Reel Cuisine: Blockbuster Dishes from the Silver Screen

The films of Naomi Ogigami (Seagull Diner,Glasses)turned me into a fan of the food stylist NamiIijima (飯島奈美, b. 1969). As I wrote in NamiIijima: Food Stylist Extraordinaire, in addition to her work styling foodfor great films like Chefof the South Pole and Villon’s Wife,Iijima has made a name for herself in Japan as a celebrity chef.  She has written many wonderful cookbooks suchas Breakfast Menu (Asagohanno Kondate) and Life: Iijima Nami’sHomemade Taste (LIFENandemonai Hi, Omedetou! Gohan).

I was delighted to discover latelast year that Iijima’s recipes have become available in English via theAmerican publisher Vertical – an imprintthat I associate with manga.  Theypublish English translations of Osamu Tezuka’s Black Jack and Buddha.   It turns out that Vertical also translatescookbooks, novels, and other miscellanea. 

Reel Cuisine: Blockbuster Dishes from the Silver Screen is based on Nami Iijima’s column Cinema Shokudo (シネマ食堂) which she wrote for AERA magazine between2007-9.  Many of the recipes alsofeatured in the Japanese book based on this column and also called CinemaShokudo (2009).  Both books featurephotography by Elina Yamasaki.   

When it first came in the post I wasinitially disappointed by how slim the volume is – I collect cookbooks and Ilike them big and bulky and full of lovely illustrations or photographs.  There is no introduction explaining whoIijima is, whichclearly confused one reviewer of the cookbook.  This would have been useful as the films thatIijima has worked on have only played at festivals in North America and havenot been released there on DVD. 

The first section of the book consistsof recipes from films that Iijima worked on. Each recipe is accompanied by a brief explanation of the context of thefood in the film.  At the back of thebook, there is some text from Iijima’s “Work Diary” that explain how she workswith food and give an idea of the thought process that goes into designing foodand settings for the food during film production. 

The rest of the book containsrecipes from world and Hollywood cinema. In them Iijima recreates meals that she has seen in movies.  In her short introduction (which is more likea preface) she writes that her favourite genre of film is the “slice of life”movie.  Her cinematic tastes are variedfrom quirky independent cinema to classics to popular Japanese and Hollywoodfare.  As I associate her with modernJapanese cuisine, it was fascinating to learn that Iijima delights in thechallenges of world cuisine from zhajiang mian (Chinese fried noodles in sauce) to pot-au-feu (French beef stew). 

To the North American reader, some ofthe recipes may seem quite ordinary – scrambled eggs from Misery and sandwiches from TheWar of the Roses – but one must recall that these recipes were originally writtenfor a Japanese readership who would be more likely to have a bowl of rice with grilled salmon for breakfastand onigiri (rice balls) for a packed lunch. Those staples of Japanese cooking are also here – with wonderful littlenotes from the chef.  For example, therecipe for onigiri from Iijima’s first movie SeagullDiner features the little note: “My name, Nami, apparently means ‘delicious’in Finnish.  Rice balls filled withherring and crayfish were very ‘nami’ indeed.” (p. 16)

Apart from the lack of introductionto Iijima herself, my only criticism of the book is that it doesn’t includemore of Iijima’s commentary on the films and the reasons why she chose aparticular dish from each film.  The bestrecipes are the ones that have this additional text.  For example, the ComicsWorth Reading reviewer of this book wondered why Iijima gives us a recipefor fried chicken instead of the titular fried green tomatoes of the popular 1991film starring Mary Stuart Masterson, Jessica Tandy, Kathy Bates, andMary-Louise Parker.  Reel Cuisine only gives a mini film synopsis with the recipe.  However, in her AERAcolumn, Iijima explains that due to the lack of commercial availability ofgreen tomatoes in Japan she decided to teach her readers about fried chicken –a staple of the southern United States. Fried chicken is a popular treat in Japan as well – but the spices usedin the recipe would be different. 

Iijima’s recipes are notauthentically from the movies she has selected – each one has her own particulartake on the dish.  So the fried chickenrecipe calls for sake – which I amsure was not on set during the filming of FriedGreen Tomatoes.  If you want theoriginal recipe, I advise purchasing the original novel by Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg as it contains recipes (or even the accompanying cookbook).  I recall trying those recipes when the moviecame out and failing miserably as I did not have the ingredients or thetechnique needed.  Iijima has simplifiedthe fried chicken recipe and made it easy for the average home cook.

This book a tribute to food in the movieswritten by a movie lover and chef.  Therecipes have been adapted to North American measuring standards and are writtenin a clear and concise manner.  There arelots of practical tips and interesting ideas that I would never have thought ofmyself.  It's a fun little book for cinephiles like me.

Catherine Munroe Hotes 2012

Here is a list of thefood/movies included:

Food for Film

Chirashi sushi (Glasses, NaokoOgigami, Japan, 2007)

Napoli Egg (Handsome Suit, TsutomuHanabusa, Japan, 2008)

Chicken Nuggets (Chef of the South Pole,Shūichi Okita, Japan, 2009)

Boiled Tripe (Villon’s Wife,Kichitaro Negishi, Japan, 2009)

Rice Balls (Seagull Diner, NaokoOgigami, Japan, 2006)

Cinamon Rolls (Seagull Diner, NaokoOgigami, Japan, 2006)

Noriben (Nonchan Noriben, AkiraOgata, Japan, 2009)

Travel the World

Fried Chicken (Fried Green Tomatoes,Jon Avnet, USA, 1991)

Hamburgers (Transamerica, Duncan Tucker, USA, 2005)

Hummus (Tuesdays with Morrie, MickJackson, USA, 1999)

Norimaki (The Man Without a Past, AkiKauismäki, Finland, 2002)

Silken Crab with Vegetables (EatDrink Man Woman, Ang Lee, Taiwan, 1994)

Pot-au-Feu (Overboard, GaryMarshall, USA, 1987)

Mojito (Volver, Pedro Almodóvar,Spain, 2006)

Fish and Chips (Dear Frankie, ShonaAuerbach,UK, 2004)

Water Spinach Stir Fry (The Scent ofGreen Papaya, Tran Anh Hung, Vietnam/France, 1993)

Paella (Blame it on Fidel!, JulieGavras, France, 2006)

Yakiniku Korean BBQ (Rough Cut, JangHun, South Korea, 2008)

Jeon and Porridge(The King and the Clown, Lee Jun-ik, South Korea, 2005)

Popcorn (Welcome to Dongmakgol, ParkKwang-hyun, South Korea, 2005)

Happy Brunch

Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce (TheGodfather Part III, Francis Ford Coppola, USA, 1990)

Ratatouille (Ratatouille, Brad Bird, USA, 2007)

French Toast (Kramer vs. Kramer, Robert Benton, USA,1979)

Quiche (Waitress, Adrienne Shelly,USA, 2007)

Scrambled Eggs (Misery, Rob Reiner,USA, 1990)

Pancakes (The Notebook, NickCassavetes, USA, 2004)

Baked Potatoes (Juno, Jason Reitman,USA, 2007)

Green Salad (Cinema Paradiso, GuiseppeTonatore, Italy, 1988)

Yakisoba with Clams (The Shoe Fairy,Yun Chan Lee, Taiwan, 2005)

Egg Over Rice (Kabei: Our Mother,Yoji Yamada, Japan, 2008)

Fried Rice (Tampopo, Juzo Itami,Japan, 1985)

Spaghetti Risotto (Mostly Martha,Sandra Nettelbeck, Germany, 2001)

Zha Jiang Mian (Shower, Zhang Yang,China, 1999)

Vegetable Potage (Rinco’s Restaurant, MaiTominaga, Japan, 2010)

Penne in Cream Sauce (The UnknownWoman, Guiseppe Tornatore, Italy, 2006)

Spaghetti Vongole (The Big Blue, LucBesson, France, 1988)

Kidney Bean Soup (Red Like the Sky, CristianoBortone, Italy, 2006)

Delicious Family Dinners

Risotto (Big Night, CampbellScott/Stanley Tucci, USA, 1996)

Guacamole (Bridget Jones’s Diary, SharonMaguire, UK, 2001)

Sautéed Salmon (Life is Beautiful,Roberto Benigni, Italy, 1997)

Loco Moco (Finding Forrester, GusVan Sant, USA, 2000)

Roasts Chicken (Miracle on 34^thStreet, George Seaton, USA, 1947)

Sandwiches (The War of the Roses, DannyDeVito, USA, 1989)

Roast Beef (The World According toGarp, George Roy Hill, USA, 1982)

Macaroni and Cheese (Soul Food, GeorgeTillman, Jr., USA, 1997)

Steak (My Date With Drew, JonGunn/Brian Herlinger/Brett Winn, USA, 2004)

Mushroom Dumplings (The Road Home, ZhangYimou, China, 1999)

Burritos (The Jane Austen Book Club,Robin Swicord, USA, 2007)

Grilled Fish (Paris, CédricKlapisch, France, 2008)

Samosas (The Namesake, Mia Nair, USA/India,2006)

Spring Rolls (Happily Ever After, YvanAttal, France, 2004)

Oden (Tora-san Plays Daddy, YojiYamada, Japan, 1987)

Sukiyaki (Always: Sunset on ThirdStreet, Takashi Yamazaki, Japan, 2005)

Curry (All Around Us, Ryosuke Hashiguchi,Japan, 2008)

Corn Fritters and Edamame Rice(Still Walking, Hirokazu Koreeda, Japan, 2008)

Ochazuke (The Flavour of Green Teaover Rice, Yasujiro Ozu, Japan, 1952)

Cinematic Sweets

Apple Pie (The Shawshank Redeption,Frank Darabont, USA, 1994)

Banana Cake (Stanger than Fiction,Marc Forster, USA, 2006)

Chiffon Cake (The Secret Life ofBees, Gina Prince-Blythwood, USA, 2008)

Love Cake (Donkey Skin, JacquesDemy, France, 1970)

Truffles (Chocolat, Lasse Hallström,USA/UK, 2000)

Crème Brûlée (Amélie,Jean-Pierre Jeunet, France,2001)

Birthday Cake (Kitchen Stories, BentHamer, Norway/Sweden, 2003)

Iced Azuki (Glasses, Naoko Ogigami,Japan, 2007)