Message: | Wow, some of you guys are a little unfriendly. As a Japanese-American who has traveled a lot in Japan, I have often heard it said that if you want to test the quality of a sushi chef, ask for vegetable sushi, and see what arrives. Traditional Japanese cooking includes MANY vegetarian options that are properly called sushi, even if some of those Americanized creations (Philadelphia roll, with cream chese, etc.) are not.
Some things to inquire about, that are often included in veggie sushi, include kampyo -- a VERY traditional sushi ingredient, made from dried gourd; umeboshi (the sour plums), well paired with shiso (the pungent fresh leaf often found in sushi); oshinko (the pickled daikon, often bright yellow); there is a very "fat" vegetarian roll called "futomaki," which traditionally includes tamago (egg) but can be ordered without it.
Some sushi places serve natto, the fermented soybean item that some Japanese hate and others love (I think of it as the vegetarian equivalent of uni, since both would remind someone with a junior-high mentality of snot).
At any rate, I raise a glass of unfiltered SAKE to the original inquirer, and gently suggest that those of you who opined that sushi is never vegetarian should take a longer trip to Japan next time. |