If you’re a Disney lover that delights in bringing the magic into your home, now you can get your Disney on in the kitchen as well!
Influencer Elise Osafo, better known to her nearly 150K TikTok followers as @eltheegg, has recreated 4 delicious and simply recipes from Bao, The Princess and the Frog, and Ratatouille for you to make on your own while you watch your favorite animated films!
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Are you ready to get animated in the kitchen?
Let’s go!
The first recipe is from the Disney-Pixar short film Bao, in which a dumpling comes to life! (But don’t worry, it’s a metaphor.)
If you’ve never tried the delicious Chinese buns, now’s your chance because Elise took at stab at making her own and they came out…well, you’ll see.
BBQ Pork Bao from Bao
In a perfect world, bao looks like this:
And then when you bite into it, it looks like this:
But you know how sometimes you try to get creative and Google substitutions at the last minute when you’re missing a key ingredient?
Well, don’t do that.
Elise tried to replace yeast with a 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice + 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda mixture and she reports that it…well, it wasn’t exactly the Disney magic she had intended.
So you’re going to see her use the method, but that’s what we call a “don’t try this at home” blooper.
Don’t worry – the rest of the recipe is great!
Here’s what you’ll need – and the amounts will depend on your love of the ingredients for the most part:
- 4 cups of flour
- 1 instant yeast packet (not the concoction you see in the video)
- 2 & 1/4 cups of warm water
- Chopped pork (it looks like you’ll need about 1 pound of pork steak – be it a shoulder, loin, chop, etc)
- Green onions
- Carrot
- Napa cabbage
- Ginger
- 1 egg
- Garlic powder
- Black pepper
- Soy sauce
- Oyster sauce
- Sesame oil
- Barbecue sauce
- Red pepper flakes
1. First, put 4 cups of flour, the contents of the yeast packet, and the warm water in a bowl, then mix.
(Even if you read online that lemon juice and baking soda will work, it’s a lie! At least for this recipe.)
2. Eventually, you’ll get a ball of dough, which you want to leave alone and let rise for at least 2 hours. (Hey, good things come to those who wait!)
3. While that yeasty dough-rising magic happens, chop your pork into cubes and slice your green onions and cabbage, grate your carrot, and dice your ginger.
4. Combine all of your vegetables in a bowl and then add 1 egg, garlic powder, black pepper, dashes of soy sauce, oyster sauce, and barbecue sauce to taste (then probably add some extra barbecue sauce).
Throw in a few dashes of sesame oil too.
5. Then, stir to combine all of those ingredients until they’re pretty and it looks like this:
6. Now, you might as well throw in some red pepper flakes too – just add as much as you can take. We like it spicy, so we shake it hard, but it’s really up to you.
Ok, it’s cooking time!
7. Heat a frying pan on medium and cook your meat concoction, stirring often until the meat is browned.
Then take it off the heat, put it back in a clean bowl (the old one will have raw meat juice in it, so don’t go there!), and set it aside until you’re ready to fill your bao.
8. Now you’re going to get out a cutting board (or else make a mess on your counter) and flour the surface where you intend to work your dough.
9. Make your dough into a ring and start slicing off pieces of a few inches.
That’s going to be your bao!
10. Now, roll out each slice until it’s nice and flat so you can both fill it with your meat and veggies AND have room to seal it up.
Hopefully, you have a bun steamer, but if you don’t, there are plenty of ways to rig one up, from putting a colander over a pan of boiling water and placing a pot lid on top to whatever Elise is doing here.
Remember, this is magic, so you might need to call on your fairy godmother for a minute.
11. Once you get your buns in the steamer, they’ll need 15 minutes for the dough to cook.
In the meantime, you can come up with all sorts of “buns and steamers” jokes!
While this might be a “fail,” they should look a little something like this.
Even if your dough doesn’t bao to your wishes (see what we did there?), you can still crack them open and enjoy that filling!
Delicious, right?
Where have these been all your life?!
Ok, now we’re going to move on to some soup and stew.
The first recipe is Tiana’s gumbo from the 2009 movie The Princess and the Frog.
You might want to have this playing in the background since it’s about opening a restaurant and will provide some good inspo (well, except the part where she’s turned into a frog and has to figure out how to change back into a human).
The Gumbo from The Princess and the Frog
There are a lot of recipes out there for gumbo, but none of them are as adventurous or as fun as the one that @eltheegg has in store for you.
So grab the following and let’s make a New Orlean’s style Disney dinner!
- 1 stick of butter
- 1/2 cup of flour
- White onion, chopped
- Garlic, chopped
- Green pepper, chopped
- One package (usually 1 pound) of andouille or smoked sausage
- 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 4 cups of chicken broth
- 2-3 bay leaves
- Cajun seasoning
- Chicken seasoning
- Cayenne pepper
- Garlic powder
- Paprika
- Onion powder
- Dried oregano
- Red pepper flakes
- Dried thyme
- White rice
- Shrimp
- Okra, chopped
1. Throw a stick of butter in a stockpot over medium-low heat.
Seriously, throw it. It’ll be better that way.
2. Now, add 1/2 cup of flour (she says 1/4 in the video, but the caption says 1/2, so we’re going with the written word).
3. Stir the butter and flour for about 10 minutes on medium until it’s a golden brown color, like this:
4. Add chopped onions, garlic, and green pepper and give it a stir for a few minutes.
5. Now toss in your sausage and add your can of tomatoes.
6. Stir your mixture again and add 4 cups of chicken broth, then add your bay leaves (and remember to take them out later!).
7. Sprinkle in your Cajun seasoning – and be generous, because it’s delicious!
8. Follow that up with a dash of chicken seasoning, cayenne pepper (you can be shy if you’re not down with the spice, but then why are you making a New Orleans dish!?), garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, oregano, red pepper flakes, and thyme.
9. Ok, now you’ve got some super sandy, spicy soup. So that means you’re going to need to let it boil for a few minutes so those tastes meld together.
10. While that simmers, make your white rice however you like – rice cooker, stovetop, leftover Chinese food…no judgment.
11. Turn up the heat on that soup until it’s boiling and add your shrimp. Then, toss in some okra too.
12. Cook it!
That’s it – doesn’t this look epic?
Now eat your food and love it!
Let’s move on to another Disney film about food, Ratatouille!
The Soup from Ratatouille
No, it’s not the actual ratatouille, that’s coming up next. This is the soup that Remy makes near the beginning – the one that Linguini nearly knocks off the stove.
It’s described as a “spicy yet subtle taste experience.”
Sounds good to us!
Try this and see what you think!
Gather the following:
- Olive oil
- 1/2 a stick of butter
- 1 chopped white onion
- Mushrooms, chopped
- 1 cup of brandy (and maybe a little for the chef – if the chef is over 21, of course)
- 8 cups of beef broth
- 4 tablespoons of coarsely chopped black peppercorns
- 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Red pepper flakes
- Mini red potatoes (about a half-pound)
- Parsley
- Green Onion
- Chives for Garnish
1. Add olive oil to a stockpot, then heat it up and throw in half a stick of butter while you’re at it.
2. Add your chopped onions and garlic.
This is going to smell sooooo good.
3. Add some sliced mushrooms if you’re in the mood.
4. Now pour in a cup of brandy.
Ok, now pour one into the pot as well.
5. Now cook your concoction until it’s slightly reduced and then add 8 cups of beef broth.
6. Once that comes to a simmer, you’re going to throw in a whole bunch of stuff at the same time: 4 tablespoons of coarsely chopped black peppercorns, 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, some garlic powder, salt, and more salt.
7. In a pot, boil some mini red potatoes until you can easily pierce them with a fork. Then toss those babies into your soup.
Try to get a good action shot – or at least a better one than this:
8. Now add your chopped green onion, dried parsley, and stir the pot until you just can’t bear it anymore and need to eat it.
That’s it!
9. Add your soup to a bowl, sprinkle on some chives for garnish, and add some bread if you are a proud carb-lover!
It’s going to be amazing!
Ok, now here’s what you’ve been waiting for:
The Ratatouille from Ratatouille
So, ratatouille isn’t the easiest thing to make, but it sure isn’t as hard as it looks either.
It just requires more chopping and layering than you might normally do.
Elise’s version will no doubt make you want to give it a try, so get together the following ingredients:
- 5-6 carnival peppers (they’re just bell peppers in a variety of colors)
- Butter
- Olive oil
- Minced garlic
- Chopped onions
- Chopped green onion
- 28 ounces of tomato sauce
- 2-3 bay leaves
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Red pepper flakes
- Seasoning salt
- Italian seasoning
- Fresh basil
- Dried thyme
- Zucchini
- Eggplant
- Yellow squash
- Sea salt
1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees and put your peppers on a sheet pan to roast them for 20 minutes.
2. On the stovetop, add 1 tablespoon of butter to a saucepan along with a splash or two of some olive oil.
3. Now, add some minced garlic to the pan along with chopped onions, chopped green onions, your 28-oz can of tomato sauce, and your bay leaves.
4. Next, stir in some garlic powder, onion powder, all the red pepper flakes you can handle, seasoning salt (yeah, seriously, more seasoning and salt), and a few shakes of Italian seasoning herbs.
5. Now chop up those roasted peppers after you’ve given them a chance to cool and de-seeded them.
Then throw ’em in!
6. Add some fresh basil and dried thyme and admire how nice it looks!
7. This is going to simmer for about 30 minutes while you prepare your other veggies.
8. While that cooks, thinly slice your zucchini, eggplant, and yellow squash.
9. After your tomato concoction is done simmering, pour it into a pie plate or other circular dish that can go in the oven. Then smooth it out.
10. Now, you’re going to layer your veggies in a circle around the pan, like so:
This is definitely the moment you want to catch a photo for the ‘gram if you did a nice job!
11. Cover the whole thing in a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt.
12. Finally, cover the dish with foil and roast it for an hour.
It’s going to look amazing, so an “after” photo for social media is not out of the question here.
13. Now it’s time to wave a magic wand and plate it. If you don’t have a magic wand in your kitchen arsenal, you can buy one on Amazon.
Your final product might look like this, if you’re really good:
But even if it doesn’t, it’ll still be delicious!
***
See, now you have a whole feast to munch on during your next Disney binge sesh!
And @eltheegg has plenty more recipes where those came from, so be sure to check her out on TikTok at @eltheegg
You can also catch her on YouTube here, or check out her Instagram page at @eliseosafo
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