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Sitting in Yo Yushi! sushi bar in Fenwicks in Newcastle upon Tyne, England and watching the eye catching
morsels of tempting food pass by, it was plain to see how few of the dishes were vegetarian.
I don't mean to criticise Yo sushi in any way, as they are only reflecting the demographics and
tastes of their consumers, but it did occur to me that it was worth delving into the world
of Japanese cuisine and seeing how many vegetarian dishes and recipes there are out there. I have been cooking Japanese food for many years now and I alway find a place for a Japanese dish on all my menus that I create for the Sky apple - where I work - and this book is the culmination of many years and more recently many months of investigation, cooking, testing, eating and ultimately writing. What I have set out to do is to firstly create, in the same vain as my last ebook the busy vegetarian, a collection of recipes that are simple to understand and mostly easy to prepare and secondly, reflect the kind of food you will find in Japan and in Japanese style restaurants in the rest of the world. Just like any other country Japan has it's own traditional foods but has over the years adapted, incorporated and 'Japanised' many Western and Asian dishes. So you will be familiar with some of the dishes and will have tasted others on your visits to Japanese restaurants. All of the dishes are completely vegetarian and many of them are vegan and gluten free (if you use gluten free soy sauce).  Having read many Japanese cook books over the years I noticed that most of them had lengthy introductions explaining all of the ingredients you will need to get going and thus making the thought of getting started daunting and too steep a learning curve. There is a lot to know and you will be presented with a lot of new information but, so you can get started quickly, I have included a small glossary that accompanies each dish to give a bit of information about the Japanese ingredients on that page. This way you can learn in smaller bites. Quick snack There are lots of recipes that can be prepared as a quick snack such as the okonomiyaki pancake or yakiosoba noodles. Or maybe try the omuraisu and egg nori roll if you have some leftovers. Traditional style meal If you want to serve a more traditional meal for friends and family or put together a Japanese bento box for a posh lunch then combine a few of the dishes. Maybe serve some soup, a simple sushi or noodles and one of the side orders. Entertaining If you really want to show off your skills or you are a professional caterer and want to put together a more complex Western style dish using Japanese recipes then there is no end to the combinations you can put together from this ebook. Have a look at the dishes to the right to see the kinds of dishes I prepare in my restaurant. I hope this collection of recipes goes some way into deepening your understanding of how to cook Japanese food. Enjoy Andy Young |
 Gruyere and courgette korroke  Katsu aubergine, omuraisu and spinach and noodle salad with ponzu dressing  Cheesy miso aubergine, sweet potato tempura, spinach rolls and sesame sauce  Ramen noodles, aburage and cabbage fritters |
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