Kiyo In Kyoto: From The Maiko House, also known as Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san, is an anime that follows two young women, Kiyo and Sumire. Sumire is a maiko-in-training, while Kiyo works at the maiko house as their live-in cook. This slice-of-life anime focuses on Kiyo and Sumire's close friendship and is an overall heartwarming series to watch.
However, Kiyo In Kyoto is also well-known for the many dishes that Kiyo cooks in every episode of this food anime. Even though the anime is only in its first season, all of the episodes so far featured many wonderful, tasty dishes. From succulent pork cutlet sandwiches to a hearty chicken-egg bowl, fans found themselves salivating at all the food on display.
10 Squid Mince Is Tastier Than It Looks
Squid mince is far tastier than it looks. It can be eaten with a variety of condiments and spices such as brown sauce, soy sauce, ketchup, or salt. Squid mince has a variety of recipes, including being used in curries, or made more refreshing with basil and ginger.
Kiyo makes this dish for Sumire after noticing that Sumire was often too busy to eat. Squid mince, however, is easily eaten in a hurry, making it the perfect dish for a maiko on the go.
9 Pork Cutlet Sandwiches Became One Of Sumire's Reasons To Join The Maiko Lifestyle
Pork cutlet sandwiches include pork breaded in crumbs and fried, before being placed between two fluffy slices of bread, sauce, and vegetables. Back when Kiyo and Sumire were younger, both of them learned at the maiko house that these succulent pork cutlet sandwiches had to be cut into smaller sizes so the maiko could eat them without ruining their lipstick and the rest of their makeup.
Sumire, in particular, mourned that she lacked the opportunity to eat them in smaller sizes, as she wasn't a full maiko-in-training at the time yet. Once Sumire does become a full-fledged maiko-in-training, however, Kiyo takes the time to make the pork cutlet sandwiches into bite-sized ones. Kiyo's attention to detail rivals the chefs in isekai anime.
8 Karrage Is Sumire's Guilty Pleasure
Karrage, also known as fried chicken, is one of Sumire's guilty pleasure foods. This recipe is made by frying the chicken in a wok with oil, rather than a deep fryer.
When Kiyo asks the other maiko about what type of food they would like to eat, Sumire immediately requests eating fried chicken. However, Sumire ends up thinking of nothing but fried chicken all day, craving it so badly that it makes it difficult to focus on her duties as a maiko. Much to Sumire's delight, Kiyo ends up cooking some for her.
7 Butter Cookies Are Simple But Sweet
Butter cookies are well-loved among the maiko in the maiko house, and Kiyo found an easy way to make many at once. By forming the cookie dough into a cylinder before chilling it in the fridge, all she has to do later is cut the dough into slices to make perfect, uniform butter cookies.
Unfortunately for Sumire and much to Kiyo's amusement, one of the other maikos in the house ends up eating all of them after having a severe craving for the cookies. These baked goods are easily enjoyed by anyone, young and old.
6 Kiyo Makes Pudding à La Mode To Celebrate Sumire Becoming A Maiko
In the very first episode of the series, the episode opens with Sumire revealing to Kiyo that she will now be working towards her debut as an official maiko. To celebrate, Kiyo turns store-bought pudding into the creamy, delicious pudding à la mode for dessert.
Pudding à la mode features the pudding itself, topped with sweet fluffy cream, fruits, and a cute cherry on top. It's one of the best dishes for someone craving a creamy, rich dessert.
5 Hittsumi Warms Up Kiyo & Sumire During Winter
During a cold winter morning, Kiyo and Sumire have hittsumi, or wheat dumpling soup, for breakfast. Torn-up pieces of flour and water are boiled, and they also have a smooth, chewy texture.
Both of them enjoy eating this dish after shoveling during snowy winter days, and it's the perfect dish to get nice and warm after being in the cold weather. When this dish was featured in this slice-of-life anime, it made fans crave this dish for their cold winter days.
4 Amazake Is A Soothing Drink For Sleepless Sumire
Amazake is a sweet drink made by fermenting rice and koji mold or sake lees. To make the drink, sake lees are dissolved with water and then seasoned with sugar. Koji mold, meanwhile, is used to ferment the steamed rice if it is used in the recipe instead.
After her hair gets styled in a bun for the first time, Sumire can't sleep. She visits Kiyo's kitchen in the middle of the night. Kiyo, having heard the other maiko talk about how they couldn't sleep the first night when their hair was first styled into buns, anticipated Sumire's arrival and made this drink just for her.
3 Nabekko Dumplings Bring Joy To the Maiko House
Nabekko dumplings are regional sweets from Aomori. They're often eaten after people gather to celebrate a special occasion. This particular dish was eaten when Sumire was celebrating the day of her debut as an official maiko. This dish consists of a sweet red bean soup with small wheat dumplings.
Kiyo and Sumire—along with their other friends at home—also recall eating this dish, before joining the maiko house as well. Not only do they recall old memories with this dish, but they also make new ones by eating it during Sumire's debut.
2 Baked Scallops Bring Back Old Memories
Miso Kayaki, also known as baked scallops, was one of the last dishes Kiyo and Sumire ate at home before going to the maiko house for training. The dish uses large scallop shells as the baking pans. There are a variety of recipes, but Kiyo's grandmother used miso, Welsh onions, scallops, and eggs.
This matches perfectly well with rice, and it's a recipe that's easy to make. Because it's so common in Aomori, its taste is known to remind people of home. Fans hope that Kiyo will make this dish herself one day in the anime, and see her take on the recipe.
1 The Chicken-Egg Bowl Was How Kiyo Started Cooking
Kiyo was already a great chef by the time she arrived at the maiko house. However, she initially came to the maiko house to train to become one along with Sumire. However, it soon became clear that Kiyo's talents didn't lie in becoming a maiko, but rather in cooking.
After the previous chef got injured and no longer could work, the maiko relied on takeout food to eat. After Kiyo noticed that the other maiko grew sick of the takeout food, however, she decided to take matters into her own hands and cook for them herself, starting with the chicken-egg bowl. This resulted in her becoming their permanent live-in chef, much to their gratitude and Kiyo's joy.