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'''Japan''' is an island country in [[East Asia]]. Japanese cuisine is based on combining staple foods, typically Japanese [[rice]] or [[noodles]], with a soup and ''okazu'' — dishes made from fish, vegetable, [[tofu]] and the like – to add flavor to the staple food. In the early modern era ingredients such as red meats or diary that had previously not been widely used in Japan were introduced. Japanese cuisine is known for its emphasis on seasonality of food, quality of ingredients and presentation. Japanese cuisine offers a vast array of regional specialties that use traditional recipes and local ingredients.
{{Country
|Introduction=[[Image:Cake-osaka.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Vegan cake in ''Cafe Atl'', [[Osaka]]]]
'''Japan''' is an island country in East [[Asia]]. Japanese cuisine is based on combining staple foods, typically Japanese [[rice]] or [[noodles]], with a soup and ''okazu'' — dishes made from fish, vegetable, [[tofu]] and the like – to add flavor to the staple food. In the early modern era ingredients such as red meats or [[dairy]] that had previously not been widely used in Japan were introduced. Japanese cuisine is known for its emphasis on seasonality of food, quality of ingredients and presentation. Japanese cuisine offers a vast array of regional specialties that use traditional recipes and local ingredients.


Strictly vegetarian food is rare since even vegetable dishes are flavored with the ubiquitous dashi stock, usually made with katsuo (dried skipjack tuna), and are therefore pescetarian more often than carnivorous. An exception is shōjin-ryōri (精進料理), vegetarian dishes developed by Buddhist monks. However, the advertised shōjin-ryōri at public eating places may include some non-vegetarian elements.
Strictly vegetarian food is rare since even vegetable dishes are flavored with the ubiquitous dashi stock, usually made with katsuo (dried skipjack tuna), and are therefore pescetarian more often than carnivorous. An exception is shōjin-ryōri (精進料理), vegetarian dishes developed by Buddhist monks. However, the advertised shōjin-ryōri at public eating places may include some non-vegetarian elements.


In general, veganism does not have a large following in Japan, and many people do not know its exact meaning. When ordering food in a non-vegan place one has to make sure to clearly explain what ingredients should not be used. Simply asking for vegan or strictly vegetarian food can often lead to misunderstandings.
In general, [[veganism]] does not have a large following in Japan, and many people do not know its exact meaning. When ordering food in a non-vegan place one has to make sure to clearly explain what ingredients should not be used. Simply asking for vegan or strictly vegetarian food can often lead to misunderstandings.
 
}}


== Eating out ==
== Eating out ==


It is relatively easy to find vegan places in big cities, such as [[Tokyo]], [[Osaka]] or [[Kyoto]] (check each citie's page for a list of restaurants). Non-vegan restaurants (with the exception of Indian ones) usually have very poor selection of vegan dishes. It is almost imposible to find vegan food in cheap Japanese fast-food places that serve [[curry]] or [[ramen]] because curry has meat or lard in it, and ramen is made with fish stock. However, one can always try negotiating with the staff. Sometimes they take "vegan challenge" and agree to veganize some dishes.
It is relatively easy to find vegan places in big cities, such as [[Tokyo]], [[Osaka]] or [[Kyoto]] (check each city's page for a list of restaurants). Non-vegan restaurants (with the exception of Indian ones) usually have very poor selection of vegan dishes. It is almost impossible to find vegan food in cheap Japanese fast-food places that serve [[curry]] or [[ramen]] because curry has meat or lard in it, and ramen is made with fish stock. However, one can always try negotiating with the staff. Sometimes they take "vegan challenge" and agree to [[veganize]] some dishes.
 
[[India]]n restaurants are popular in bigger cities, and usually have at least one or two vegan [[curry|curries]].


== Buying food ==
== Buying food ==


Most Japanese supermarkets have a variety of basic staple foods suitable for vegans, such as beans, rice, fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc. One can also find whole sections dedicated to [[tofu]], [[soy milk]] and [[natto]] (fermented soy beans). At least basic ability of reading Japanese is needed in order to buy something with an ingredient list and to be sure it is vegan. There are many cases when even simple rice crackers have fish sauce or something else non-vegan in them.
Most Japanese supermarkets have a variety of basic staple foods suitable for vegans, such as beans, rice, fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc. One can also find whole sections dedicated to [[tofu]], [[milk|soy milk]] and [[natto]] (fermented soy beans). At least basic ability of reading Japanese is needed in order to buy something with an ingredient list and to be sure it is vegan. There are many cases when even simple rice crackers have fish sauce or something else non-vegan in them.


There is a chain of health food shops in many large cities called ''Natural House'' that sell organic products.
There is a chain of health food shops in many large cities called ''Natural House'' that sell organic products.
== Things to try ==
'''Please double-check ingredients before buying things listed here. Some of them may have non-vegan variations.'''
* If you're looking for a quick snack, try Japanese "sandwich" ''onigiri'' (a ball of rice with a filling wrapped in a sheet of wakame seaweed). It can be bought in any convenience store. There are usually two versions of ''onigiri'' that have vegan filling – with ''konbu'' (a type of seaweed, look for こんぶ or 昆布), and with ''ume'' (pickled plums, written as うめ or 梅). There are also vegan ''onigiri'' made out of rice mixed with red azuki beans (no filling and no seaweed wrapping). If you want something more peculiar, try ''natto maki'' (look for 納豆) – a type of sushi that has natto (fermented beans) as its filling. They are usually sold near ''onigiri''.
* Many supermarkets and convenience stores have ice cream made out of azuki beans or frozen juices. During the summer time street vendors also sell shaved ice ''kakigori'' flavoured with syrup. Finding soy ice cream is more difficult but some supermarkets have it in green tea, chocolate or vanilla flavour.
* Soy milk (''tonyu'', 豆乳) is very popular in Japan and comes in many different flavours (the most unusual ones are green tea, azuki beans, sesame seeds or sweet potato). The most popular brand is ''Kibun'' (紀文) that makes soy milk packed in convenient 200 ml tetra-paks.
<gallery>
Onigiri-selection.jpg|A selection of ''onigiri'' in a convenience store
Onigiri-konbu.jpg|''Onigiri'' with ''konbu'' filling
Onigiri-ume.jpg|''Onigiri'' with ''ume'' filling (''ume'' is written as うめ)
Onigiri-ume-familymart.jpg|''Onigiri'' with ''ume'' filling (''ume'' is written as 梅)
Natto-maki.jpg|Sushi with natto filling (納豆)
Ice-cream-azuki.jpg|A box of azuki bean ice cream
Soy-milk-kibun.jpg|Kibun brand soy milk
</gallery>


== Things to keep in mind ==
== Things to keep in mind ==


* Words "meat" or "fish" are often understood in Japan as big peaces of meat or fish. Therefore it is suggested to ask more specific questions, such as "do you use fish/meat stock", etc. when ordering food.
* Words "meat" or "fish" are often understood in Japan as big peaces of meat or fish. Therefore it is suggested to ask more specific questions, such as "do you use fish/meat stock", etc. when ordering food.
* Almost all miso soup contains fish stock or other animal products. Fish stock can be substituted by mushroom or seeweed stock, and some restaurants can do that when asked.
* Almost all [[miso]] soup contains fish stock or other animal products. Fish stock can be substituted by mushroom or seaweed stock, and some restaurants can do that when asked.
* Udon (wheat noodle) and soba (buckwheat noodle) places are ubiquitous and appear hopeful but the stock (dashi) almost always contains animal products. It is possible to request just plain noodes and add your own ginger, shoyu (soya sauce) etc.
* Udon (wheat noodle) and soba (buckwheat noodle) places are ubiquitous and appear hopeful but the stock (dashi) almost always contains animal products. It is possible to request just plain noodles and add your own ginger, [[soy sauce]], etc.
* Almost all tempura is fried in the same oil as animal products. Tempura batter may also contain egg.
* Almost all tempura is fried in the same oil as animal products. Tempura batter may also contain egg.
* Traditional Japanese sweets are largely vegan, especially those made with ''mochi'' (sticky) rice and aduki bean paste. Also included are ''warabe mochi'', made from a fern root, and ''kanten'' (a jelly made from seaweed gelatin). However, some sweets contain milt (the seminal fluid of fish) which is called ''shirako'' ir Japanese.
* Traditional Japanese sweets are largely vegan, especially those made with ''mochi'' (sticky) rice and [[azuki beans]] paste. Also included are ''warabe mochi'', made from a fern root, and ''[[agar agar|kanten]]'' (a jelly made from [[seaweed]] [[gelatin]]). However, some sweets contain milt (the seminal fluid of fish) which is called ''shirako'' ir Japanese.


== Useful Japanese ==
== Useful Japanese ==


Japanese use Chinese characters (kanji) and their own two "kana" alphabets for writing. It can be very useful to learn at least the most common kanji that indicate non-vegan ingredients, although one has to keep in mind that sometimes they might be written in alphabet. In general it's useful to learn katakana as it's used for transcribing foreign, mostly English, words so once you know these 47 characters you'll understand most of the words written with them.
Japanese use Chinese characters (kanji) and their own two "kana" alphabets for writing. It can be very useful to learn at least the most common kanji that indicate non-vegan ingredients. For example, kanji for "meat" is 肉 and comes in combination with other kanji when indicating specific type of meat – 豚肉 for pork, 牛肉 for beef, etc. The tricky part is that sometimes kanji are written in kana. For example, word "katsuo" (the name of fish added to many foods) can be written as 鰹, かつお or カツオ. In general it's useful to learn katakana as it's used for transcribing foreign, mostly English, words. Once you know its 47 characters you'll understand most of the words written with them (e.g. gelatine – ゼラチン (zerachin), lard – ラード (rado), yoghurt – ヨーグルト (yoguruto), etc.)


[[File:Japanese-ingredient-list.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Typical Japanese ingredient list on food packages. The list starts with word 原材料名 (''genzairyomei''). The red underlines are added to show ingredients that are definitely non vegan.]]
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
! Meaning !! Pronunciation !! Kanji (alphabet)
! Meaning !! Pronunciation !! Kanji (kana)
|-
| Meat<br />Pork<br />Beef<br />Chicken<br />Lard || niku<br />buta niku or poku<br />gyu niku or byfu<br />tori niku or chikin<br />rado || 肉(にく)<br />豚肉(ぶたにく) or ポーク<br />牛肉(ぎゅうにく) or ビーフ<br />鶏肉(とりにく)or チキン<br />ラード
|-
|-
| Meat<br>Pork<br>Beef<br>Chicken || niku<br>buta niku<br>gyu niku<br>tori niku || 肉(にく)<br>豚肉(ぶたにく)<br>牛肉(ぎゅうにく)<br>鶏肉(とりにく)
| Fish<br />Fish stock<br />Dried fish flakes || sakana<br />katsuo dashi<br />katsuo bushi || 魚(さかな)<br />鰹だし(かつおだし or カツオだし)<br />鰹節(かつおぶし)
|-
|-
| Fish<br>Fish stock<br>Dried fish flakes || sakana<br>katsuo dashi<br> || 魚(さかな)<br>鰹だし(かつおだし or カツオだし)<br>鰹節(かつおぶし)
| Shrimp, prawn || ebi || えび or エビ
|-
|-
| Egg || tamago || 卵(たまご)
| Egg || tamago || 卵(たまご)
|-
|-
| Milk<br>Butter || gyunyu<br>bata || 牛乳(ぎゅうにゅう)<br>バター
| Milk<br />Butter<br />Yoghurt<br />Whey || gyunyu<br />bata<br />yoguruto<br />vei or hoei || 牛乳(ぎゅうにゅう)<br />バター<br />ヨーグルト<br />ウェイ or ホエイ
|-
|-
| Gelatine || zerachin || ゼラチン
| Gelatine || zerachin || ゼラチン
Line 53: Line 80:
* ''____ nuki de dekimasu ka?'' ––– Can you make it without _____?
* ''____ nuki de dekimasu ka?'' ––– Can you make it without _____?


==Links==
== Links ==
* [http://vegansociety.jp/ Vegan Society of Japan]
* [http://vegansociety.jp/ Vegan Society of Japan]
* [http://www.happycow.net/asia/japan/ List of vegan and vegetarian restaurants in Japan on Happycow]
* [http://www.happycow.net/asia/japan/ List of vegan and vegetarian restaurants in Japan on Happycow]
Line 65: Line 92:
This page was prepared by using some information from [http://vegan.wikia.com/wiki/Japan vegan.wikia.com] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cuisine en.wikipedia.org].
This page was prepared by using some information from [http://vegan.wikia.com/wiki/Japan vegan.wikia.com] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cuisine en.wikipedia.org].


[[Category:Asia]]
 
[[share:Japan]]
[[trash:Japan]]
[[cash:Japan]]
 
== See also ==
* [[Wikipedia:Japan]]
[[nomad:Japan]]

Latest revision as of 17:05, 7 March 2018

Vegan cake in Cafe Atl, Osaka

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Japanese cuisine is based on combining staple foods, typically Japanese rice or noodles, with a soup and okazu — dishes made from fish, vegetable, tofu and the like – to add flavor to the staple food. In the early modern era ingredients such as red meats or dairy that had previously not been widely used in Japan were introduced. Japanese cuisine is known for its emphasis on seasonality of food, quality of ingredients and presentation. Japanese cuisine offers a vast array of regional specialties that use traditional recipes and local ingredients.

Strictly vegetarian food is rare since even vegetable dishes are flavored with the ubiquitous dashi stock, usually made with katsuo (dried skipjack tuna), and are therefore pescetarian more often than carnivorous. An exception is shōjin-ryōri (精進料理), vegetarian dishes developed by Buddhist monks. However, the advertised shōjin-ryōri at public eating places may include some non-vegetarian elements.

In general, veganism does not have a large following in Japan, and many people do not know its exact meaning. When ordering food in a non-vegan place one has to make sure to clearly explain what ingredients should not be used. Simply asking for vegan or strictly vegetarian food can often lead to misunderstandings.

Japan

{{#ask:In country::Japan}}

add a new place in Japan?


Eating out

It is relatively easy to find vegan places in big cities, such as Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto (check each city's page for a list of restaurants). Non-vegan restaurants (with the exception of Indian ones) usually have very poor selection of vegan dishes. It is almost impossible to find vegan food in cheap Japanese fast-food places that serve curry or ramen because curry has meat or lard in it, and ramen is made with fish stock. However, one can always try negotiating with the staff. Sometimes they take "vegan challenge" and agree to veganize some dishes.

Indian restaurants are popular in bigger cities, and usually have at least one or two vegan curries.

Buying food

Most Japanese supermarkets have a variety of basic staple foods suitable for vegans, such as beans, rice, fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc. One can also find whole sections dedicated to tofu, soy milk and natto (fermented soy beans). At least basic ability of reading Japanese is needed in order to buy something with an ingredient list and to be sure it is vegan. There are many cases when even simple rice crackers have fish sauce or something else non-vegan in them.

There is a chain of health food shops in many large cities called Natural House that sell organic products.

Things to try

Please double-check ingredients before buying things listed here. Some of them may have non-vegan variations.

  • If you're looking for a quick snack, try Japanese "sandwich" onigiri (a ball of rice with a filling wrapped in a sheet of wakame seaweed). It can be bought in any convenience store. There are usually two versions of onigiri that have vegan filling – with konbu (a type of seaweed, look for こんぶ or 昆布), and with ume (pickled plums, written as うめ or 梅). There are also vegan onigiri made out of rice mixed with red azuki beans (no filling and no seaweed wrapping). If you want something more peculiar, try natto maki (look for 納豆) – a type of sushi that has natto (fermented beans) as its filling. They are usually sold near onigiri.
  • Many supermarkets and convenience stores have ice cream made out of azuki beans or frozen juices. During the summer time street vendors also sell shaved ice kakigori flavoured with syrup. Finding soy ice cream is more difficult but some supermarkets have it in green tea, chocolate or vanilla flavour.
  • Soy milk (tonyu, 豆乳) is very popular in Japan and comes in many different flavours (the most unusual ones are green tea, azuki beans, sesame seeds or sweet potato). The most popular brand is Kibun (紀文) that makes soy milk packed in convenient 200 ml tetra-paks.

Things to keep in mind

  • Words "meat" or "fish" are often understood in Japan as big peaces of meat or fish. Therefore it is suggested to ask more specific questions, such as "do you use fish/meat stock", etc. when ordering food.
  • Almost all miso soup contains fish stock or other animal products. Fish stock can be substituted by mushroom or seaweed stock, and some restaurants can do that when asked.
  • Udon (wheat noodle) and soba (buckwheat noodle) places are ubiquitous and appear hopeful but the stock (dashi) almost always contains animal products. It is possible to request just plain noodles and add your own ginger, soy sauce, etc.
  • Almost all tempura is fried in the same oil as animal products. Tempura batter may also contain egg.
  • Traditional Japanese sweets are largely vegan, especially those made with mochi (sticky) rice and azuki beans paste. Also included are warabe mochi, made from a fern root, and kanten (a jelly made from seaweed gelatin). However, some sweets contain milt (the seminal fluid of fish) which is called shirako ir Japanese.

Useful Japanese

Japanese use Chinese characters (kanji) and their own two "kana" alphabets for writing. It can be very useful to learn at least the most common kanji that indicate non-vegan ingredients. For example, kanji for "meat" is 肉 and comes in combination with other kanji when indicating specific type of meat – 豚肉 for pork, 牛肉 for beef, etc. The tricky part is that sometimes kanji are written in kana. For example, word "katsuo" (the name of fish added to many foods) can be written as 鰹, かつお or カツオ. In general it's useful to learn katakana as it's used for transcribing foreign, mostly English, words. Once you know its 47 characters you'll understand most of the words written with them (e.g. gelatine – ゼラチン (zerachin), lard – ラード (rado), yoghurt – ヨーグルト (yoguruto), etc.)

Typical Japanese ingredient list on food packages. The list starts with word 原材料名 (genzairyomei). The red underlines are added to show ingredients that are definitely non vegan.
Meaning Pronunciation Kanji (kana)
Meat
Pork
Beef
Chicken
Lard
niku
buta niku or poku
gyu niku or byfu
tori niku or chikin
rado
肉(にく)
豚肉(ぶたにく) or ポーク
牛肉(ぎゅうにく) or ビーフ
鶏肉(とりにく)or チキン
ラード
Fish
Fish stock
Dried fish flakes
sakana
katsuo dashi
katsuo bushi
魚(さかな)
鰹だし(かつおだし or カツオだし)
鰹節(かつおぶし)
Shrimp, prawn ebi えび or エビ
Egg tamago 卵(たまご)
Milk
Butter
Yoghurt
Whey
gyunyu
bata
yoguruto
vei or hoei
牛乳(ぎゅうにゅう)
バター
ヨーグルト
ウェイ or ホエイ
Gelatine zerachin ゼラチン
Honey hachimitsu 蜂蜜(はちみつ)

Basic phrases:

  • watashi wa veegan/bejitarian desu. ––– I'm vegan/vegetarian.
  • _____ o taberaremasen. ––– I don't eat ______.
  • kore wa veegan desu ka? ––– Is it vegan?
  • kore wa ____ ga haitemasu ka? ––– Does it include _____ (e.g. meat, milk, etc.)?
  • ____ ga arimasu ka? ––– Do you have ______?
  • ____ nuki de dekimasu ka? ––– Can you make it without _____?

Links

Acknowledgements

This page was prepared by using some information from vegan.wikia.com and en.wikipedia.org.


share:Japan cash:Japan

See also

nomad:Japan