Page 19 - seniors today August issue

egg meal for the waiter. A growing number of Izakaya Yakitori and Shojin Ryori
cafes and restaurants, including traditional
Japanese ones, offer vegetarian options and
English menus. In convenience stores and
bakeries, vegan snacks like dried fruits, nuts,
red bean pretzels, edamame rolls, black sesame
and cheese bagels satisfy hunger pangs. As do
the wonderfully flavourful Ume Onigiris, which
are rice with plums wrapped in seaweed. Even
Shinkansens or bullet trains serve vegan ekiben
or bento boxes!
A vegan bento box Ume onigiri
Kaiseki is the most elegant and extraordinary
of all Japanese cuisine. Beautiful yet austere,
ancient yet innovative, the ingredients are
cooked or left raw, leading to a perfect balance of
taste, texture, appearance and colour. The meals
have moments of great beauty and taste. White
miso with black sesame, foraged vegetables and
herbs, a confounding variety of tofu, the sharp
and sour pickled vegetables, are all served in
heirloom lacquer bowls. Pine needles and fall-
en leaves cover grilled gingko nuts and sit on
centuries old ceramic plates. Gohan, or rice is
served with a simple splash of colour, some-
times hiding a nest of grilled wild mushroom,
sometimes crisp, with herbs, served in its own
broth with seasonal flowers.
It is easy for a vegetarian to feast on this awe-
someness in Michelin starred restaurants and
ryokans by simply emailing food preferences.
The chefs are only too happy to stretch their
culinary creativity.
Kaiseki meal in Ryokan Kaiseki meal with sha-
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Izakaya and Yakitori often have vegetarian
options - brightly coloured root vegetables
like daikon, yam, sweet potato, are grilled on
sticks with mochi rice cakes. Tempura, which
is actually a Portuguese import, uses seasonal
and aromatic vegetables such as renkon or lotus,
satsumaimo or sweet potato and sansai or wild
mountain greens, which are a spring speciality.
The influence of Shojin Ryori - a traditional
Buddhist vegetarian cuisine - is evident in
modern Japanese food. Humble, yet elaborate,
these meals grew around Buddhist temples.
They feature seasonal, local vegetables and
a mind-boggling variety of tofu, to create
beautiful dishes using light cooking and
preserving techniques.
Mushroom with tofu Dessert at Benesse House
Food, a love story
Eating good food, be it in a roadside shack or
in Michelin star restaurants, is a passion. Often
our dates of travel are fixed around reservations
in hard-to-get restaurants.
Add to this my deep love of Japan – its culture,
its aesthetics, and the beautiful simplicity
of everyday things. In Japan, I feel I am time
travelling between the future and the past,
between the ephemeral and the permanent.
Centuries old Buddhist temples exist peacefully
with current fads, be it cat cafes or robot
restaurants. It is a place of contrasts - cherry
blossoms and autumn leaves fall softly, and
tsunamis rage and ravage the coasts. This
reconciliation of opposites I felt most keenly
while eating in Japan. Dishes, prepared
using the most cutting edge technology, are
served in traditional kaiseki feasts, often on
heirloom plates and bowls. Local ingredients
are interpreted, absorbing the latest in
international food trends, creating something
distinctively Japanese.
And with apologies to Ibn Battuta, Japanese
gastronomy – it leaves you speechless, then
turns you into a storyteller.
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