Kansha: Celebrating Japan’s Vegan and Vegetarian Traditions

Publishers Information

About Kansha: Celebrating Japan’s Vegan and Vegetarian Traditions

Publisher Web Link: http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/tenspeed/

The celebration of Japan’s vegan and vegetarian traditions begins with kansha—appreciation—an expression of gratitude for nature’s gifts and the efforts and ingenuity of those who transform nature’s bounty into marvelous food. The spirit of kansha, deeply rooted in Buddhist philosophy and practice, encourages all cooks to prepare nutritionally sound and aesthetically satisfying meals that avoid waste, conserve energy, and preserve our natural resources.

In these pages, with kansha as credo, Japan culinary authority Elizabeth Andoh offers more than 100 carefully crafted vegan recipes. She has culled classics from shōjin ryōri, or Buddhist temple cuisine (Creamy Sesame Pudding, Glazed Eel Look-Alike); gathered essentials of macrobiotic cooking (Toasted Hand-Pressed Brown Rice with Hijiki, Robust Miso); selected dishes rooted in history (Skillet-Scrambled Tofu with Leafy Greens, Pungent Pickles); and included inventive modern fare (Eggplant Sushi, Tōfu-Tōfu Burgers).

Andoh invites you to practice kansha in your own cooking, and she delights in demonstrating how “nothing goes to waste in the kansha kitchen.” In one especially satisfying example, she transforms each part of a single daikon—from the tapered tip to the tuft of greens, including the peels that most cooks would simply compost—into an array of wholesome, flavorful dishes.

Decades of living immersed in Japanese culture and years of culinary training have given Andoh a unique platform from which to teach. She shares her deep knowledge of the cuisine in the two-part A Guide to the Kansha Kitchen. In the first section, she explains basic cutting techniques, cooking methods, and equipment that will help you enhance flavor, eliminate waste, and speed meal preparation. In the second, Andoh demystifies ingredients that are staples in Japanese pantries, but may be new to you; they will boost your kitchen repertoire—vegan or omnivore—to new heights.

Stunning images by award-winning photographer Leigh Beisch complete Kansha, a pioneering volume sure to inspire as it instructs. (http://www.randomhouse.com/)

Author Information

About Elizabeth Andoh

Author Web Link: http://www.tasteofculture.com/

Born and raised in America, Ms. Andoh’s formal culinary training was taken at the Yanagihara Kinsaryu School of Traditional Japanese Cuisine, in Tokyo. Ms. Andoh is a writer, lecturer, and a business consultant, specializing in Japanese food and culture. She is a member of the International Association of Cooking Professionals (IACP) and the only non-Japanese member of the prestigious Japan Food Journalists Association (JFJ).

She has written numerous magazine and newspaper articles for American publications such as Gourmet and The New York Times and authored several cookbooks, most recently WASHOKU: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen, winner of a 2006 Jane Grigson award for "distinguished scholarship" and nominated for a James Beard award in the category of International Cookbook.

As a lecturer on historical and cultural aspects of Japanese society and cuisine, Ms. Andoh speaks frequently to business and general-interest audiences on both sides of the Pacific.

As a consultant, Ms. Andoh provides the U.S./ Japan business community with a wide range of marketing, training, and support services; most of her clients are in the foodservice and hospitality industries.

For encouraging visitors to Japan to explore the indigenous food culture, Ms. Andoh was recently designated as a Yokoso Japan Taishi ("ambassador") by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Kokudo Kotsusho, abbreviated MLIT).

Ms. Andoh resides in Japan, and travels to North America several times a year. To inquire about, and arrange for speaking engagements, programs, and other culinary events with her, send an e-mail message to Elizabeth Andoh.

When making inquiries, please provide complete contact information for yourself. Briefly describe your organization or group, including the occasion or event at which Ms. Andoh would be making a presentation. Please also indicate the dates of the program you wish to schedule. (http://www.tasteofculture.com/)

Cookbooks by Elizabeth Andoh

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My Cookbook

Kansha: Celebrating Japan’s Vegan and Vegetarian Traditions

by Elizabeth Andoh

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My Cookbook

Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen

by Elizabeth Andoh