Viz Media is here with a brand new cookbook for fans of Disney and the popular mobile game Tsum Tsum: the Disney Tsum Tsum Sushi Cookbook. The Disney Tsum Tsum Sushi Cookbook (hereafter the Tsum Tsum Cookbook) was written by sushi master Emi Tsuneoka. Tsuneoka is a famous Japanese deco sushi instructor. Tsuneoka made her debut as a sushi roll instructor in 2008 and truly has a passion for decorative, or deco, foods. Additionally, Tsuneoka was aided by Midori Motoki, Yukari Tanaka, and Mariko Uga, who serve her as staff. Their joint passion for creating delicious charming sushi truly shines through in this single volume cookbook!
Viz billed this book as having “characters cute enough to eat” and honestly, that’s very true. The designs are true to the characters in Tsum Tsum, complete with their plush, circular shape as seen in-game. However, it might be hard to resist eating your handmade creations, especially with all the delicious ingredients included in the process!
Inside this cookbook, Disney fans will find a plethora of characters, ranging from Disney’s famous mouse to more modern characters like Anna, Elsa, Baymax, and even Perry the Platapus. There are over twenty different Disney characters to pick from, though don’t expect to find obscure -or even more “retro”- characters inside. Still, there’s a lot of unique designs to prepare and devour: plenty for fans to play around with!
What’s also fantastic about this cookbook is the simple fact that readers don’t need to know how to make sushi. Not only does the Tsum Tsum Cookbook have an introduction, but it also features a “Sushi Roll Q&A” section, as well as some basic sushi tips & tricks that chefs seasoned and new, can learn from. The Q&A is quite helpful, especially since a lot of the sushi rolls require stacking to get all the shapes just so. There’s even a guide to how to present you sushi rolls as a gift!
The ingredients are just as fantastic, pulling from things that you can find at your local Asian supermarket. Tsuneoka also included a “Rolling 101” section to jumpstart your grocery list as well. There’s also a heart-based difficulty rating for each piece, ranging from one to three, with three being the most difficult.
Additionally, Tsuneoka made quite helpful decision to photograph each roll at its actual size. This provides a nice visual reference for how big your sushi pieces should be. Of course, there’s plenty of room for personal preference. Still, it’s nice to have a template of sorts to work with.
It’s pleasantly surprising how detailed this cookbook is. It almost feels more like a guidebook than a cookbook in the best of ways. The details in how to prepare and even color the rice are so precise. This becomes necessary as some of the designs are incredibly intricate, and require a lot of precision.
The author even helps you understand just what to use to color your rice for that perfect Disney effect! It’s really nice, and something I think young readers would find fascinating, especially for the young chef in your life. However, that’s not to say adults wouldn’t like this either. In fact, I think it’s a book that’s great for everyone!
Overall, this is a quite charming guide that’s good for cooks of all ages. This might be a perfect late holiday gift, especially for young cooks with an interest in Japanese pop culture. Readers with children -or readers simply looking to get into sushi making- should consider, especially if Disney is your thing.
The Disney Tsum Tsum Sushi Cookbook is available both physically and digitally from booksellers now.
Disney Tsum Tsum Sushi Cookbook
TL;DR
Overall, this is a quite charming guide that’s good for cooks of all ages. This might be a perfect late holiday gift, especially for young cooks with an interest in Japanese pop culture. Readers with children -or readers simply looking to get into sushi making- should consider, especially if Disney is your thing.
