The Enlightened Kitchen: Fresh Vegetable Dishes from the Temples of Japan
Vegetarians, vegans and even lovers of steak teriyaki will find much to savor in this introduction to the quiet wonders of Buddhist temple cuisine, orshojin ryori. Fujii draws upon 20 years of experience as an author and teacher in her native Japan—as well as kitchen secrets learned from her husband, a Buddhist monk—to explore a tradition that depends solely on seasonal vegetables, prepared in a spiritual way. She introduces the temple repertoire, from simple salads to vegetable soups and stews. Tae Hamamura's color photographs are mouth-watering, whether depicting Kenchin Style Vegetable Soup or a simple bowl of Ginger Rice. However, although Fujii is eloquent when she explains each dish's philosophy, she falls short on introducing Westerners to the cooking principles that underlie the tradition. Preparation techniques for basics like rice and stock are relegated, along with a crucial glossary of ingredients, to the back of the book, where they are dealt with perfunctorily. If Fujii had taken more trouble to introduce Americans to the foundations of temple cuisine—methods, tastes, ingredients—she would have better empowered them to make it their own and feed the stomach as well as the soul.(Jan.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.