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Can we successfully recreate Snoop Dogg’s cookbook recipes in Japan?【SoraKitchen】

Shannon Mar 5, 2022
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We find out whether or not there’s a learning curve to Tha Boss Dogg’s Kitchen.

It’s not always easy to make non-Japanese recipes in an authentic way in Japan, but then there are recipes that are delicious worldwide, like Snoop Dogg’s. In celebration of the Japanese translated release of Snoop Dogg’s cookbook From Crook to Cook, our Japanese-language reporter Egawa Tasuku tried a couple of recipes from his English-language edition to see how close he could get to the original flavor.

▼ Will we be able to make it up to Snoop Dogg’s standards?

His journey started in the English section of Japanese bookstore Kinokuniya, where he snagged the English edition of From Crook to Cook for 3,602 yen (US$31.36). Considering the Japanese edition will be selling for 3,410 yen, he was glad it wasn’t too much of a price difference.

▼ Here’s one of the recipes he chose: classic Italian.

Egawa decided to make two recipes: Spaghetti de la Hood and the So Clean We Dirty Martini. The former looked like a simple spaghetti and meatballs recipe, and the martini was pretty straightforward as well, especially for someone who wasn’t a skilled chef like Egawa. He was excited to see how they would be translated in the Japanese version.

▼ Are you also dirty, Egawa?

Since Egawa doesn’t have a functioning kitchen at home, he used the office kitchen to recreate the recipes. But sadly, since our office doesn’t have the gas turned on, he also had to bring a portable electric stove. We do what we can! At least we have pots, pans, and knives on hand.

And since our office is located in Shinjuku–where there are far more offices and restaurants than apartments–the supermarket and convenience store selection wasn’t exactly the best. So this is what Egawa ended up with: pretty much everything he needed except for specifics like beef sirloin mince and raw garlic.

▼ Sometimes, it can be slim pickings in Shinjuku.

He did manage to find spaghetti, powdered garlic, black pepper, parsley, salt, canned tomatoes, bread crumbs, beef-and-pork mince, olive oil, eggs, onions, and ketchup to make the pasta dish.

To avoid giving away all the secrets of Snoop Dogg’s kitchen, Egawa won’t go into many details, but to assemble the meatballs, he combined a bunch of ingredients like the meat, breadcrumbs, and more.

▼ Let’s just trust he followed the recipe with adjustments here and there.

Then he rolled them into the shape of meatballs and popped them onto a frying pan.

▼ Good job so far, Egawa!

▼ While those were frying up, he started boiling his pasta.

After draining the pasta and adding the sauce, he was done! Egawa is no Michelin star chef, but even he was able to make this easy and delicious meal, thanks to Snoop Dogg. He had no idea it was so easy to make meatballs.

▼ Now for the taste test!

Egawa was pleasantly surprised by the flavor. It was so good, he almost couldn’t believe he was the one who made it. He was especially satisfied because it was that tasty despite the fact that he wasn’t able to find the 100 percent ground beef that the recipe called for; all he could find was a mixture of pork and beef.

▼ If he did use exactly what the recipe called for, he thinks it would be five times better.

The martini was also up to his standards. He had some help from our boss who lives gin, but he wasn’t able to get the kind of olives that the recipe called for. The closest he could find were these olives specifically for cocktails.

It’s hard to see, but there is a martini in there somewhere — it was so good Egawa had almost drunk the whole thing before he remembered to snap a photo of it!

So in the end, both of the recipes Egawa tried in From Crook to Cook were amazing! The best part is that he was able to make them delicious using ingredients that are easily found at most Japanese supermarkets and convenience stores. He can’t wait for people to get their hands on the Japanese version so that everyone can have a Snoop Dogg dinner.

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[ Read in Japanese ]