“Watanabe-san” written and drawn by Naoko Kitamura (Published by Kaiseisha Ltd., 2018)

storyboard

An anthropomorphic hot pot, Watanabe is adept at cooking a variety of dishes and runs a takeaway shop. After receiving an order for the “oden” hot pot dish, Watanabe picks up ingredients such as eggs and daikon radish. When the fire is lit, the ingredients begin to boil and the delicious oden will be ready in a short time. After dealing with a number of customers, the last boy orders “Neapolitan spaghetti” or “Naporitan” in Japanese. Watanabe is surprised by this unusual request, which usually requires a pan to cook the ingredients and a pot to boil the spaghetti, but finds a way to cook it in a single pot and serves it successfully.

Young readers will be immediately drawn into this unique story where the main character is a pot, meaning “nabe” in Japanese, and can cook food. Perhaps predicting that many people will turn to Neapolitan spaghetti after reading this book, the last page offers the recipe for making it in one pot, Watanabe’s method.

Vocabulary, culture tips

Gutsugutsu — This is an onomatopoeia that describes the state of food boiling or simmering in a pot. When teaching others how to cook, we can say “Gutsugutsu shite kitara, hi o yowamete kudasai” (When it starts to boil, please reduce the heat.)

Meijin — This means one who excels in something, in other words, a master or expert. For example, if a child named Kei is good at jumping rope, we say “Kei wa nawatobi meijin da ne” (Kei is good at jumping rope).

Hirameita — This is the past tense of the verb “hirameku”, which means to put forward an idea. It is used in the picture book in the scene where Watanabe comes up with the idea of ​​making Neapolitan spaghetti.

Loving children cooking

My sons love cooking. They seem happy to be given more and more tasks, from peeling onions and tearing lettuce by hand to peeling carrots and potatoes with a peeler, chopping ingredients with a knife and frying with a wooden spatula.

I only let them help me cook when I have free time, so it’s a special thing for them and maybe that’s why they’re willing to do it. The other day I made fried chicken wings and cream casserole with my oldest son, who is 8 years old.

My son did not like the smell of red wine while marinating the chicken. However, the chicken tasted delicious and he was pleased with the result. I think it’s great when kids learn new things, like the role of red wine, by cooking together, like in this example.

One of the factors that helped my sons get used to cooking was television programs. They often watch the program “Go! Go! Cook R’n” on NHK’s educational TV channel, in which children cook. They also watch “The Great British Bake Off,” where amateurs compete in their baking skills. Desserts are often made in the latter, and sometimes I hear my sons say, “I want to try that.”

My older son also loves reading children’s cookbooks and was browsing through the pages one evening. As I was about to start preparing dinner, he said, “I want to prepare a menu of my own choosing for dinner tonight.” I was very glad to hear him say that, but he looked very displeased when I told him that we did not have the materials to meet such a short notice.

I haven’t let him cook on his own yet, but now that he knows how to cook with just one pot from this book, I think he can make Neapolitan spaghetti on his own in the near future after some practice. together of course!

(Written by Risa Koshiba, Mainichi Staff Writer)

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(This is Chapter 18 of “Learning Japanese from picture books.”) sherryIt is a book that introduces recommended Japanese picture books, as well as related terms and cultures that foreigners living in Japan may find useful. Most of the books can be found in bookstores or libraries in Japan. The next issue will be published on November 22.)

Profile: Risa Koshiba is a mother of two boys and loves picture books. She believes picture books can help improve literacy and says they have helped her children learn to read and write Japanese. He is also interested in teaching Japanese to foreigners, and while he was a college student in the United States, he taught Japanese to students and taught the language to children.