Kansha Cooking - Appreciation - Japanese Vegetarian Cuisine

Apr 28, 2011
Jacqueline Church

Kansha - Ten Speed press

Vegetarian, vegan recipes from Japan's Shojin Ryori - Buddhist temple cuisine. Timely and delicious lessons for modern cooks. Daikon seven ways anyone?

From Meatless Mondays to DIY canning and preserving, people are increasingly interested in healthy eating, in preserving the bounty of home gardens or farmers' markets. Sustainability has grown from a buzzword into a way of life.

Kansha Means Appreciation

Appreciation of nature's bounty is a deeply held belief in Buddhist philosophy. This translates to eating seasonally, conserving energy and reducing waste. Nose-to-tail eating has helped meat-eaters achieve more full use of an animal. Where once people bought only chops or roasts, we're learning to use offal and odd cuts. Or at least we're thinking about it.

Kansha might be thought of as nose-to-tail vegetarian cuisine. Why buy a radish and throw away the leaves? Kansha cooking reminds us not to waste; it gives us delicious ways to use the whole daikon.

Mottainai - a word used to convey displeasure at wastefulness becomes a reminder to use all our food fully and not to waste anything. "Nothing goes to waste in the Kansha kitchen," says Elizabeth Andoh, AKA "the kitchen scrap kid."

Part of the leaves can be chopped fine and mixed into rice. The skin you peel thinly off the mid-section can be sliced into matchsticks and tempura fried. In fact, the cover of this gorgeous cookbook includes the daikon radish and several ways it can be broken down. Ichi motsu zen shoku - means "one thing entirely eaten."

Lest you think we're talking about austerity or unsavory leftovers, let's quickly get to another concept. Kondate - zukushi - choosing one seasonal ingredient, glorified through the cook's skill in preparing it in multiple ways. It is a mindset and set of skills that is accessible to all.

Disasters, Tragedy and New Reasons for Kansha

After the unprecedented triple disaster of the 9.0 earthquake, the tsunami, and the nuclear meltdown, there are new reasons to appreciate what Kansha can teach us.

Andoh visited Boston to speak to Boston University's Gastronomy program, to conduct a demo for the Chefs Collaborative hosted at the award-winning O-Ya restaurant in Boston's Leather District, and to record a How2Heroes video. Absolutely delicious, savory and elegant flavors can be coaxed from the most humble of ingredients. Andoh imparts a real can-do sense in her students and those lucky to observe her classes and demos.

The last email shoring up arrangements for this North American tour was sent literally minutes before the quake hit. The intrepid Andoh reminds us that learning to do so much with perhaps little is a timely lesson.

Boston discovered molded sushi with salt-preserved cherry blossoms, gourd chips, pom pom sushi, and more. The cold-extracted broths and the vegan seasoned soy concentrate were revelations. No bones about it, or needed, for rich flavor. You don't have to be a vegan or vegetarian to enjoy or to celebrate Japan's vegetarian cuisine.

Kansha is a cookbook that draws on tradition but beats with a contemporary heart.