Customer Reviews

Zen Vegetarian Cooking

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The most valuable part of the book is not the recipe list. It's the introductory sections that describe the spirit of the Zen Vegetarian kitchen, and the principles that govern cooking in the monastic kitchen. All of the preparations are simple; based on principles of obtaining the freshest ingredients in season, the recipes aim to let the vegetables express their flavor without much dressing up. Recipes are organized by season, then by vegetable. The pictures and illustrations are excellent as well.

I had a copy of this book when I lived in Japan, and I cooked from it all the time. The beautiful color section really helped to demystify produce sections in Japanese supermarkets, so that I knew what I was buying and what time of the year to look for it. There are some recipes that you probably won't see much elsewhere in English--several vegetarian dashis, chawan mushi (soft hot savory custard) made with tofu and veggies rather than eggs and seafood. This lovely cookbook is a real treasure!

I found this book to be a visual delight and a fun read. The recipes are beautiful and have caused me to completely change my mind about Japanese food.