"Mountains, Appetite and Me" is a manga series that has been serialized on the web manga site Kurage Bunch since 2015. It depicts the mountaineering of the protagonist, Hibino Ayumi, a self-proclaimed solo mountaineer who hates being called a "mountain girl," and the meals she eats at the summit. It is an outdoor gourmet story that will make you want to climb mountains and get hungry while reading it. The dishes depicted are so authentic that an official recipe book has been released, and as the author's own hobby is mountaineering, the descriptions of mountain climbing that draw on her own experiences have become a hot topic. In this article, we will introduce and rank the most delicious meals that appear in "Mountains, Appetite and Me."
10th Place: The Beer Meal: Beef Jerky Mix
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
I'd been obsessed with foreign TV dramas for a month and hadn't gone mountain climbing, so I decided to go trekking along the Hakone Old Highway and the outer crater rim as a form of rehabilitation. On the second day, they decided to tackle Mount Kintoki (1,212m). Located southeast of Mount Fuji, Mount Kintoki offers unobstructed views, making it a fantastic observation deck on clear days. Upon reaching the summit, Hibino Ayumi, faced with the breathtaking view, prepared mountain food using a beer can. She prepared a 500ml can of beer, drank about halfway, and then opened the lid with a can opener. She added 0.7 cups of raw rice to the remaining beer, along with some shredded beef jerky, a common snack, and cooked the whole thing together. She placed the can over low heat, and when bubbles began to form, she blew on it to break up the bubbles and prevent it from boiling over. After 15 minutes, once the water had reduced, she turned off the heat, covered it with something suitable, and steamed it for another 15 minutes. While the dish seemed guaranteed to be delicious, Ayumi reported that it wasn't as tasty as she'd imagined. However, adding curry powder apparently enhanced the flavor.
9th Place: Spring Water and Freshly Ground Coffee: A Paradise Above the Clouds Reflected by the Clouds
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
This is the coffee that our protagonist, Ayumi Hibino, enjoyed at the deserted summit of a certain mountain. The ingredients include spring water collected at a water source along the way and Ayumi's favorite organic house blend from Ogawa Coffee in Kyoto. As "Clouds Reflecting the Clouds" refers to the summit of a mountain, it likely refers to the clouds reflected in the coffee. It's a coffee that feels like a reward, one that can only be enjoyed once you've reached the top of the mountain.
8th Place: Sweet and Salty French Toast
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
While climbing a certain mountain, Hibino Ayumi encountered a man named Abusawa Toshiro who kept talking to her, leaving her feeling troubled. Ayumi considered pretending to answer a phone call to distance herself, or bringing up a topic she wasn't interested in, but neither of these options worked, and she ended up just walking too fast for him to keep up with. Though she'd intended to take a leisurely hike, she somehow managed to separate them and reached the summit. Feeling a little tired, Ayumi immediately started cooking. She cracked a raw egg into a cup, added milk, salt, and pepper, and mixed well. She cut the quarter-slice bread into quarters and placed the bread in the cups to absorb the liquid. Meanwhile, she heated a frying pan over low heat to melt the butter and arranged the thinly sliced thick bacon on top. She placed the soaked slice of bread on top, adhering the bacon to the liquid. She then placed the bacon on top of the bread, flipped it over, and once both sides were nicely browned, drizzled it with maple syrup. Finally, she sprinkled some black pepper on top, and her salted French toast with burnt maple syrup was complete. The key to this dish is "natural sweetness without sugar." Its sweet and salty flavor is perfect for soothing your tired body after a hike.
7th Place: Instant Salmon Rice Porridge
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
While climbing a certain mountain, Hibino Ayumi came across a stream that wasn't supposed to be on the route to the summit. She checks the map again, but still has no idea where she is. Then Ayumi remembers she's hungry, and starts making a meal to calm herself down. She puts the salmon rice balls in a cooker and adds a moderate amount of water. Next, she adds a moderate amount of homemade garlic and green onion miso, made by mixing miso, green onions, dashi stock, and garlic, and mixes it with the rice balls. She then puts it on the stove, covers it, and waits a little while for it to be done. After eating this rice porridge, Ayumi regains her composure and somehow manages to make it down the mountain. It's a dish that's simple to prepare, yet has a comforting flavor that you can enjoy.
6th Place: Wandering Meat Sauce Curry
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
While descending a mountain, Hibino Ayumi encounters Kuroren Nanami, who is traveling by car, and offers to give her a ride to the station. Nanami suggests stopping by a nearby secluded hot spring, and Hibino Ayumi follows her. After enjoying the secret hot spring, the two decide to start cooking something to eat. First, they rehydrate the instant rice in boiling water. Meanwhile, they open a can of meat sauce in a frying pan, add a little hot water, and then add the curry roux. Then they heat it up and garnish with fried garlic to finish. The taste is simple, but the meat sauce curry is undeniably delicious.
No. 5: Mulled Wine on a Starry Night
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
The protagonist, Hibino Ayumi, spends a night atop a mountain over 2,500 meters high. She goes to bed at 6:00 PM, but it's colder than she expected and she can't sleep. So, after taking various measures to protect herself from the cold, she gets ready to go back to sleep, but the wind is strong and she feels lonely, making it difficult to fall asleep. So Ayumi gets up to enjoy the night and sip on the red wine she'd brought with her, even going so far as to lighten her meal. She heats the red wine just enough to avoid boiling, and adds plenty of blueberry jam and a little black pepper to create a mulled wine that will warm both body and soul. After finishing her wine, Ayumi sticks her head out of the tent and looks up to the sky, where she sees a sky full of stars. The mulled wine helps to wash away Ayumi's anxieties as she was feeling lonely pitching a tent for the first time on such a high mountain.
4th Place: French Fry Hot Sandwich
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
This is a dish that Ayumi Hibino made at an observation deck on a low mountain, remembering fellow solo climber Yamame Sato. About two years ago, the two met when Yamame asked Ayumi to take a photo of them, and they ate together, eating a hot sandwich that Yamame had brought with him. Ayumi was so impressed by the hot sandwich that she bought one for herself shortly thereafter. This is the hot sandwich that Ayumi finally made two years ago. First, she places roughly chopped Danshaku potatoes in a hot sandwich maker and frys them in olive oil. Next, she places sliced cheese and fried potatoes on a slice of bread and sprinkles with salt and pepper, then layers fried bacon and sliced tomatoes on top. She then sandwiches the two together in another slice of bread and grills them in the hot sandwich maker. Once they're cooked to the right consistency, they're done. This hot sandwich is the perfect combination of sweet and fluffy Danshaku potatoes with bacon, cheese, and tomatoes.
3rd Place: The Powerful Meat Udon
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
Ayumi Hibino found a lightweight, inexpensive, single-serving pot at a home improvement store and brought it to the mountains to try it out. First, she poured a little water into the pot and added the powder. Add the frozen udon noodles, sliced rice cakes, pork belly, dried green onions, dried wakame seaweed, and tempura scraps, and wait a little while. Once the udon is done, add the pickled ginger and it's done. This colorful udon dish will warm you from the inside out.
Second Place: Grilled Rice Balls with Shiso Miso
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
Ayumi Hibino was climbing a low mountain, carrying her tent and other gear, to build up her stamina for a multi-day traverse. Battling the summer heat, I somehow managed to make it to a bench and decided to have a meal. First, I laid some aluminum foil on top of a frying pan and placed the rice balls I had brought in an insulated bag on top of it to cook. Once both sides were browned, I spread my homemade shiso miso on the rice balls. This shiso miso is made by adding a few chopped shiso leaves, miso, sugar, and mirin to a frying pan and mixing while heating. Once the rice balls are slightly browned, I wrap them in a layer of shiso leaves laid on top of nori seaweed and they're done. These grilled rice balls allow you to enjoy the aroma of miso and shiso.
1st Place: Shinshu Nozawana and Cod Roe Mixed Rice with Meat Wraps
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
After the Obon holiday, Ayumi Hibino was experiencing a mountain loss. Symptoms range from feeling like she's not her true self down below, feeling uneasy about the presence of convenience stores, to feeling strangely anxious about not walking for several hours a day. Ayumi, who was still feeling mountain-lost, decided to make "mountain-lost meals" (food made using a cooker and burner to give her a mountain-like feeling even with just rice) at the bar counter in her company's conference room during her lunch break the next day. First, she soaked instant rice in hot water, then mixed it with Nozawana and cod roe she bought on her last visit to Nagano. Next, she grilled Nagano-grown Shinshu pork in a frying pan and seasoned it with salt and pepper. After the pork was cooked, she placed it on the mixed rice and rolled it up to complete the dish. "The savory flavor of the Shinshu pork and the crunchy Nozawana are irresistible! The cod roe flavor makes this a dish that's addictive," she says. Apparently, a light squeeze of lemon adds even more flavor.
Mountains, Appetite, and Me: A Ranking of Delicious Meals!
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
What did you think? This article introduced our own ranking of the most delicious meals featured in the outdoor and gourmet manga "Mountains, Appetite, and Me." This work features many delicious dishes, even after hiking. Please use it as inspiration for your own cooking. There are also many dishes that taste even better when you are hiking, so we encourage you to try them out while hiking. Thank you for reading to the end.
