Osomatsu-san Week 1: Osomatsu Pancakes

Happy New Year, readers! First blog post of 2017, so let's get straight into it!

Osomatsu is the eldest brother of the sextuplets so it only makes sense that we kick off this feature week with him! Described as the ‘leader’, he’s fond of gambling and is usually found wearing the colour red. In his Sweets set, the translation of his costume is 'Osomatsu as a pastry chef riding on pancakes. He throws a small bottle of maple syrup when he attacks.' (shout out to the lovely mods at the tumblr blog Hesokuri Wars for providing the translation)

I'd be smiling like that too if I was riding on a pile of pancakes.

That is the expression of a man that is plotting evil.

Ta-dah!

Some of my fondest memories involve pancakes: I remember watching Ma Sloth, late at night, flip tiny pikelet after tiny pikelet onto a waiting dish, to be smeared with butter and jam. (Pikelets, for my overseas readers, are basically small pancakes). It was also a common sight at birthday parties as a riff on the ever-popular fairy bread, with a pikelet as the base.

For this recipe I wanted to make ‘meatier’ pancakes, ones that are soft as pillows and soak up syrup and butter like a sponge, and I think I came pretty close with this! The recipe’s inspired by an episode of Jamie Oliver I watched when I was younger, and I’m at least 90% sure he was talking about Yorkshire puddings, but the recipe works. Dead easy, it’s all about the magic ratio: 1 cup of self raising flour to 1 cup of milk to 1 egg. That’s it. It’s never failed me (so far) and you add sugar depending on your taste. I don’t tend to add a lot, maybe 1-2 tablespoons, and I like to add a pinch of salt as well. If you’re in the mood for something fancier, try adding berries for a fruity version or, the always classic can’t-go-wrong choc chips.

I've doubled the quantities in the actual recipe because the pancakes are thicker. 

The method is a little bit more involved than what I would normally do for pancakes, but I think the extra effort makes the difference. By beating the egg whites separately, and beating the egg yolks with the sugar first, you increase the amount of air in the batter, therefore making it lighter (or so I assume). If, however, you’re a bit more strapped for time, chuck all the ingredients into a bowl (milk, egg, flour, sugar) then whisk until it’s all combined into a thick-ish batter and that’s ready to use. I don’t think you’ll get as fluffy a result, but it’ll still turn out a decent pancake.

Whip 'em good.

The mix was very frothy - think beer batter kind of froth

The solution for getting a thick pancake was simple, and it’s something I utilise for cakes – a paper collar. I’ve seen in some videos, people use cardboard milk cartons, but I didn’t have one on hand. I did think to use regular cardboard, but decided against it. A folded bit of baking paper does the job, and has the added benefit of being non-stick. Just make sure it’s properly sealed at the join, otherwise you’ll have a leaky pancake.  You’ll also want to make sure the collar isn’t too tall so you can cover the fry pan with a lid of some sorts. This way, you ensure the pancake is cooked the whole way through, so you don’t end up with a pancake that’s oozy for the wrong reasons. Also once the pancake is cooked through on one side, it becomes a lot easier to get a neat flip (and the pancake makes a satisfying ‘WHOMP’ sound when it hits the pan).

It would have been easier if I had stapled the paper together, but overlapping it works just as well.

I may have miscalculated a tad.

Maybe not a tad.

It's a lot easier if you measure it prior to putting it in the pan, in all honesty,

You want it to look like a crumpet - best cooked on low to medium heat otherwise it'll burn. 

If you're still following the script, this involves a bit of chocolate work and piping. Just make sure you pipe the decorations thick enough otherwise when you go to transfer it, it’ll break apart. Fun fact, the loopy bit of chocolate is a stylized ‘matsu’ or pine. Now, I’ve got to admit, I did deviate from the source material because I forgot which way the writing went, but all in all, I like to think I was pretty faithful to the original. Finish it off with a dollop of whipped cream, halved strawberries, blueberries and a scoop of pink coloured icecream (I went with strawberry) and there you have, your very own Osomatsu pancake stack!

Pancakes aka. syrup sponges

One day I'll temper chocolate properly. That day is not today.

It was about here I realised I had written 'Osomatsu' back to front

That being said, I'm still impressed it was legible. 

Om nom nom. 

Fan-tasty: Osomatsu-san Hesokuri Wars Sweets Week

You know what we haven't had on this blog for some time? We haven't had a special feature since Ghibli Week. With the end of the year quick approaching, there's not that much time left to squeeze one in there, so I'll go out with a bang! Earlier this month, a new episode of an anime I was fond of was released as a collaboration with JRA (or the Japan Racing Association). Yes, it's an Osomatsu-san feature! (I say week as a guideline only because I will more than likely live up to my blog name)

Osomatsu-san, or Mr. Osomatsu (おそ松さん) is a gag anime released late 2015, which was based on an earlier anime, Osomatsu-kun (おそ松くん), which was based on a comedy manga strip of the same name which was serialised from 1962 to 1969. Trust me, it'll all make sense.

(source) Osomatsu-kun 

(source) Osomatsu-san

             

















Osomatsu-kun was written by Fujio Akatsuka who is considered to be one of the most successful gag manga writers, and the series follows the exploits of the identical sextuplet brothers (in birth order): Osomatsu, Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu. A running gag in the manga was the inability of the characters to tell the brothers apart. Later in the manga, the series begins to revolve around supporting characters due to their popularity. (read more about it here) 

Skip ahead to 2015, which would've been Fujio Akatsuka's 80th birthday, and the sextuplets are all grown up. Osomatsu-san is set roughly 10 years in the future from Osomatsu-kun (except in a modern setting), the brothers have grown up into NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training) and each has a more defined personality.

(source) From left to right: Osomatsu, Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu, Todomatsu 

There are several tie-in games, one of them being おそ松さんのへそくりウォーズ～ニートの攻防～ which is somewhat translated to Osomatsu-san Money Wars~ When NEETs Attack~, but is better known as Hesokuri Wars. (if someone who knows Japanese can translate this better, please let me know in the comments!) The game is styled like a tower defense game, where you send your army of sextuplet brothers towards the opposing base whilst simultaneously defending your own. A large part of what keeps me playing this game is the availability of different costumes for the characters, available through a 'gatcha' system. 

(source) This game is absolutely terrible and I love it so much. 

If you've ever been to Asia, more than likely you've seen a gatcha machine, or capsule machine (or gashapon/gachapon), which spits out a toy in a plastic ball-like container when you feed it a coin. (they can also be found in some shopping centers over here). It's completely random, which when applied to a game where you have to spend limited in-game currency to 'roll' the gatcha, can end up being extremely frustrating. With six main characters each having a unique costume based on a theme, these are known as a 'set', and the theme ranges from their normal appearance, to specific episode skits, to riffing on magical girls, to the current in-game event of 'dark santas'. 

(source) Must. Collect. Them. All.

One such set is the Sweets Set, where the brothers are dressed up as chefs with their own unique desserts, and yes, you've probably guessed by now, I'm going to recreate all of the desserts that you see before you! And even better news, I've covered all the context in this post, so we can get straight to the good stuff in the main ones! Just in case the pictures aren't loading, this is what you can expect:

1. Osomatsu's Pancakes
2. Karamatsu's Float
3. Choromatsu's Cheesecake
4. Ichimatsu's Mousse
5. Jyushimatsu's Parfait
6. Todomatsu's "Fromage"

(I'm about 99% sure that fromage is cheese, so I'm going to use artistic license with that one.)

Happy slothing!!

xx

Osomatsu-san Money Wars ~When NEETS Attack~

Osomatsu-san Money Wars ~When NEETS Attack~