Japanese Vegetarian Cooking: From Simple Soups to Sushi [Paperback]

Patricia Richfield (Author)

Book Description

Series: Vegetarian Cooking | Publication Date: March 1, 1996

Filled with more than 100 recipes for healthful Japanese food that can be prepared in Western kitchens with no special skills, this book also includes information on techniques as well as a glossary of Japanese ingredients and utensils. The recipes range from simple, flavorful soups, rice, tofu, and soybean dishes to drinks and elegant vegetarian sushi.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Richfield, a vegetarian gourmet who has lived in Japan, notes that "Japan, unlike the West, has had a long and varied traditional vegetarian cuisine, evolving and perfecting itself over many centuries." Most of the recipes collected here rely on staple ingredients like tofu (whose 38% protein content equals that of beef) and a wide variety of fresh vegetables (from shiitake mushrooms to sweet potatoes). Short cooking times, she emphasizes, are the key to preserving both the taste and the nutritional value of fresh ingredients. Preparing Japanese food can be surprisingly easy. Its presentation, however, is more complex than many Western cuisines; recipes come with quick explanations detailing how each component in a meal should appear on the table. The clearly explained, streamlined recipes are arranged by category: soups (clear and miso-based); rice dishes, including such sushi as Futomaki, stuffed with mushroom, egg and cucumber; noodle dishes that favor the thick udon or buckwheat soba noodles; and an array of hot and cold vegetable dishes with various vinegar- or sake-based sauces. A comprehensive glossary rounds out a must-have for vegetarians?and all health-conscious cooks.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Crossing Press (March 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895948052
• ISBN-13: 978-0895948052
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,057,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars many easy recipes, lots on ingredients and culture, September 13, 2000

By 

cristiana angius (santa cruz, california USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Japanese Vegetarian Cooking: From Simple Soups to Sushi (Paperback)

I strongly recomend this book not only to those that have always wanted to learn how to cook easy or elaborate japanese recipes, but also to the ones that want to know what is behind the food. And, of course, this book is a trasure for vegetarians and vegans out there, since it does not use any dairy. Every single recipe has an introduction to it that tells the story of it, the tradition, how and when is usually made in Japan. Other than that, the author writes a lot about japanese culture on food, especially vegetarian, of course; she describes a characteristic japanese meal and gives different menus, so we can serve one (or more) ourselves,from soup to salads, from pickles to sushi. The book also contain a very nice glossary of ingredients and tools, making it easy to understand all the recipes. Moreover, there are some addresses for ordering the ingredients through the mail. This book has all it's needed to prepare great japanese food!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a non-fish/non-poultry Asian cookbook, July 29, 2004

By 

C. Meyer (Colorado) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Japanese Vegetarian Cooking: From Simple Soups to Sushi (Paperback)

I was pleasantly surprised to finally find an Asian vegetarian cookbook that does not contain any fish or poultry ingredients. Most that claim to be vegetarian,aren't. This book is different. Even the recipe for dashi is purely plant based. If you are vegan, the author does note what you can do to alter the recipe as egg is sometimes listed as an ingredient.

The recipes are easy to read and a delight to prepare. One of my favorites is the egg omlet. The flavor is very light, delicate, and slightly sweet. What a change from traditional Western omlets. This is great sliced and sprinkled across rice, rolled up into sushi, added to soups, or just eaten on its own.

If you are looking for a cookbook that provides more of the authentic Asian flavor, this is it. Mirin, sake, soy sauce, and rice vinegar are sauce staples. If your local grocery store does not carry these items, ask them. If they won't, then either order them online or search for an Asian market within driving distance.

It would have been nice if the book displayed the picture on the same page as the recipe itself. Even though there are a limited number of photo pages, there are multiple dishes per page, but I wasn't certain which dish represented which recipe (some were easy to figure out). More pictures would have turned this into a 5 star review.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good resource, August 10, 2002

By 

merrymousies (Waterford, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Japanese Vegetarian Cooking: From Simple Soups to Sushi (Paperback)

This is a good cookbook - one I appreciated finding since there aren't many japanese vegetarian cookbooks out there! First, the only reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 ios because I really like to have more pictures when it comes to ethnic cooking. It not only gets me interested in trying new things but also gives me ideas for presentation. This book only has 8 pages of pictures. But that aside, the recipes are tasty. Some of the ingredients are hard to find (like the specific types of seaweed) but if you have an asian store near you'll find what you need. I've found some things on the internet too (the world at your finger tips!) I recently bought a deep fyer and am looking forward to trying out some of the deep fried tofu recipes. You need to like tofu I think to get the best use out of this book since there is a lot in here. I recommed it though - fun to experiement and try new things.