Vegan Japan: 70 Comforting Plant-Based Recipes, written by Julia Boucachard, features a wonderful collection of seasonal Japanese favorites and variations for the plant-based home cook. A few highlights include Mizore Nabe, Kitsune Udon, Hiyayakko (Cold Tofu), Ume-Mayo Onigiri, and Sakura Mochi. I will also be sharing her recipe for Mitarashi Dango following the review.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from The Experiment in exchange for my honest review. All comments and opinions are my own.
This book was originally published in French as Japon Vegan by Éditions Solar in 2023. It was translated into English by Maggie Kimmich Smith.
Julia Boucachard
Julia Boucachard became a self-taught cook after transitioning from vegetarian to vegan and finding limited options when dining out.
This led to a catering business and she opened her restaurant, Mori Café, in 2020 as a way to “share the authenticity and diversity of Japanese cuisine while also showing the skeptics that vegan cuisine can be gourmet.”
Julia spent her childhood between France and Tokyo and is currently based in Paris. This is her first cookbook.
Vegan Japan
Julia begins Vegan Japan with a short introduction and how her childhood was shaped by the incredible variety of regional and seasonal food in Japan.
For those new to Japanese cooking, she has put together a guide to essential ingredients with descriptions, uses, and illustrations. She has also shared a few vegan base recipes such as Ponzu, Kombu/Shiitake Dashi, and Japanese Mayonnaise to help get started.
Chapters are divided according to the following: Introduction, Essential Ingredients, Basics, Main Dishes, Side Dishes, Street Foods, and Desserts.
The photography and styling is provided by Manon Gouhier with illustrations by Sanae Nicolas. Every recipe is paired with a vibrant, full-page photo of the finished dish.
Measurements are listed in US Customary and Metric. Titles are written in Romanized Japanese and/or English. Each recipe has a short headnote with background information, season, prep/cook time, yield, and helpful tips.
Mitarashi Dango
To pair with this post, I made one of my absolute favorites, Mitarashi Dango (みたらし団子)! Found in the Desserts chapter, these chewy rice balls are arranged on skewers, briefly toasted, and finished with a sweet, syrupy soy glaze coating.
Best of all, they come together in less than 30 minutes. Simply knead together the rice flour and water to form the dough, roll into individual rounds, and boil in water until tender.
Once cooled, arrange on the rice dumplings onto skewers and grill with a torch before rolling in the homemade Mitarashi Sauce.
The Mitarashi Dango are best served immediately after assembling and coating in the glaze, while still warm with a soft and chewy texture, especially alongside a cup of green tea.
Notable Ingredients
For the glutinous rice flour, Mitarashi Dango is traditionally made with Shiratamako. I sometimes like to use half Shiratamakao and half Joshinko to create a chewy texture with a bit of firmness.
Shiratamako (白玉粉) is a glutinous rice flour made from Japanese short grain glutinous rice (もち米, mochigome).
Joshinko (上新粉) is a (non-glutinous) rice flour made by finely grinding short grain Japanese rice (粳米, uruchi-mai). When using Joshinko, the water needs to be hot, just boiled.
For those in the Los Angeles area, I used to get the rice flours at Mitsuwa or Tokyo Central in Torrance.
A Few Mitarashi Dango Tips
Knead the rice flour with the water until well blended and the resulting dough has a texture similar to an earlobe. Only add more water if absolutely needed to bring everything together.
Once the dango float to the surface while boiling, continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes.
I briefly toasted the rice dumplings with a culinary blowtorch. If you don’t have one available, Julia states the skewers can be toasted in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat just until lightly browned.
I used 6 inch (15 centimeter) bamboo skewers. If using bamboo, soak the skewers in water for 15 minutes before using. This will help keep them from burning while you are charring with the torch.
Arrange three to five dango on each skewer. This recipe can easily be doubled to make more.
Remove the glaze from the stove once it starts to thicken. It should be thick, but still pourable. The mixture will continue to thicken further as it cools.
More Dishes
I also made Teriyaki Tofu Don, Senmaizuke, Yakisoba, and Daigaku Imo.
The Teriyaki Tofu Don was perfect for a quick lunch. Crisp tofu pieces are tossed with onion and a sweet teriyaki sauce, then served over freshly cooked rice. To finish, the bowls are topped with a drizzle of Japanese mayonnaise, sesame seeds, and micro greens/scallions.
Julia’s recipe for Senmaizuke was another favorite. Translating to “thousand-sliced pickles,” this specialty from Kyoto is traditionally made from pickled turnips. She has replaced the turnips for daikon similar to a version her mother would make. The thinly sliced daikon are briefly soaked in water to remove bitterness, then refrigerated for at least 12 hours in a seasoned rice vinegar mixture.
Another easy lunch or dinner option, the Yakisoba in the Street Foods chapter pairs yakisoba noodles with onion, carrot, cabbage, and a yakisoba sauce. To finish, the noodles are covered with scallions, aonori, and beni shoga (pickled ginger).
Traditionally made with Satsumaimo (I accidentally grabbed the purple sweet potato next to it at the store and didn’t realize until I started cutting into it), Daigaku Imo pairs sweet potato cubes with a delicious caramelized sugar soy sauce coating. They were perfect as a sweet snack.
Vegan Japan is a great pick for those interested in plant-based Japanese cuisine. I especially love the focus on seasonal dishes from light spring and summer bites to comforting winter stews and soups. Recipes range from quick and easy one-pot meals to pickles requiring resting times, layered Okonomiyaki, and refreshing ice cream.
Many of the ingredients are becoming more readily available in larger American grocery stores. Having a market with Japanese ingredients nearby will be helpful in locating items such as kombu, dried shiitake mushrooms, yuzu juice, aburaage, beni shoga, usukuchi soy sauce, anko paste, pickled sakura leaves, kinako, black sesame paste, and more.
Mitarashi Dango Recipe
Excerpt from Vegan Japan
Mitarashi Dango
Ingredients
Mitarashi Dango:
- 1/3 cup (80 milliliters) water I used just boiled, still hot water
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (100 grams) glutinous rice flour Shiratamako, or I sometimes use half Shiratamako and half Joshinko.
Mitarashi Sauce:
- 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) cold water
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons potato starch or cornstarch
Instructions
To make the Mitarashi Dango:
- Combine the water with the flour in a bowl and mix until a dough forms. It should not be sticky.
- Form balls about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) in diameter by first squishing and then rolling a portion of the dough between your palms. The dango will puff slightly during cooking.
- Fill a large bowl with ice and water and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat, then add the dango and boil until they float to the surface, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Continue to boil for another 1 to 2 minutes, depending on their size.
- Transfer the dango to the bowl of ice water using a slotted spoon or spider skimmer.
- Once they have cooled, thread 3 to 4 dango onto each skewer and roast them with a blowtorch until lightly charred in places. (If you don't have a blowtorch, you can toast them in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat until browned.)
To make the Mitarashi Sauce:
- Add the cold water, sugar, soy sauce, and potato starch to a small saucepan and stir until the potato starch is dissolved.
- Cook over medium heat and continue to stir until the sauce begins to thicken, about 4 minutes, then quickly remove it from the heat as the sauce will thicken rapidly! The sauce should be thick, but pourable.
- Pour the Mitarashi sauce onto a plate and roll the skewers in the sauce to coat.
- Serve immediately.
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