Forums: March 2010 Kickstart Forum Archive: Japanese eating out
Created on: 03/12/10 12:15 PM Views: 2459 Replies: 12
aleta Joined: 01/07/10 Location: Claremont, CA Posts: 153	Japanese eating out Posted Friday, March 12, 2010 at 12:15 PM Question...I love Japanese and see that on tonight's menu I am so happy. But does anyone know if the veggies that they coat in a batter and fry are vegan? And I did not see them on the eating out list. I forget what they are called. I just like them. If they are not vegan then how would I ask to get those veggies with out the batter and deep fry? And... the little cups of rice that they have, are they a "Cup" measurement? Seeing how it is white rice can we still have that? Oh so many questions before I go tonight. I just want to make the right choices. Thanks so much to everyone. I am doing well and it is in part because of you. aleta email
	Edited 03/12/10 12:16 PM Quote | Send PM | Link | Top | Bottom
aml04143 Joined: 03/02/10 Posts: 5	RE: Japanese eating out Posted Friday, March 12, 2010 at 12:40 PM I'm going out for sushi tonight as well! I think you're talking about tempura (fried veggies)? I honestly have no idea what the batter is made out of...but even if the batter was vegan, the oil they fry in could have animal byproducts (just a thought). I'm planning on getting miso soup, seaweed salad, and vegetable maki (rolls) with tons of veggies like avocado, daikon, carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, greens, etc. Super excited!
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Bluesgyrl Joined: 01/06/10 Posts: 159	RE: Japanese eating out Posted Friday, March 12, 2010 at 12:56 PM The vegetables you speak of are called "Tempura." I don't recall if egg is used in the Tempura batter or not but other than the oil that is being used I believe that is the only part of Tempura that would have animal products. Since it is fried, it is quite fattening. Even if it is vegetables. Beware many, many I would venture to say most Japanese restaurants use fish in their miso soup. It is the base. It is called Dashi. The bottom line is that you can only do what you can do. You can inquire at the restaurant how the items are prepared and make the best decision with what you know. My favorite is Inari. It is a nigiri sushi. It is sushi rice wrapped in a sweet tofu skin. Some places put advocado in the skin also. Like a mini pocket. Some put honey over the top. You can ask for them not to. Inari is delicious though!
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Bluesgyrl Joined: 01/06/10 Posts: 159	RE: Japanese eating out Posted Friday, March 12, 2010 at 12:58 PM Sorry forgot to mention also that some seaweed salas includes jelly fish. I also love sunomono (cucumber salad). Ask for the plain because sometimes they put crab or something with it.
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ShibaFan Joined: 01/13/10 Posts: 4	RE: Japanese eating out Posted Friday, March 12, 2010 at 1:00 PM Hi Aleta, Glad to hear you're doing well on this kickstart! My husband & I also love tempura (I believe that's what you're talking about), and we did a bit of research and discovered that it usually contains eggs. So, it's not vegan. At a Japanese restaurant recently, my husband asked for a vegetarian soup (that was already on the menu) that came with tempura vegetables, but when he found out from their kitchen the tempura batter has eggs, they offered to just put the plain (slightly cooked) veggies in the soup for him. He said it was very tasty that way...and better for you because the veggies were not fried! Hopefully you can find some Japanese restaurants that are flexible and willing to work with your vegan requests. You also have to be careful with soups--they usually have bonito flakes in them, which are fish. Enjoy! Mary
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aleta Joined: 01/07/10 Location: Claremont, CA Posts: 153	RE: Japanese eating out Posted Friday, March 12, 2010 at 1:10 PM Oh my. Thank you all so much. There are so many things I did not know about Japanese food. I will ask tonight. Thank you all aleta email
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kclayton Joined: 02/25/10 Posts: 33	RE: Japanese eating out Posted Friday, March 12, 2010 at 1:32 PM Best to ask the restaurant, because you can make tempura without egg. I make it at home sometimes, just flour and beer - 1/2 and 1/2, for the batter. It is yummy, but has to be an occassional treat since deep frying makes it pretty fattening anyway. Most of the Japanese restaurants I've been to are very helpful if you explain your dietary restrictions though, because it is very normal in their culture to eat vegetarian and vegan.
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TexGal Joined: 02/25/10 Location: Texas Posts: 111	RE: Japanese eating out Posted Friday, March 12, 2010 at 1:33 PM You can find some more info on Japanese food (and others as well) by clicking on the "Resources" tab and then go to "Expand your horizons with world cuisine." It recommends good dishes to try at various types of restaurants such as Chinese, Japanese, Middle Eastern, etc.
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essie Joined: 02/26/10 Posts: 163	RE: Japanese eating out Posted Friday, March 12, 2010 at 1:58 PM Agreeing with everyone...Japanese restaurants are usually very accommodating. They cooking style is fresh and most things are made to order anyway, so just be clear about what you want. They usually do lovely vegetable sushi for us, and have several salad and tofu dishes that are all naturally vegan. Like others said, the tempura may or may not be vegan. You just have to ask. Re: the soups, some miso does have bonito (fish) in the broth (dashi). But there are other kinds of dashi, including seaweed (usually kombu) based and mushroom based, and most restaurants have more than one on hand for various dishes. Miso soup doesn't really have to cook, just heat through--so it's usually pretty simple to get an alternative. Have a great dinner! Let us know what you get.
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WAYOFLIFEHAWAII Joined: 02/25/10 Posts: 14	RE: Japanese eating out Posted Friday, March 12, 2010 at 8:58 PM Hi everyone, If you go to "Kushistore.com" then click "macrobiotic cookbooks" Its a great resource for cooking or learning japanese foods. One of my favorites is complete gudie to macrobiotic cooking by: Aveine kushi. Aloha & Mahalo, Jerry & Junko
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BlondRenee Joined: 02/28/10 Location: California Posts: 97	RE: Japanese eating out Posted Saturday, March 13, 2010 at 12:36 AM We ate out (our date night) at a Japanese restaurant. Watching my DH eat fish, some kind of roll and California rolls with fish eggs made me want to gag. Thank goodness he did not order the ice cream like he 90% of the time does. So that was a plus. I feel bloated tonight however...oh well....tomorrow is another day!!
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2meowers Joined: 02/26/10 Location: Sequim, WA Posts: 127	RE: Japanese eating out Posted Saturday, March 13, 2010 at 3:17 AM kclayton wrote: Best to ask the restaurant, because you can make tempura without egg. I make it at home sometimes, just flour and beer - 1/2 and 1/2, for the batter. It is yummy, but has to be an occassional treat since deep frying makes it pretty fattening anyway. Most of the Japanese restaurants I've been to are very helpful if you explain your dietary restrictions though, because it is very normal in their culture to eat vegetarian and vegan. Just FYI. I just found out recently that wine is not necessarily vegan! Never thought smashed grapes could be otherwise. Wrong! Some of the filtering agents include isinglass (dried fish swim bladders), egg whites, sea shells, and milk! Check out Barnivore.com and see if your beer is vegan. This site lists beer, wine, and hard liquor accordingly: "not vegan friendly", "some vegan options available", and "vegan friendly". However, it does have errors. Bought a chardonnay only to discover it was NOT OK, even though the winery was listed as vegan friendly. My name now shows under "checked" along with the e-mail the winery sent me, and Barnivore has changed its rating to "some vegan options available"!! "But for the sake of some little mouthful of flesh we deprive a soul of the sun and light, and of that proportion of life and time it had been born into the world to enjoy." Plutarch. email
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kclayton Joined: 02/25/10 Posts: 33	RE: Japanese eating out Posted Saturday, March 13, 2010 at 9:08 AM Thanks 2meowers - I usually use Miller Lite (which is vegan).
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