Table of Contents
- Parenting Manga “Let’s Cook for Mama”
- It tastes even better when you cook together! Let’s cook with parents and children!
Parenting Manga “Let’s Cook for Mama”
Profile
Eiichi
After working for a design company in Tokyo, he became a freelance illustrator. He is a hard-working father who creates animation, manga, and illustrations, including winning the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival’s International Short Film Showcase Division Excellence in Animation Award.
It tastes even better when you cook together! Let’s cook with parents and children!
When you are cooking, your kids may say, “I want to try it!” I want to try it!
Why don’t you and your child cook together for your curious child?
Now is the time to take advantage of the opportunity to cook at home with the Corona disaster.
In this issue, we will introduce the benefits of cooking with parents and children, as well as easy-to-prepare parent-child cooking recipes.
Parent-child cooking has many advantages!
Masaharu Takimura is an active father cookery expert. He gives lectures at various companies and municipalities, promoting men’s participation in housework and work style reform through cooking.
We asked Mr. Takimura about the benefits to the family of having a father cook and how children should participate in cooking.
Let’s make time for mom to spend freely.
Have you ever thought of the “ultimate freedom” to eat what you want, when you want, and how you want to spend your time? Have you ever thought of such a way of using your time as “ultimate freedom”? I have come to realize that my wife has been a great burden to me since I became able to cook, and that I have been given a lot of freedom. My inability to cook has cost my wife a lot of her free time. With Dad taking on the responsibility of cooking, Mom will have more freedom in terms of time.
I have been cooking for almost 20 years now, but I was not always a good cook.
Until I had a family, my life was so work-centered that I rarely ate meals at home, let alone cooked.
After the birth of my child, I became interested in cooking because I was impressed by the fact that anyone can make delicious food by following a recipe.
From there, I bought a bunch of recipe books and continued to cook, and now I am free to do so.
However, it is important to understand that a man’s hobby cooking and his dad’s cooking are a little different in the way they are prepared and thought about.
Dad cooking requires working backwards from the time when the family starts eating and cooking a dish that mom and kids will enjoy, so be careful not to make a dish that ends up being self-satisfying.
Child-helpers make the cooking experience fun for kids, too.
I have my children participate in the cooking under the slogan “tosama kamikomiko help.
The term “totsama kakomu” was coined from the initial letters of “take” (such as cherry tomato stems and shrimp backs), “peek” (pots, microwaves, etc.), “touch” (squid, fish, bitter gourd, etc.), “turn” (drainer, beaten eggs, etc.), “buy” (go shopping together for ingredients), “knead” (gyoza, hamburger steak, etc.) and “peel” (vegetable peelings, etc.). Please be aware of these words and let your child help with the cooking as much as he or she can.
Starting with “buying” the ingredients and letting the children choose the ingredients will motivate them to participate more in the cooking process. This is a good place to start.
And if you prepare elements of praise and foreshadowing throughout to enhance self-affirmation, children will enjoy participating.
Personally, I find that children tend to eat better when they participate in cooking.
In fact, we have heard that children who had been slender eaters who participated in the cooking class have started to eat well and no longer leave their lunches unattended. It seems that when you participate in cooking, you become more considerate of the feelings of those who make the food, and you stop treating food so poorly.
Even if 90% of the food is made by adults, 10% for the children will give them the satisfaction of having made the food together.
Scenes from online lessons that give many parents and children a chance to experience cooking
The essence of a meal is to enjoy the company of family members at the table. When we consider that our children will eventually become independent and leave home, the number of times we share a meal as a family is limited.
‘If it makes each meal more enjoyable, then it’s okay to use frozen foods on occasion.’ By dividing the meal in this way, cooking does not have to be a burden, and everyone in the family can enjoy the meal.
No knife required! Easy cooking for parents and children!
Mr. Shinpei Kurihara, president of Yutorinokan, Inc., is a chef who regularly appears on the cooking program “Danshoku Gohan” and writes a series of articles for the lifestyle magazine “Orange Page,” and has also published numerous cookbooks.
The company is also involved in nutrition education, launching an online cooking school this summer to teach children how to cook.
Ms. Kurihara introduced us to a cooking recipe that can be easily participated in by children as young as 3 years old, without cutting or baking any ingredients.
How to enjoy cooking with children?
My son started to take an interest in cooking and came to the kitchen when he was in the second grade.
However, if this becomes a routine, children will become bored, so we try to make it fun and enjoyable for them to help out, just as if it were an activity.
The key to helping children enjoy cooking is not to tell them no. It is important to affirm, “That’s okay.”
It is good to tell them, “It tastes good the way you make it, but it will taste even better if you do it this way.
For example, when making hamburgers, there is a difference in the uniformity of the round shape and thickness of the meat between the ones I form and the ones my children form, so the taste changes.
If Dad’s food tastes better, the children themselves think about how to make it taste better next time they cook. In this way, we teach them the joy of cooking by gradually stepping up the process, etc.
Want to make with parents and children! Easy Recipes
Rice (cold) – 300g
Canned corn – 50g
Butter ・・・ 5g
Granulated consommé – 1/2 teaspoon
Salt – 1/5 teaspoon
tool
teaspoon
Zaru
Heatproof bowl or microwaveable dish
Shovel
Wrap
Tea cups
Oven mittens
Preparation
- If the rice is hot, let it cool slightly. (Cold rice from the day before is also fine.)
- Drain the canned corn in a colander.
How to make…
- Place the rice in the half side of the heatproof bowl.
- Place corn and butter in the other half of the heatproof bowl.
- Sprinkle granulated consommé and salt over all and cover with plastic wrap.
- Heat in a 600W microwave oven for 3 minutes 30 seconds.
*When the rice is hot and the butter is melted, put on mittens and remove from the microwave.
Remove the plastic wrap from the back of the bowl and give the whole mixture a quick stir with a scooper.
*Adjust the heating time according to your microwave oven.
- When the rice and corn are thoroughly mixed, place in a bowl.
*The consommé is unevenly distributed, so mix to blend the brown color throughout.
[Notes.
- Be careful when removing the microwave-proof bowl from the microwave because it will be hot.
- Note that hot steam will be released the moment the plastic wrap is removed.
Bread – 1 slice
Sliced cheese (melted type) – 2 slices
Broccoli – 1 bunch (about 20g)
2 crab kernels
Pinch of salt
Olive oil – 1 teaspoon
tool
teaspoon
Toaster oven
flat dish
Oven mittens
Preparation
- If the rice is hot, let it cool slightly. (Cold rice from the day before is also fine.)
- Drain the canned corn in a colander.
How to make…
- Place 2 slices of cheese on the bread, slightly offset.
- Break the crab kama with your hands and place all over.
- Tear off small pieces of broccoli with your hands and place on top of the cheese. As much as possible, use the florets rather than the stems.
- Sprinkle salt over all and pour olive oil only over the broccoli.
- Bake in a toaster oven for 5 minutes.
When the cheese is melted and the back of the bread is browned, put mittens on your hands, take it out and place it on a plate.
Broccoli can be eaten raw and is only lightly cooked.
*Adjust the heating time according to your toaster oven.
[Notes.
- Be careful when removing from the toaster oven, as the netting in the chamber is hot.
Chef Shinpei Kurihara
(President and Representative Director, YURITORINO SPACE Co.
While working in company management, he has also been active as a chef, mainly on TV and in magazines, making use of his cooking skills, which he has been good at since he was a child.
Using delicious food and drinks from various regions of Japan that she visits on business as inspiration, she suggests recipes that can be served as a side dish for rice or as a snack.
In May 2020, he launched the YouTube channel “Shinpei Kurihara Gochisousama Channel” (133,000 followers).
Plans to launch “Gochisousama Cooking School” this summer, where elementary and junior high school students can learn cooking from Shinpei Kurihara by watching archived videos.
Cooking with children makes the food taste even better. The recipes introduced here are easy to prepare with children, even for fathers who are not good at cooking, so please give them a try. Also, tell your children that it is important to clean up after eating and wash dishes, and ask them to help as much as they can, so that the whole family can work together.
