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Vegetarian Japanese Dishes


delhigirl

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Hi all,

My first attempt at posting on the Japan section though I've been enjoying the posts fo a while now.

I confess to never having tried Japanese food (blasphemous I know!), for a number of reasons, until last year. For the longest time I don't think it was even available when I was growing up, at least to the masses; it was too expensive, too exotic, and most importantly, I assumed that Japanese cuisine didn't have anything for vegetarians.

Well, I accompanied some friends to dinner one night to a tiny "sushi-house," and they ordered a sushi "boat", a giant wooden model studded with all kinds of sushi and accompanied with a mound of pink translucent ginger and wasabi paste.

Anyhoo, I was bored because I'm a vegetarian and couldn't eat off the boat. The server asked if I would like some cucumber rolls and I agreed just to keep my friends company and also because seeing all the chowing down going on, was making me hungry. I fell in LOVE with the contrast of textures and flavor. The seaweed (nori?), the rice, the wasabi, the ginger! i loooooved the flavors and the punch.

I don't know how authentic cucumber rolls are actually. But it did give me a small peek into a world of flavors I hadn't experienced before.

So, coming to my actual question, could you suggest things I should try, dishes that are properly vegetarian and representative of Japanese food?

I look forward to hearing your comments, experiences, and suggestions.

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I don't know how authentic cucumber rolls are actually. But it did give me a small peek into a world of flavors I hadn't experienced before.

I can assure you that cumumber rolls (called kappa maki in Japanese) are quite authentic.

As I suggested somewhere else, it's tough being a vegetarian in Japan, but you can find websites on Japanese vegetarian dishes by googling "shojin-ryori", such as:

http://www.btinternet.com/~bury_rd/japanese.htm

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My blog covers a fairly substantial amount of Japanese vegetarian food, though I confess I'm not always diligent about posting detailed recipes.

In Japan the only places that reliably offer vegetarian food (and sometimes I'm afraid the term is used a bit loosely) are Buddhist temple food (shoujin ryouri) and to a lesser extent genmai ("brown rice") restaurants.

It is not difficult to create vegetarian versions of Japanese dishes. For the more rustic dishes, the main complications are soup stock (I use dried konbu and either dried shiitake or dried porcini mushrooms, generally), and the tendency to use dried katsuobushi as a garnish. For more urban or contemporary food, meat is a bit more pervasive and used in larger quantities than was historically typical.

However, it is a fair bit of work to find strictly vegetarian dishes. For various reasons, Japanese just aren't generally concerned about such things, even, in many cases, if their religion prefers vegetarianism. I find it easier in Kyoto and to some extent in western Japan, but I am usually flexible about surprises and about pervasive things like soup stock when someone else is cooking.

Jason Truesdell

Blog: Pursuing My Passions

Take me to your ryokan, please

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While there are plenty of vegetable and tofu dishes in Japanese cuisine, it can be difficult to find vegetarian foods in Japanese restaurants (unless they're specifically vegetarian restaurants) because the dashi broth used as the basis to cook and season many Japanese dishes is usually made from fish.

That said, it's easy to cook Japanese vegetarian food at home. Arm yourself with a good Japanese cookbook (see other threads in this forum for recommendations), substitute "vegetarian dashi" (made from mushrooms or other vegetables), and cook away!

SuzySushi

"She sells shiso by the seashore."

My eGullet Foodblog: A Tropical Christmas in the Suburbs

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hi all. thanks for the replies!

i've encountered "hidden" ingredients while trying many cuisines, including my favorite Thai, where I've actually had to ask the server not to put in fish sauce. how authentic it makes what i end up eating, is a different issue!

could you recommend basic ingredients i should start out with?

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I think some of the basics are obvious, while others you may not know much about yet.

rice (obviously)

shouyu (soy sauce)

miso (if you haven't tried it yet, do so as soon as you can. It's bursting with flavor)

sake

mirin

konbu

tofu

dried shiitake

ginger

wakame

hijiki

sesame seeds

sesame oil

noodles (udon, soba, etc)

rice vinegar

There are all sorts of vegetables, but some which are easy to use are:

carrots

gobou (burdock root)

spinach

daikon

eggplant

hakusai (I think it's usually called Napa or Chinese cabbage)

renkon (lotus root)

onions

I mean, really, the list of produce can go on...Some of it will be very easy to find in some areas, while other places (such as some areas in the US) will not likely have certain ingredients.

Of course, there are plenty of other ingredients to use too, but this is a relatively basic list.

Best of luck in your cooking!

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  • 2 weeks later...

This weekend I got to try my first Shoujin Ryouri meal. My friend is close to the monk/priest who runs the Fudoji Temple on Kurotakisan near Shimonita-machi in Gunma Prefecture (good day trip from Tokyo btw). One of the ways that this temple raises money, is by offering shojin ryouri courses. Mine cost 5,250 yen and I couldn't finish it. In the morning, we drove up to the shrine, had a tour, he gave a crash course in Zazen (Sazen, I forget which it is) meditation and then we went to a small lodge-like building and he taught us about shoujin ryouri and the buddhist thought of recieving a meal (it's hard to find words to describe this because it was my first experience). Then we ate. The first course had some pickled vegetables and some rice ball things, most of this food i had never eaten before so I am not sure what it was, except for being extremely delicious, and konnyaku. Then he brought out a rice in a giant nabe that had veggies and stuff in it. Then a soup and some tempura. Then we had a dessert. Anyway, I am not even going to attempt to describe it, but I will say that it was delicous and a great experience. If you want directions to the Temple or the phone number to make reservations or find out more info, PM me and I will give it to you.

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I meant to respond to this topic earlier, but got distracted by something or other.

Anyway, just wanted to add that one of the many cuisines covered in Madhur Jaffrey's excellent World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cookery is that of Japan. She gives several basic recipes and techniques, including sushi (making the rice, shaping the rolls, suggestions for fillings/toppings, variations like chirashi sushi, nigiri sushi, inari sushi, etc.); Japanese-style omelettes; tempura; stews; pickles; and more. She also has a couple different recipes for vegetarian dashi/stock from scratch. Another valuable aspect of this book is a fairly extensive ingredients glossary. Plus you also get recipes from all over the rest of the Far and Near East, too! One of the most heavily used cookbooks in my collection.

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just wanted to add that one of the many cuisines covered in Madhur Jaffrey's excellent World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cookery is that of Japan.

....One of the most heavily used cookbooks in my collection.

Mine too. Excellent recommendation!

SuzySushi

"She sells shiso by the seashore."

My eGullet Foodblog: A Tropical Christmas in the Suburbs

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