Shojin cuisine refers to vegetarian meals made and eaten at Buddhist temples in Japan. The cuisine does not include animals, fish, or dairy in its dishes.

In this workshop, we will prepare nine dishes together based on the principles of making traditional Japanese vegetarian cooking: five colors (green, yellow, red, black, and white), five flavors (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami), five cooking methods (frying, boiling, grilling, steaming, raw). Using seasonal vegetables and tofu and seasonings that include soy sauce, miso, vinegar, salt, mirin, and other spices.

The instructor has written many recipe books about Shojin cuisine, including one in English, and has given Shojin cooking workshops in more than 15 countries. She is happy to answer the questions you are interested in asking about cooking.

The menu is designed to be easy to reproduce at home. You will also learn various ways to arrange and create the dishes.

The historical background, practices, manners, and philosophy of Shojin cuisine will be introduced by a documentary video of 3 temples as well as reference books.

After lunch, our 90-year-old tea ceremony teacher will show you how to make matcha tea in a traditional bowl with a whisk. We will then enjoy the tea with Japanese traditional sweets.

The afternoon session will include: a DTP presentation by an editor who has been writing articles about seasonings and ingredients and will explain their characteristics, nutritional value, manufacturing methods, different types, and historical background. It will include demonstrations and tastings of different kinds of dressings and sauces with these Japanese seasonings.