One of the highlights of Mount Koya was eating this type of food, which is a vegetarian specialty that originated in Buddhist temples. At Kumagai Temple, where we stayed in Koyasan, we ate shojin ryori prepared by the monks day in and day out–fine by me! Thinking of you, Alan Stein, during these meals.
The typical shojin ryori meal consists of three vegetable dishes and a soup, which is “ichi ju san sai” in Japanese. The highlight at Kumagai-ji was a delicious sesame tofu, on par with that I have eaten in Kyoto. The primary dishes were accompanied by a wide array of pickles and mikan, what we call Clementines, typically served in winter. A contemporary touch was added by a whole cherry tomato stewed in a sweet wine. Scrumptious!
February 20, 2017 at 6:17 pm
Looks delicious!
February 22, 2017 at 8:18 pm
Hola Julia,
The shojin ryori we had during this last trip to Kyoto was fantastic. 11 courses of tofu at one. Another at a restaurant – Ikkyuan that serves “Fucha Ryori”, a type of Zen cuisine with originating with Chinese monks that came to Japan during the Edo period. The more at Shibu Onsen in Yamanouchi.
It is a special delight to be able to eat this style of cuisine in Kyoto.
And did I mention the pickles from Ohara?
I imagine everyday must be a treat for you, Blake and , of course Jeff when he was with you in China and Vietnam.
Keep sending blog updates – Blake too!
November 20, 2023 at 7:23 am
Simply amazing