Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Back in Japan (Kyoto - November 2010)...Shojin "Mushikui" lunch at Hanbei


It was the 3rd and the last day of our stay in Kyoto. Our Shinkansen was in the afternoon, so we went to Hanbei for their famous shojin (Buddhist-style vegan) "Mushikui" lunch.


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Hanbei has been making "fu" (wheat gluten) for over 300 years. Fu is one of the essential ingredients in shojin cuisine and has a variety of styles. There are dry fu and fresh and soft fu. Soft style is called "nama-fu" and it has a chewy texture because the wheat gluten is mixed with sweet rice flour.


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Their "Mushikui" lunch course showcases the different styles of dishes made with different types of fu (mostly nama-fu). It was great to taste different flavors and textures of fu with different preparations.


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Kumi-age yuba (fresh free-shape tofu skin), fried yuba, and fried dry fu.


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Age-dashi nama-fu in light broth, and namafu in white miso soup.

I was so stuffed after the meal. I always loved nama-fu and enjoyed every dish, but it was just so rich and my body felt so heavy...it was almost hard to believe it was a strict vegan meal.


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Before we went back to Tokyo, we stopped by at some traditional Kyoto shops including wagashi (Japanese sweet) shops (Daikoku-ya and Futaba!) and eel-stuffed omelet shop.

My carry bag was so packed with all the delicious souvenirs.