JapanaTen: Delicious food we'd eat for Thanksgiving

4:00 PM on 11.24.2011   |   Josh Tolentino

Do you what day it is today? If you live in America, you may have an idea. If you don't, I'll tell you. It's Thanksgiving Day! What kind of day is that, you ask? It's a day for giving thanks for, er, things. 

Aside from simply being grateful, though, Thanksgiving has evolved into a day that excuses the eating of gratuitous quantities of tasty food, particularly turkey.

But does it always have to be turkey? Of course not! Gluttony does not discriminate! And it's in that spirit that we here at Japanator have chosen to celebrate this day of feasts. We present to you a wondrous list of the food - fictional and otherwise - that we would love to stuff into ourselves today!

Now, get on below and check out our menu then tell us what you gorged on today!

Josh craves...

Magical Panda Mapo Tofu (Cooking Master Boy)

Come on! It's called "Magical Panda Mapo"! How could one not be curious about such...creative Chinese cuisine?! The original creation of genius Super Chef Liu Mao Xing, Magical Panda Mapo combines the tastes of both black and white tofu, cooked by nigh-supernatural technique, and laid upon a bed of deliciously spicy Szechuan sauce. The food was so good that it brought the most powerful palates of Shanghai to their knees. I'd definitely want a taste of that.

The Omelettits (Ben-to)

Ah, the Omelettits (aka "Omuppai")! They're made of eggs, are stuffed with two kinds of fried rice, accented by a tiny dash of condensed milk, and look mouth-watering, in more ways than one.

Also, they look like boobs. What's not to get hungry over! Better still, if you fought long and hard to get this delicacy at a discount, it will taste all the randier. Mmmmmm.

Jeff ordered...

Minchi's LOVE Omelette Rice (Hanasaku Iroha)

This is much trickier than it seems. After watching the school festival episode of Hanasaku Iroha I knew I wanted to make my own omurice the way Minko made hers from her childhood. The rice part I got down, but the egg skin was tricky. If you know how to make an omelette, it was easy to make it using the "hot plate" method that Minko had to resort to at the end, but it just felt more gimmicky and not as hearty. It took me a few tries but an instructive clip from the classic Japanese film Tampopo is illustrative and helpful. High heat and a nice skillet makes life much easier. And as with omurice, you can do all kinds of crazy things with the fried rice part, although the classic chicken rice is just fine and makes it a homely, refined entry instead of the pile of leftovers that categorizes my typical attempts. And speaking of leftovers, I get the feeling turkey-rice would make a great substitute if you're stuck with a pile of that white, coma-inducing protean this Thanksgiving.

Takakura-style Curry Stuffed Cabbage (Mawaru Penguindrum)

I've had a few different types of rolled-up cabbages, typically filled with some kind of composit filling like rice and ground pork, which is more east European in style. I've had it Chinese style, which uses the cabbage more akin like a spring roll wrap. But I've never had it with curry inside. The basic idea, as I understand it, is not unlike the European style where you cook it in a tomato-based sauce, except this is curry. Basically, I'm trying to wrap my mind around the flavor of mixing cabbage with curry. It is foreign in my mind and I am intrigued by the combination. And of course, you've got to have it on curry day! For those of us who aren't crazy and tied up in a scheme to bring Momoka back, I think Thanksgiving would work just fine as curry day.

Chris desires...

Ayu Tsukimiya's Taiyaki (Kanon)

Yuuichi can be so mean to poor Ayu. When someone like her bumps into you, having stolen some taiyaki by mistake, you don't make her apologise. You march straight over there, cover the costs and then buy her four more! Of course, you've got to get one for yourself, because taiyaki are super delicious! Ayu continually ends up in situations that look like theft purely to obtain these battered delicacies, so you know it must be good! Admittedly, batter and red bean paste doesn't sound like the most appetising of foods, but believe me, don't knock it til you've tried it! There are a huge variety of other flavours too, including custard and other sweet fillings. For those with a phobia of fish-shaped snacks, you can always go to Akihabara and buy a gunplayaki, a taiyaki shaped as a mobile suit!

Brock's Jelly Doughnuts (Pokemon)

Brock's Japanese doppleganger Takeshi loves giving out plenty of onigiri rice balls while travelling with Satoshi andcompany. Onigiri are great at the best of times, but a walking onigiri machine? I'm sold! However, for us English-speaking folk, we were introduced to the frankly much more charming Brock and his mad jelly doughnut skills. Now that is just downright impressive, being able to create doughnuts on the fly while having to worry about the whole Pokemon thing. The ability to give his creations the appearance of onigiri, yet opt for a more sophisticated foodstuff is just rubbing it in, an act of show-boating that he can get away with because even he knows that Takeshi has nothing on him. Don't mess with Brock.

Kristina called out for...

Gateau Mocha's Curry (Sorcerer Hunters)

Whoa! Did I just spring an old (OLD) anime on you with a reference you probably don't remember? Yep, I did. Well, if you really don't remember Gateau liking curry, then maybe I have some false memories. I don't like One Piece enough to try and mention Sanji for curry though, which is basically one of my favorite dishes in the whole world; and either way, Gateau is the very first person that comes to mind when I think "curry." I'm sure he'd make me all kinds of delicious curry for various meals during the Thanksgiving holiday. Maybe even make me some Turkey Katsu on some beef curry and rice with some cheese and sweet potato on top? Yes? Oh yes.

Osono's fresh baked bread (Kiki's Delivery Service)

I know this seems like an odd choice, but one of the things I miss most about Japan is their bread shop. I'm sure Osono makes all kinds of amazing breads, even the stuffed and flavored stuff I used to enjoy while I was living in Japan - which make the best breakfasts and snacks in the whole world. Seriously, bread is ruined for me forever if it isn't that tasty.

Hiroko felt peckish, and reached for...

Fish & Pumpkin Pie (Kiki's Delivery Service)

Im gonna copy Kristina a bit on this one. The bread from Osono's was grand, but what celebrates the season more than a pie made by a charming old woman, in an old school brick oven!? Now I know what you are thinking, nasty! You know what? Fish and pumpkin probably don't go so well together, but if my grandmother baked me one all day, you bet I would eat the f**k out of it.

The awesome people over at Animeshi just happen to have a recipe! Now go hug your grandmother!

Energon Snacks (Transformers the Animated Movie)

The thought of family and sharing always has me hollering, " Bah weep gra na weep ninny bong!"

Elliot opened the fridge to find...

Ukyo's delicious 'Japanese pizza' (Ranma 1/2)

If there's one food that's good for any occasion, it's okonomiyaki. True to its namesake, this delicious creation is made with whatever you want, making each one special in its own right. While you're not likely to find many okonomiyaki stands out west, it's not a difficult food to make. Outside of the cabbage and the batter, you can throw anything you want in it. I remember my first encounter with this marvelous food being via the Ranma 1/2 anime. The badass Ukyo made 'Japanese pizza' according to the dub and the subtitles. When I would finally eat it years later, I discovered that it was much closer to a pancake than pizza. Nonetheless, you can never go wrong with okonomiyaki and I highly recommend everyone to try making one for themselves. You can't go wrong!

After being last in line at the commissary, Marcus thought of...

Eggs (Tampopo)

Eggs are good in almost any fashion. Egg salad, egg soup, egg sandwich, deviled eggs, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, egg whites, etc. Basically, eggs are the structure to as lot of great things, cake being the only one I can honestly think of right now. This may only be because I really freaking love cake, but then again, need I any more examples than this delicious food? But if there ever were a way to show how a single egg is in every way a more suitable candidate than a cake, it would be from the infamous clip from the 1985 Japanese comedy flick, Tampopo. In a movie that is all about food and restaurants, witness as a single egg is swapped back and forth, effectively feeding two people infinitely. Now that's some smart eating.