Japan: The Vegetarian Cookbook

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It may seem trite to point out, but “Japanese food,” like any other cuisine that spans a nation of regions and cooking styles, is a vast canvas of brilliant flavors and distinct regional cuisines—much of it meat-free. Page after page of mouth-watering recipes and gorgeous photos, with rich cultural context and extensive notes about ingredients and methods. Elsewhere, boiled bamboo shoots are combined with two kinds of miso, dark roasted sesame oil, and a small dried red chile to produce a rich umami flavor. First, a couple of core ingredients, like dashi, shoyu, and hon mirin, are absolutely essential to much of Japan’s cuisine, and this book gives fabulous directions on how to make or find them.

From pickled root vegetables to complex, warming soups, this book covers it all—and, of course, there’s the basic dashi and tempura for beginners alongside the advanced ideas and unique ingredient combinations (like chilled grilled miso soup with myoga and somen) for those with more masterful backgrounds in Japanese cooking. Hachisu offers charming explanations of some of the dishes, discussing how she discovered them and whether they’re traditional offerings or newer creations.

The second and more central takeaway from this book, which really stood out to me, is how few ingredients many of these dishes require in the first place, but how complex some of those individual components actually are. We carefully wrap each item in bubble wrap and traditional Japanese newspapers (you’ll often find a Japanese crossword or sudoku to solve! Alongside, Hachisu shares her expert knowledge of the ingredients, culture, and traditions of this unique culinary style. For the okra with miso mayonnaise, we’re looking at only brown rice miso, homemade soy milk mayonnaise, and okra, yet the result is dazzling (if not only because you made your own mayo).

i am probably my least experienced when it comes to Japanese cooking, ramen alone seems like an unfathomable treasure, but this book does a great job of taking you through some major categories. I knew this book would be a companion on this journey, immersing me in Japanese tradition, culinary terms and cultural principles and concepts.

Add Smoked Soy Sauce, Furikake seasoning and the sensational richness of Okinawa sugar and this kit is going to be a huge hit in any household, vegan or not! From the author of global bestseller Japan: The Cookbook, more than 250 delicious, healthy vegetarian Japanese recipes for home cooks. Japanese food equals sushi, some people think; others focus on the fried stuff, and don’t take the time to explore beyond tempura, karaage, and katsu.