30 Days Vegetarian Trip in Tokyo (2)
11/04/2016
Regarding Japanese seasonings, I have some favorites such as; wasabi, kombu dashi and mayonnaise. My kind of vegetarian diet does not consume alcohol, so even though there is a wonderful Japanese seasoning, mirin, I am not able to use it in my cooking.
Another seasoning item in Japan that I have found that usually contains alcohol is soy source. In the United States I usually can find soy sauce without alcohol easily, but in Japan, you have to search for it. However, my kind of vegetarian diet can consume eggs, so I am able to have Japanese mayonnaise in my receipts.
The number one Japanese seasoning that I like is wasabi. I use it in eating sushi (cucumber roll, avocado roll or inari) and I also use wasabi in the sauce as one of the cold noodle ingredients.
Ingredients for cold noodle source:
1 tea spoon soy source
1 and ½ table spoon sesame seed paste or peanut butter
1 and ½ tea spoon vinegar
About 10 cm long wasabi from wasabi tub
1/4 tea spoon or less brown sugar
1 bunch noodle
1 whole Japanese cucumber
½ of a small carrot
After boiling the noodles (any kind of noodle), take them out of pot and place in a dry bowl. In another bowl mix all the ingredients for the sauce together and mix into the cooked noodles. Cut some cucumber and carrot in the julienne thin strips to put on the top of noodle. You also add some strips of nori.
This is a very delicious noodle dish and is also full of nutrition. You can also adjust the quantity of each ingredients to fit your taste. It is fast, easy to fix, delicious and healthy.
The Japanese kombu dashi is one of the seasonings that I have to have when I fix miso soup or stir fry dishes, such as Tofu with various vegetables. I think people can find the powder kind of kombu dashi in the market, or they can make a liquid one (the broth) themselves from kombu. I love kombu dashi because it makes the food taste a lot better and it is healthier than MSG.
I also like Japanese mayonnaise; it is little bit different from the American kind of mayonnaise. American mayonnaise usually includes a lot of different seasonings such as onion and/or garlic in it. For me, I prefer the simple kind of mayonnaise, especially, the Japanese style of mayonnaise.
One of my Japanese friends bought a jar of mayonnaise from 生活グラブ for me; it is delicious and well-made and I love it very much. I have used the mayonnaise when I ate raw cabbage mix with Japanese cucumber and carrot as a salad.
Sometimes, I also use mayonnaise as one of the ingredients to put on sushi rice when making vegetable sushi rolls. You can also mix mayonnaise with wasabi to create a dipping source for your favorite vegetables, such as raw carrots, cucumbers, parboiled asparagus and many other vegetables.There are a lot of different Japanese spices but my tastes favor mild favors so I do not usually use many spices. I found that Japan has many different vegetables, Tofu, fruits, spices and dishes which make the vegetarian diet very easy.
It is a pity that not many Japanese prefer to become vegetarians. In the United States, I have found that more and more people are changing their diets to become vegans or vegetarians. There are many different reasons for people to change their diets, but I believe the most of people who wanted to change to a vegetarian diet was because of health considerations. I hope someday, more Japanese will also prefer vegetarian diets since there are so many wonderful foods here for being a vegetarian.
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