of
animation featuring topics not traditionally explored in movies aimed at children: environmentalism, war, feminism,
etc… The movies are rooted in Japanese and European culture and history and while always thoughtful, they never
feel preachy. They also feature some mouthwatering food. Seriously—watch Howl’s Moving Castle or Spirited Away
and just try not to get hungry. I’ve compiled a few of the most memorable Studio Ghibli dishes, so read on for the
most delicious animated ramen, pot pies, and bento boxes ever drawn.
"Life Is Mysterious And Amazing, But
We Have Work To Do Now, And I
Need You Both To Stay Calm."
— Ponyo (2009)
01
Ponyo’s
Favorite
Ramen

You Will Need:
• 4 oz. uncooked ramen
noodles
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium
soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sriracha
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 4 pieces of ham
Recipe For Ponyo’s Ramen
Ponyo LOVES ham! Ponyo remembers when Sosuke
first gave Ponyo ham. Ponyo also remembers when
Sosuke’s mom made this Ham Ramen during the
flood! It was fun, even though Ponyo was trying to
run away from Ponyo’s dad…
Directions:
1. In a pot mix the beef broth,
sesame oil, honey, soy sauce,
and sriracha. Bring to a boil
and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the ramen noodles.
Cook for 3 minutes, then set
aside.
3. Place each serving in a bowl
and top with green onions and
ham. Serve while watching
Ponyo!
“Just follow your heart and keep
smiling.”
— Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
 02
Kiki’s Potato
and Herring
Pot Pie
 Potato and Herring Pot Pie
This recipe is from my very first
delivery! It was for a very rude
girl’s birthday who didn’t even
appreciate her Granny’s
cooking… I even braved my way
through a terrible storm to get
it to her. Even though that girl
left a bad after taste, this pot
pie won’t!
You Will Need:
Filling & Crust Bechamel Sauce
• 1/2 kabocha • 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 onion diced • 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp olive oil • 1 1/4 cup hot milk
• 1 can herring • Salt & pepper
• 1-2 puff pastry sheets
• black olives, cut Egg Wash
• salt & pepper • 1 egg yolk
• shredded parmesan • 1 tbsp milk
Directions:
1. Scoop out the seeds from the kabocha.
2. Cut the kabocha into smaller pieces. Steam until softened (about 15 minutes).
3. Remove the skin of the kabocha. Place kabocha pieces into a medium sized
bowl.
4. Finely chop the onion. In a medium pan, heat oil on medium. Cook the onions
until translucent.
5. Add the onion to the kabocha and mix, while making sure to break up the
kabocha well.
Now make the bechamel sauce:
1. In a small saucepan, heat the butter on medium-low heat.
2. Once melted, whisk in 2 tbsp flour until it bubbles (make sure not to burn it).
3. Take your hot milk and pour it in and continue to whisk.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste and whisk until the sauce thickens.
Now back to the pot pie:
1. Add the bechamel sauce to the kabocha mixture in the bowl. Mix well – until
creamy.
2. Add salt & pepper to taste.
3. Transfer the mixture into a casserole dish.
4. Open up the canned herring and place on top of the kabocha mixture.
5. Place shredded parmesan on top of the herring.
6. Place a thin sheet of puff pastry dough over to cover the casserole. Using
another sheet of puff pastry dough, cut out the fish design and place it on top of
the casserole.
7. Mix your egg wash ingredients. Put egg wash onto the dough.
8. Place cut olives around the edge of the dish.
9. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the pot pie for 25-30 minutes.
10. Enjoy immediately!
“Try Laughing. Then Whatever
Scares You Will Go Away!”

— My Neighbor Totoro (1993)

 03
Satsuki’s
Bento Box
 Satsuki’s Bento Box
Ever since Mom got sick and had to stay in the hospital I’ve tried to step
and fill her shoes. Dad is very busy at the University, so I helped make
the lunches and keep Mei out of trouble. Even though she get on my
nerves sometimes… Anyway, this is the bento box I make every day! Mei
and Dad love them, I just wish mom could try them too.

You Will Need: Instructions:

1. Put cooked rice in your bento box about 3/4 of the way full
Equipment (leave some room at the top for your toppings and to be able
• Bento box to put the lid on).
Filling 2. Take 1 umeboshi and put it on one side of the rice.
• 1 cup cooked white 3. In a small pan, heat the oil on medium-high. Cook one
rice shishamo on both sides until cooked.
• 1 umeboshi 4. Place the cooked shishamo across the middle of the bento
• 1 shishamo box on the rice.
• 1 tbsp oil 5. Boil water in a small pot. Put in a handful of frozen edamame
• handful frozen and cook according to package instructions.
edamame 6. Once cooked, pop the edamame beans out of the pod.
• 1 tbsp sakura denbu Arrange them on the rice to fill up a little less than one
quarter of the bento box, under the shishamo.
7. Sprinkle the sakura denbu on the rice next to the edamame.
8. Enjoy whenever it's lunch time! Put a lid on it and pack it
away to take with you.
 “Once You've Met Someone You
Never Really Forget Them. It Just
Takes A While For Your Memories To
Return.”
— Spirited Away (2002)
04
Chihiro’s
Onigiri
 Directions:
Chihiro’s Onigiri
1. Place the rice in a large bowl and fill it with 2 cups of Haku gave me these when I first came
cold water. Wash the rice by stirring it around in the to the spirit world. I was still looking
water until the water is opaque from the starch that
You Will Need:
coated the rice.
for my mom and Dad and had to face
2. Using a colander, empty the water from the bowl. Yubaba and forced her to give me a
• 6 cups of cold water
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 two more times or until water no job. Haku reminded me to always
• 2 cups of white rice
longer becomes murky from the starch. remember my name, it will one day
• 2 cups of hot water
4. Put the washed rice and then the 2 cups of hot water in guide me home. It’s what I think
• a rice cooker
the rice cooker (if you choose to add salt and/or garlic about every time I eat these.
• Optional:
to the rice, now would be the time to place it in the rice
• ¼ teaspoon salt
cooker) and press the “cook” button or whatever you
• ½ teaspoon grated
press to start the rice cooker.
garlic
5. Once the rice is cooked, place the rice in a bowl and cool
• 2 oz of salmon
it for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
• 2 tablespoons of black
6. After the rice has cooled, take about 2 heaping
sesame seeds
tablespoons of the rice into your (clean!) hands and
mold the rice into whatever shape you want. The
traditional shapes are either circular or triangular.
7. Serve or store!
“Here's Another Curse For You - May
All Your Bacon Burn.”
— Howl’s Moving Castle (2005)
 05
Sophie’s Surprisingly
Simple Breakfast
 Sophie’s Surprisingly Simple Breakfast
Howl’s house was so dirty I couldn’t even find a clean spatula
You Will Need:
to flip the eggs with! Calcifer was giving me trouble,
Bacon: Without Howl’s help I would be surprised if I finished
• 6 to 8 slices of thick cut
apple wood smoked bacon
this breakfast at all, simple as it is. My old bones can’t
• 4 eggs keep up with all this noise and ruckus anymore.
• Sliced bread
• Cheese Directions:
• Salt and pepper (to taste) 1. Fry strips of bacon in a cast iron skillet over medium low
heat. This keeps the bacon from burning while the fat
renders out.
2. Once the fat has rendered out, add 4 cracked eggs to the
pan. Cook until the eggs have a good crust on them. If the
whites need to cook more, kill the heat to the pan and
cover with a lid to steam the tops of the egg whites.
3. Serve the eggs and bacon with some sliced bread and
cheese and a good sprinkle of salt and pepper. Enjoy!
WHOA! You made
it to the end!
Well, I like your spark!

I hope you enjoyed your adventure through this

magical cookbook and had fun tasting the world
of Studio Ghibli!