Dungeon Meshi is a work by Kui Ryouko that was serialized in Harta, a manga magazine published by KADOKAWA that issues 10 issues a year, and concluded on September 15th, 2023. An anime adaptation is scheduled to begin in January 2024. It is a gourmet fantasy story in which a party is defeated in a battle with a powerful enemy and left penniless, so in order to retrieve and revive their companions, they skillfully cook the monsters they catch in the dungeon, saving on food costs as they continue to explore the dungeon. We've compiled a list of the monster dishes that appear in Dungeon Meshi in two parts!
Monster Dish #1: Mizutaki with Giant Scorpion and Walking Mushroom
This was the first monster dish that Laios and his friends tried. It was a hot pot dish made with walking mushrooms roaming the labyrinth and a giant scorpion caught using crayfish fishing techniques. Although Laios and his friends didn't know how to prepare it on their own, Senshi, a dwarf who studies monster cuisine, turned it into a delicious mizutaki. Senshi, who has an interest in monster cuisine, learned that Laios's goal was the red dragon, and joined Laios's party with the goal of cooking and eating the red dragon.
Monster Dish #2: Man-Eating Plant Tart
This tart is made with the fruit of the man-eating plant, which ambushes and captures adventurers in the labyrinth, feeding them on it. The fruit of the man-eating plant is salty, not sweet. It tastes delicious, and Raios believes the reason it's so tasty is because it captures animals that prey on the fruit and uses it for nourishment.
Monster Dish #3: Roast Basilisk
This roast chicken is a basilisk, a gigantic creature with the body of a chicken, the tail of a snake, and deadly poison in its fangs and spurs. Spices are infused into the meat, and finely chopped medicinal herbs, including herbs for magic, poison removal, petrification, and paralysis repair, are stuffed into the belly for added nutrition and slowly roasted. The taste is identical to chicken, and the snake meat is said to be similar to chicken as well.
Monster Dish #4: Mandrake and Basilisk Omelet
This omelet is made with mandrake, a plant whose screams drive people crazy, and the unfertilized eggs that basilisks lay all over the place. Basilisk eggs are closer to snake eggs than chicken eggs, and are characterized by a yellowish-red color compared to chicken eggs. Due to their nature, mandrakes must be handled with care, so care must be taken when harvesting them. While it's possible to harvest them by killing them before they scream, it's said that letting them scream removes the bitter taste, making them tastier.
Monster Dish #5: Mandrake Kakiage and Giant Bat Tempura
Kakiage and tempura made with mandrake and large bats. Obtaining oil in the labyrinth was extremely difficult, but they managed to secure it by cleverly utilizing the boiled oil used in the traps. The oil used was edible olive oil, which may have been influenced by the fact that it was commonly grown in this region.
Monster Dish #6: Full Course of Moving Armor
For some reason, a suit of armor placed in the labyrinth began to move and attack people. The true identity of the moving armor was a mollusk attached to the inside of the armor. The mollusk acted as the armor's muscles, allowing it to move. This full course meal was made from its contents. It's delicious, with a delayed flavor. The flavor also changes depending on the cooking method; steaming it trapped the moldy smell of the helmet, which apparently wasn't very good.
Monster Meal #7: Fresh Vegetable Lunch from the Golem Field
Golems are magical creatures made of soil. Once planted, they grow naturally, resisting pests and maintaining their own moisture levels. This allows for easy cultivation of delicious vegetables. Senshi built a base on the floor where golems appear and lived a self-sufficient life using the golems. He used the fertilizer provided by adventurers relieving themselves in the labyrinth.
Monster Dish #8: Stewed Cabbage with Freshly Stolen Vegetables and Chicken, Served with Plundered Bread
A tavern in the labyrinth was attacked by orcs, and this dish was made using the leaven and vegetables the orcs plundered. Historically, orcs have hated humans and elves, and their attacks were brutal, but the orcs escaped because they were acquaintances of Sensi, a business partner. Orcs are barbaric, and while they sometimes disagree with the elf Marsil, they were able to communicate with him.
Monster Cuisine #9: Natural♡Delicious Treasure Bug Snacks♪
Treasure bugs, which transform into gems and attack humans, are processed into jam, skewers, and rice crackers. They look like gems, but they're actually insects. They're insects, but they're nutritious and delicious. Apparently, Chilchuck has eaten coin bugs before, and they taste better than the ones he ate before. Apparently, the ones found in the labyrinth are even tastier. Apparently, the monsters in the depths are even tastier.
Monster Cuisine #10: Prayer for Protection from Evil! Exorcism Sorbet
On a floor where many spirit monsters appear, Senshi uses a simple, stateless holy water to smash the spirits, turning them into sorbet with the spirits' cold air. The ingredients are water, treasure insect jam, liqueur, salt, sugar, slime liver, and mint. While Farin was alive, dealing with spirits was easy, and this flavor once again highlights the weight of Farin's presence.
Monster Dish #11: Boiled Mimic
This is a simple salt-boiled mimic, the one that Chilchuck has suffered so much from in his life. Mimics are large hermit crab-like monsters that mimic treasure chests and use treasure chests as their shells. They are generally non-poisonous, and the flesh is chewy, revealing the delicious flavor the more you chew it. However, the back of the mimic is not as tasty.
Monster Dish #12: Grilled and Unglazed Giant Parasites from a Giant Kraken
These parasites were found inside the giant octopus monster, the Giant Kraken. Since the Giant Kraken was huge, the parasites were also quite large. The Giant Kraken itself had a strong odor and was inedible, but the parasites were delicious. They looked similar to lampreys. However, when Raios ate the parasites raw, he was infected with the parasites themselves (similar to anisakis) and suffered a hellish ordeal.
Monster Dish #13: Grilled Aquatic Horse Meat
Grilled meat from aquatic horses. Aquatic horses appear to be charming and friendly, but in reality, they're trying to lure you into letting your guard down and then drag you underwater. The fatty parts can be used to make soap, and the meat, while a bit stringy, is said to be mild and delicious. Marsil was forced to eat only liver.
Monster Dish #14: Tentacles in Vinegar Sauce
This dish features parts of tentacles, soft-bodied creatures that mimic plants to capture prey, dressed in vinegar. Tentacles are cnidarian organisms, and once they've caught hold of a prey and pierced it with their poisonous spines, they become paralyzed and unable to move. It seems that vinegar can inhibit the movement of the nematocysts in some species. The taste apparently varies slightly depending on the part of the dish.
Monster Dish #15: Tentacle and Aquatic Horse Stew with Undine
Marsil managed to capture the angered water spirit Undine with sheer determination, and this stew is made with tentacles, aquatic horse meat, and some vegetables. Undines are a collection of tiny spirits, and when angered, they are dangerous creatures that can fire water guns that can easily pierce a human body. Because they are a collection of magical energy, they can be replenished by ingesting them when they run out. However, the magical energy of spirits is difficult for the body to absorb, so it seems necessary to ingest large amounts.
Monster Dish #16: Roasted Red Dragon & Dragon Tail Soup & Onion Pizza Bread
This is a dish made from the red dragon that wiped out Raios' party and swallowed Farin. After defeating the red dragon and reviving Farin after a fierce battle, everyone ate this dragon dish. It was a dream dish for Sensei, and it's said to be one of a kind in every respect, with its firm texture, rich flavor, and lingering aroma.
Monster Dish #17: Jack-o'-Lantern Potage and Dryad Cheese-Topped Sauteed Flower Buds
This dish uses the fruit and flower buds of the Dryad, a human-shaped plant-like monster. Dryad flowers attack when they spot an enemy to protect their fruit and buds. They release pollen, which, if inhaled, can cause intense hay fever, resulting in constant tears and a runny nose. The potage is said to have a subtle floral scent, a rich, thick texture, and a smooth, delicious taste, but using the human-shaped fruit as a container makes it look awful.
Monster Dish #18: Cockatrice Eisbein and Dryad Flower Bud Sauerkraut
Salted and boiled meat from a cockatrice, a monster that's a hybrid of a chicken and a snake, and pickled slices of dryad flower bud, which are surprisingly fast. Marsil was petrified during a battle with the cockatrice, so I used him as a pickling stone while I was trying to unpetrify him.
Monster Dish #19: Cockatrice and Chicken in a Sweet and Sour Sauce
This dish uses cockatrice belly, eggs, dryad berries, and other ingredients acquired so far. The container is made from a Dungeon Cleaner, a mysterious creature that absorbs and regenerates waste from the dungeon. It's possible to eat the whole dish. However, at first glance, it tastes strangely like mud mixed with caterpillars, iron, and lemon, and isn't very appetizing.
Monster Dish #20: Omelet Made with Harpy Eggs
This omelet is made from the eggs of a harpy, a bird-like monster with a woman's face. It looks like an ordinary omelet, but it was prepared by Laios for Kapuru. Kapuru was so desperate to eat it that he considered killing her, but he held back and ate it with determination. This was also the moment that solidified his impression of Laios.
Monster Dishes #21: 5th Floor Memorable Pilaf & 5th Floor Whole Piccata & Sweet Dryad
The illusions cast by the Shapeshifter had led to a proliferation of fake members, so we all made these dishes to distinguish them. These memorable dishes used ingredients from the cockatrice and dryad obtained on the 5th floor. In the end, the illusions disappeared after defeating the beast monster that was creating them, but since the dishes were made with the illusions, they were incomplete.
Monster Dish #21: Sake-Steamed Nightmare Demon
This is a sake-steamed nightmare demon, a monster that inflicts nightmares on sleeping humans. Nightmare demons possess sleeping humans, causing them nightmares and feeding on their emotions. Apparently, if a person is trapped in a nightmare for too long, they can die of exhaustion. In reality, they are clam-like creatures that sneak into pillows and eat dreams. Apparently, when cooked, parts of the dreams they ate may appear.
Monster Dish #23: Ice Golem Chawanmushi and Cooked Fish from the Ice Golem
I made a broth from the fish from the ice golem, added mushrooms, incubus, shapeshifter meat, and harpie eggs, and used ice golem fragments to create a chawanmushi dish. The fish was also cooked appropriately. This was also the first meal I shared with Izutsumi, who had somehow ended up joining the party.
Monster Dish #22: Barometz Balut (or Barometz Chop)
I wanted to prepare cooked Barometz fruit, the tree that bears sheep, but all the adult ones were taken by the Diamond Wolves, so I cooked the insides of the fruit before they matured. Balut is a Vietnamese dish made by boiling ducklings just before hatching. Its strange appearance tends to scare people off, but it's said to taste delicious. Barometz looks like a sheep, but tastes like crab. Apparently, it's so delicious that even Izutsumi, who shuns monsters, devours it.
Monster Dish #22: Soul Eggs Benedict
Eggs, often used as an example to explain reversible and irreversible transformations, are also used to explain how souls are handled in this work. However, eggs have various properties, which are also reflected in different cooking methods. While boiling an egg results in an irreversible transformation, in the distant future, it may become reversible.
【Dungeon Food】Monster Dish Part 1 Summary
Here's a summary of the monster dishes featured in Dungeon Food! The system of deliciously cooking ingredients found in the labyrinth and maintaining stamina is an idea that could be adopted in real dungeon games. The parts that I couldn't cover here are summarized in the second part, so please take a look if you're interested!
