The Japanese live long lives and much of their longevity can be attributed to their diet. While nearly every variety of seafood features prominently in the cuisine, vegetarian dishes are also common in a traditional Japanese diet. From appetizers to main entrees, it isn't difficult to find vegetarian items that can be ordered in a restaurant, and if you prefer to cook at home, it's even easier to make vegetarian dishes.
Appetizers
Pickled vegetables and small salads are staple items in a traditional Japanese diet and are eaten in small quantities with every meal, including breakfast. Daikon is a white radish that turns yellow when pickled and is sliced into rounds and served as a small appetizer. Sunomono is a dish made of sliced cucumbers with a vinegar-based dressing.
Wakame seaweed salad is a common appetizer or side dish. Oshitashi is a room temperature salad made from spinach and sesame seeds. Agedashi tofu are small squares of deep-fried tofu.
Soup
Miso, usually made from fermented soybeans and rice, is the most common and well-known vegetarian soup base. You should be careful when ordering soup in a restaurant, however, because it often uses dashi stock, which is usually made with bonito fish flakes. Ask for or look for kombudashi, a vegetarian dashi soup base made with dried kelp.
Soups made from both miso and kombudashi can incorporate a variety of vegetables. Tofu or noodles can also be added. Kenchinjiru is a vegetable and tofu soup with a clear base.
Rice Dishes
Plain steamed white rice is served with almost every Japanese meal. It also provides the base for various types of sushi and onigiri. Kappamaki is a sushi roll made with cucumber wrapped in seasoned sushi rice and nori, a dried seaweed. Vegetarian sushi rolls are also commonly made with carrots or avocado. Inarizushi is made from sushi rice stuffed into fried tofu.
Onigiri is also known as rice balls. They are made from plain rice wrapped around salted or picked vegetables. A piece of nori is often wrapped around onigiri, and despite the name, the shape is often triangular.
Noodle Dishes
Noodles are used in a number of hot and cold dishes and are often served in soups and broths. If you're ordering noodles in a restaurant be sure to ask what kind of broth is used. Noodles dishes cooked at home make an easy and quick meal and you will have control over the ingredients used.
Udon noodles are wide, wheat noodles served in broth, often served with scallions. Soba is a thin buckwheat noodle and somen noodles are thin wheat noodles. Ramen noodles are very common and usually served in a meat-based broth in restaurants. All noodle dishes can be and are topped with a wide variety of vegetables and tofu.
Tempura
Tempura is made from a variety of deep fried vegetables coated in a flour based batter. Green beans, sweet potatoes and mushrooms are very popular in tempura, but many different vegetables can be used.
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