Teppan Cooking Table | Can vegetarian dishes be made into teppanyaki?

Teppanyaki is a popular cooking style not only in Japan but all over the world. While it's an easy way to cook it, it's not just for meat but vegetables as well. So, good news for vegetarians: vegetarian dishes can also be cooked in a teppanyaki style!

Vegetable teppanyaki is actually quite common. In fact, for regular style teppanyaki, the vegetables are usually already cooked into the siding. Vegetable teppanyaki is usually cooked vegetables mixed with different seasonings.

If you want to learn more about vegetable teppanyaki, keep reading the article below.

What is Vegetable Teppanyaki?

Teppanyaki is a Japanese style of cooking that involves cooking food on a teppanyaki grill table. The ingredients usually consist of meat, seafood and noodles, but side dishes such as vegetables are also common.

When it comes to vegetable teppanyaki, this style of cooking involves lightly frying vegetables, usually served with rice or meat prepared in the same teppan (although this is optional, especially for other vegetarians) .

These vegetables are usually cooked with a mixture made from teppanyaki table. Common vegetables used for vegetable teppanyaki include Julian zucchini, carrots, onions, bean sprouts, Chinese cabbage, mushrooms, beans, and peppers. You can even choose to add other vegetables like eggplant or sweet potatoes.

It is important to prepare the vegetable because it must be sliced ​​in such a way that it cooks evenly. These vegetables are sautéed in a wok with a tangy and subtle sauce. Depending on your preference, they can be served as is or with the starch of your choice. Sesame seeds, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and mirin are commonly used to flavor vegetables.

Also, the cooking container of the vegetables is important as the vegetables should be cooked in something similar to a pot. That way, the liquid that builds up on one portion will stew the vegetables instead of grilling them.

What vegetables do Japanese usually eat?

You might be wondering if the Japanese have vegetarian food. Traditionally, they don't; however, they usually focus on the steamed vegetables in the dish. This means that many of their meals have a plate of rice and lots of side dishes. Therefore, you can choose to eat only rice and vegetarian side dishes.

In general, Japanese people often eat vegetables such as kabocha, which is a type of squash, nigi, which is shallots, renkang, which is lotus root, and so on. Interestingly, many restaurants in Japan these days are trying to become more and more vegetarian.

Because of this, there are still vegetarian dishes such as teppanyaki in Japanese cooking styles. While the Japanese don't necessarily or traditionally have strictly vegetarian dishes, as their meals include many side dishes, you can technically choose to eat only vegetarian food.

SUMMARY

Japanese food is not strictly vegan as it traditionally consists of various side dishes, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. This also applies to teppanyaki.

Teppanyaki is known for its meat and seafood cooking techniques; however, teppanyaki may also be vegetarian if you choose to eat vegetables that are usually served as a side dish in this cooking style.

Vegetable teppanyaki is usually cooked with a mixture of vegetables and uses a variety of vegetables. Two important factors in vegetable teppanyaki are how the vegetables are cut and the equipment used.

The vegetables must be cut evenly and the cooking equipment must be similar to a teppan grill table or wok so that the liquid can simmer rather than grill the vegetables, especially if you are cooking your own.