Lesson 48 How do you make it?

ポイント
Jack and Jiro are organizing a hanami barbeque and are talking about what food to cook.

ダイアログ
Jiro: In Japan, we often cook yakisoba on barbeques.
Jack: I’ve never heard of yakisoba. How do you make it?
Jiro: It’s made by noodles, meat, and vegetables.

解説
Jack is probably imagining noodles, meat, and vegetables doing the cooking instead of people. This is because “It’s made by noodles, meat, and vegetables” means “麺と肉と野菜が料理をする.” But Jiro wants to say “麺と肉と野菜で作られる,” so he should say, “It’s made with noodles, meat, and vegetables.” However, he can use “by” to explain the way yakisoba is made: “It’s made by frying noodles, meat, and vegetables together.” To summarize, things are made with materials or ingredients [材料の場合はwith] and by performing actions [方法の場合はby].