Cookbook Review: Vegan Japan by Julia Boucachard
My Quick Take: This is an inviting cookbook that offers vegan versions of traditional Japanese cuisine, as well as Japanese street food and yōshoku (Japanese-adapted Western food).
Thanks to The Experiment and NetGalley for a gifted copy for review.
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I recently travelled to Japan with my spouse Alan, and another couple. I love Japanese cuisine, and the four of us often sought out vegetarian and vegan food. When we found it–which wasn’t easy at times–it tended to be unique and delicious, taking us to neighbourhoods that we wouldn’t have explored otherwise. Vegan Japanese food can be tricky to find because even if there is no overt meat or fish on the menu or in a given dish, many broths are fish-based.
So it was a treat to have the opportunity to review Vegan Japan by Julia Boucachard. Hailing from France, she has opened the Mori Café in Paris, serving vegan Japanese food, and her wish to share this cuisine prompted her to write this cookbook:
“After exploring every nook and cranny of vegan Japanese cuisine, I felt it was important to share its secrets so that as many people as possible realize that today we can eat well while also adhering to a diet that is respectful and considerate to animals and nature.”Her mother was originally from Osaka, Japan, and Boucachard grew up frequently travelling to Japan. At home, her mother often cooked healthy, homemade traditional Japanese food. In Japan, she discovered street food and yōshoku, dishes reflecting a Japanese interpretation of Western cuisine. Vegan Japan incorporates all of these varieties of Japanese cooking, but all vegan!
A couple of notes before I get to the recipes. I adore the art by Sanae Nicolas, with its bright palette, simple lines and whimsical patterns; it gives such a distinct look to this book. Secondly, I realized that the book has been translated from French after I was finished my cooking, and the translation is seamless.
The Recipes
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| Look at that glossy curry! |
Curry Rice
This is such an iconic Japanese national dish! You know those curry cube boxes that you see in every “International” section of the supermarket? The ones that take up almost a whole aisle in some small Japanese grocery stores? This recipe uses those curry roux cubes. Alan loves a good curry rice in restaurants, so I decided to try. There’s sneaky beef fat in some of the curry cubes, so be sure to check the ingredient label carefully for a vegan dish. I used the S&B brand that Boucachard recommended, medium spicy. This was SO easy, and it was SO good. I served it with short grain white rice. Truly a high reward to effort ratio! I made it twice already and it’s a hit.
Eggplant Dengaku (with Miso Glaze)
I love eggplant and miso, so why not combine them? The Miso Glaze recipe is provided in the “Basics” section, and it’s a five minute endeavour. I sliced eggplant and cooked it in the pan, preparing it for finishing in the oven and…it was way overcooked! I had another couple of eggplants, so I cut the cooking time in half and what do you know? It was perfect. I served this to guests and everyone loved it. Psst…it went perfectly as a side dish with the Curry Rice. I had lots of leftover Miso Glaze so I also made this recipe again.
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| A pan of Melon Pan |
Melon Pan
When in Japan this spring, Alan’s goal was to eat a “melon pan” from the 7-11. It’s a brioche bread with a sugary crumb on top that resembles a melon, kind of. When I saw it included here, I obviously had to try my hand. As expected for a yeasted bread, this recipe took more time and effort, but the steps were straightforward and everything worked as directed. Alan and I both agreed that the bread didn't rise quite as much as we’d hoped, making the final product a bit dense. However, the flavour was fantastic, and they all got eaten up in record time. Making bread is an art, and I’m not an expert at it, so I suspect that with more practice, these melon pan treats would improve.
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What a great cookbook! I enjoyed browsing through it and had trouble picking just three recipes to make for the review. Everything was straightforward and simple to make–even if the occasional cooking time required revision–and the flavours were outstanding. I was pleasantly surprised with how simple it was to make the Curry Rice and Eggplant Dengaku in particular, and I’ll make them again. I find the concept of the vegan Japanese cookbook so helpful as I gradually reduce my intake of fish, something I’m moving towards ever so slowly after years of being a happy pescatarian. I hope you consider picking this one up!
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