Mission Accomplished: You've Found Vegan Japanese Food

In Japan, vegan cooking has had a long history. It was introduced around the same time as Buddhism in the 6th century, but it became more widespread and popular in the 13th century with the arrival of Zen Buddhism. One of the basic foundations of the Zen Buddhist belief system is not to kill any animal, fish, or insect for food, and this often encompasses avoiding the use of animal products such as eggs or milk.

Essentially, vegan cuisine in the Buddhist tradition includes grains, vegetables, soy-based products such as tofu, as well as sea vegetables. But make no mistake: it is far from being a limited style of cooking! Japanese vegan cooking is a varied and tasty cuisine that really showcases the essence of every ingredient.

Japanese foods are often designed to represent the colours of a season or even all four seasons at once, which is why we think our featured vendor is so aptly named Shikisai Cooking. The word shikisai translates to “the colour of four seasons”, evoking the source and provenance of quality ingredients which we should always aim to use in our cooking. Seasonal foods are what give a dish its unique taste and meaning.

Shikisai Cooking is a small group of Japanese cuisine teachers and assistants, and was founded with a mission to build people’s knowledge, build their ability to cook Japanese food, and help them to create high-quality, healthy family meals.

Principal cooking teacher Kyoko Seta is an accomplished Japanese cook who has lived in Perth since 1998. She is the owner of Senoji, an acclaimed Japanese restaurant in Perth and specialises in elegant Osakan-style dishes.

Kyoko has a lifelong love of bringing fresh, quality ingredients to the table, whether the meal is for her children or for the guests in her restaurant. As a child, she would dig up tender bamboo shoots and collect mountain vegetables for her mother’s cooking, when they lived in Kawachi Village in Osaka.

In their next Japanese veggie themed class, Kyoko will teach participants how to prepare classic dishes, or even invent your own dish, but with a vegetarian or vegan twist! If you want to impress your family and guests with a delicious menu that’ll leave them guessing, book soon before the class fills up. Also, check out the class link below to find out the delicious menu offered on the day.