At Miyazaki's, people really eat. The butter sizzles, the steam fogs the screen. The studio draws its kitchen scenes with such precision that thousands of people spend their Sundays recreating these dishes. So did we, naturally. Every recipe below is in Umay, cookable tonight.
Hauru's breakfast (Howl's Moving Castle, 2004)
A frying pan set right on a grumbling fire demon. Thick bacon, eggs, and little Markl wolfing down his plate while the castle walks. What people often miss: Sophie is the only one, along with Howl, who can command Calcifer. The film already tells you how it ends above a frying pan, and nobody notices on a first viewing.
Ponyo's ramen (Ponyo on the Cliff, 2008)
The funniest thing about this scene is that it's instant noodles, which the film doesn't even try to hide. Lisa pours in the boiling water, puts the lid on, makes the children wait two minutes that last forever, and when they lift it the soft-boiled egg and the thick ham have appeared as if by magic. Ponyo's cry of joy over her bowl has probably sold more homemade ramen than any chef ever could.
Kiki's herring and pumpkin pie (Kiki's Delivery Service, 1989)
A grandmother bakes her pie in a wood-fired oven for her granddaughter's birthday. Kiki flies through pouring rain to deliver it on time. Then the little girl opens the door, looks at the pie and says: “I don't like this pie.” Anyone who has ever cooked for ungrateful people knows that moment. It comes right after Kiki loses her powers, and that is no accident.
The lattice of pastry with the fish drawn on top takes ten minutes of patience. It's worth it.
→ Cook the herring and pumpkin pie
Kiki's chocolate cake
The film's answer to the snubbed pie: another old lady, another oven, and a glazed chocolate cake with Kiki's name and her silhouette flying above it. Kindness, rendered in sugar.
The parents' feast and Haku's onigiri (Spirited Away, 2001)
Probably the most famous food scene in animation: a deserted stall, steaming dishes, parents helping themselves without asking. We know what comes next. A studio employee once said the scene was aimed at Japan's bubble economy of the '80s and its gluttony. Seen that way, the piggy punishment takes on a different flavor.
Opposite is the onigiri Haku hands to Chihiro, which she eats sobbing hard, and the scene doesn't bother with music or dialogue to tighten your throat. Just rice someone prepared for her.
Satsuki's bentōs (My Neighbor Totoro, 1988)
Satsuki is ten and gets up before everyone else to prepare the family's bentōs: rice, a small grilled fish, edamame, and an umeboshi placed in the center. Nothing spectacular. That is exactly why the scene moves so many people, and why it started a tradition of recreations that has never stopped since 1988.
→ Cook the tricolor bentō · → or Satsuki's sandwiches
The full collection
These recipes live in the app's “Anime recipes” collection, alongside the iconic dishes of Naruto, One Piece and Food Wars. The photos are half drawn, half real. That's intentional.
Film images © Studio Ghibli, made freely available by the studio on ghibli.jp, used “within the limits of common sense” as Toshio Suzuki requested.