One of my friend who is a professional chef made vegan dishes for me. She is Japanese and had ever worked at Japanese restaurant for 17 years. Even she isn't a vegetarian or vegan, but vegan dishes she cooked for me were pretty delicious. And these were so different from daily dishes I have made for myself.
This is a picture of vegan cuisine she cooked for me.
Do you believe that all dishes (Pic.) were vegan dishes?
1. 白米 White Rice (Japonica Rice)
2. 生麩の味噌汁 Namafu (wheat gluten) miso soup
3. 肉じゃが Niku jaga = Potato, meat and onion stewed in soy sauce soup
4. 和布蕪の酢の物 mekabu (slimy seaweed) with vinegar sauce
5. 蓮根の金平 Lotus root stir-fried with soy sauce
6. ゴーヤチャンプル Goya chanpuru(Okinawan food)=Bitter gourd stir-fried with tofu
7. 餃子 Gyoza=Jiaozi (but no flour sheet so wrapped with lettuce)
2, 3 and 7 use wheat gluten instead of meat
Bitter gourd is widely grown in tropical area for its edible fruits. It is a very popular in asian, african and caribbean countries and there are various dishes made of bitter gourd in many tropical area. Bitter gourd is significant ingredient in Okinawa cuisine too, Goya Chanpuru is most popular in Okinawan cuisine and now Japanese in mainland also prefer it. Bitter gourd fruit is so bitter that it should be treated with salt to reduce its bitterness before preparation dishes. But like most bitter foods, bitter gourd has also activity to stimulate digestion. And many other medical and biological activities (anti- cancer, HIV, malaria etc.) are suggested but there a few evidences to show them in clinical studies.
