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Shojin Ryori is a vegetarian cuisine which was first developed in the Kyoto area of Japan. It is based mainly on rice, tofu and fresh vegetables and is eaten by Buddhist monks (who are forbidden to include any fish, meat or eggs in their diets). Shojin Ryori is not a particularly popular way of eating in Japan, but vegetarians and vegans will find it well worth experiencing. It is frequently served in the restaurants which are located near to Zen temples and can also be purchased from many of the temples themselves, providing a reservation has been made in advance. Zen Temple addresses are often listed in guidebooks and you will also find several mentioned at the Fleshy or Flesh-less website.
However, as most of us will probably not be visiting Japan, at least not in the near future, this month I would like to introduce you to some do-it-yourself Japanese cookery.
Incidentally, the Japanese have the longest life expectancy in the world and although no one is knows exactly why this is so, it is possible that their diet which is high in fibre and vitamins and low in fat could have something to do with it! And, the Japanese diet, like the Mediterranean diet, also contains certain protective foods such as green tea, shiitake mushrooms and soya products (e.g. tofu). These foods have been shown to contain substances which may offer some protection against cancer and heart disease.
Japanese food does, however, tend to have a high salt content and so anybody who has to be careful about their salt intake, should avoid consuming a lot of miso, tamari or pickles.
The following ingredients are frequently used in Japanese cuisine. You will probably find these ingredients slightly harder to find than the Mediterranean ingredients, I wrote about in last month's issue. However, most of them can be obtained fairly easily from either a health food shop, or from an Oriental or Japanese grocery shop. And, if you do find it difficult to obtain any of these ingredients, then you will find a list of Japanese mail order suppliers in 'The Japanese Vegetarian Cookbook', which is listed in the further reading section of this article.
More information is available on the following ingredients:
Japanese vegetarian food tends to be based on rice, tofu, vegetables, sea vegetables and mushrooms. On the whole, it is simple food, which is often cooked quickly by methods such as grilling, steaming, or stir-frying. Japanese food is always well-garnished, using vegetables which are cut in decorative ways - twists, fan shapes, flower shapes etc. Most recipes use fresh ingredients to which flavourings such as soy sauce, sake, miso or dashi are added.
When a Japanese meal is served, all of the courses are usually put on the table at the same time and food is served in several small bowls, rather than on one plate, so that the different flavours can be appreciated. Meals are eaten with chopsticks which are kept in a chopstick rack when they are not being used. A typical Japanese vegetarian meal would consist of: rice, soup, two or three savoury protein and vegetable dishes (Okazu) and Japanese pickles. Desserts are not usually eaten. Green tea is usually drunk at the end of a meal and on special occasions fresh fruit would be eaten too. Eggs are frequently used in Japanese recipes, either in omelettes, or raw eggs are sometimes added to soup or to hot rice. So, vegans beware!
Breakfast in Japan usually consists of rice, pickled vegetables and miso soup, but the western-style breakfast of coffee and toast is becoming more popular.
Soup is usually served in a lidded bowl (to keep it warm) and is eaten throughout the meal, rather than as a separate course. Soup can be thick (miso shiru) or clear (suimono). Both types of soup are made with dashi. Vegetarian dashi is generally made by soaking seaweeds (such as kombu or wakame) and/or shiitake mushrooms in water for about an hour. The stock is then boiled and the solid ingredients are removed. Clear soups can have tofu cubes added to the dashi and they are usually garnished with twists of lemon zest or shredded spring onions. Thick soups usually have miso added to them. Vegetables such as beansprouts, carrot matchsticks and cabbage can also all be added to this kind of soup.
Rice is served at most Japanese meals, even breakfast! When using rice for Japanese recipes, use a special Japanese rice (or American-Japanese) if possible, as this is moist and can be picked up easily with chopsticks. In Japan rice is often cooked in an electric rice cooker. Gohan is plain white rice and is served in its own bowl with a rice garnish. Suitable rice garnishes (furikake) include: goma-shio (toasted sesame seeds, crushed with salt) and nori-goma which is made in a similar way but ajitsuke nori seaweed is also added. Plain rice can also be livened up by cooking the rice with peas, shiitake mushrooms, aduki beans, or sticks of ginger root. Cooked, left-over, rice is used in many ways in Japanese cuisine. Onigiri are riceballs or triangles. They are often taken to work in lunch boxes and can be garnished with strips of ajitsuke-nori seaweed, or can contain umeboshi (plum) paste. Donburi are also made from left-over rice and are served in special donburi bowls. They often have strips of aburage (flat sheets of tofu) placed on top of them. Sushi (rice sandwiches) are made from vinegared Japanese rice and are stuffed with a tasty filling. Suitable vegetarian stuffings include: aburage, shiitake mushrooms or sheets of nori. Watch out for fish which can also frequently be used to stuff sushi! The Japanese take sushi to work in their lunchboxes. The lunch box is in two sections - with rice on one side and sushi (or a similar savoury) on the other. Pickles are included too. Sushi can also be purchased from a sushi bar, or from a stall and some restaurants even deliver them by bicycle!
Noodles are usually served as a snack rather then for a meal. In Japan they can be purchased in a noodle bar and are commonly eaten at lunchtime. The most commonly available types of noodles include: udon, soba or harusame. Udon and soba noodles are often served in a soup base (similar to dashi) and natto (a soya bean product), fried tofu cubes, ajitsuke nori seaweed, or chopped spring onions, can all be added to the noodles. It is possible to buy packets of 'instant' noodles in most oriental shops.
Tofu is frequently used in Japanese cuisine. It can be added to soups, or deep-fried and is served in its own bowl with slices of pickled ginger or chopped spring onions. Tofu is also served grilled, barbequed or even iced!
These are vegetables which are deep-fried in a batter which contains eggs. Tempura are therefore not vegan. Many different kinds of vegetables are used to make them. They are eaten with pickles, rice, miso soup and a tempura dipping sauce.
There are many types of Japanese pickles. In Japan pickles are eaten with all meals - including breakfast!
Japanese salads are usually made from edible flowers, beansprouts, seaweed, daikon radish, or bamboo shoots.
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* Recipes marked with a star above, use fish stock. Replace this with a vegetarian dashi. (e.g the Shiitake-kombu dashi which is made from seaweed).
The best books to read if you want to cook Japanese vegetarian food are:
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