Being veg(eteri)an in Japan is not easy. Sometimes it feels like mission impossible, especially if you do not know the language and need to explain someone that apart from not eating meat and fish, you also avoid fish sauce, eggs, dashi and fish eggs. But it is a mistake to assume that Japanese cuisine is not at all friendly towards vegetarians, apart from its buddhist-fasting variant (about the tradition of shōjin ryōri you can read in Kansha). Sometimes, the only thing you have to do is to change or skip one ingredient to conjure up a vegan miracle on your plate.
Here, you will find both the traditional Japanese recipes and those inspired by Japanese flavours. I am definitely a fan of these traditional ones: agedashi tofu, gyoza, tempura. One by one, I try Anderson’s recipes and so far all of them passed the test (although the culinary experiments made me miss Japan even more…)
It is worth noting that the book is beautifully made: seamless graphic design, cute little drawings (that will teach you how to make gyoza dumplings, store cooked rice or show you different kinds of sushi). And these visual subtleties: gold on the cover and purple edges of pages!
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