What Did You Eat Yesterday? Volume 4

What Did You Eat Yesterday? volume 4

If you look closely at the cover to What Did You Eat Yesterday? volume 4, you’ll see a number of European-sounding dishes listed: hamburgers in mushroom sauce, leek consommé, spaghetti neapolitan. And they all appear in the book, as Shiro cooks a variety of meals, but they all have a uniquely Japanese spin to them. The tomato in the spaghetti sauce, for example, comes from ketchup, shudder.

The material in this series by Fumi Yoshinaga continues to get more and more interesting, as we learn more about Shiro and Kenji’s life together. Shiro’s uncomfortable being identified as gay in public, so he and Kenji wind up inviting another gay couple to dine at their home. But Shiro’s concerned that his cooking won’t live up to one of the guest’s gourmet tastes. In another story, Kenji is happy that Shiro is sick because Shiro is so self-sufficient otherwise, and this is the only way Kenji gets to take care of him and cook for him.

What Did You Eat Yesterday? volume 4

Kenji’s rolled omelet recipe, in Japanese-style layers, looks simple enough I may actually end up trying to make it someday. I felt rather proud of myself, when it came to the chapter about how Shiro doesn’t feel comfortable making tempura, since I’ve successfully made it before (although mine wasn’t as complex as his, it’s true).

There’s a tiny lettering technique used here that I loved but have never seen before. Kenji is still waking up when talking to Shiro, and it’s portrayed with a tilde in the middle of words to signify his yawning, like this: “Have a good da~y.” He later uses the same pattern when getting cute about his boyfriend to show how he’s extending his syllables in sing-song fashion.

As for cooking tips, I’ve learned from the recipes herein two keys to successful meals: keep a variety of seasonings and sauces on hand to jazz up dishes quickly, and the same few ingredients can be assembled in a delicious-sounding variety of ways. Shiro’s hamburger-making tips are right on, although I’ve never dared mix raw onions in the meat before. And he serves them in sauce with a side of rice instead of on a bun, of course.



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