Trying to Eat More Plant-Based in Japan – Where Do You Shop & What Should I Know?

5 comments

1. Tofu for breakfast lunch and dinner 

2. i do a lot of shopping at LIFE/Bioral and Gyomu Super. if i’m eating out, i lean toward Mexican or Arab, specifically Absinthe. cafe in KITTE, Falafel Sababa in Shinsaibashi, Shawarma House in Honmachi, Herradura in Nakazakicho, Ola in Shinsaibashi predominantly. genmai is still cheap even as rice gets more expensive, so when you’re cooking at home brown rice is your friend over more expensive white rice. taco rice is an easy and filling meal, i do a lot of pasta with fresh vegetables or jarred sauce if i’m feeling lazy, it’s all relatively affordable and has gotten SUBSTANTIALLY easier over the last 10 years

3. Bio-Ral will have a lot of vegan products. You may still need to use a translation app like Papago to be safe but many snacks and retort foods are clearly labeled in English as vegan/plant based. A common narrative seems to be that it is hard to find vegan food in Japan but I don’t think that is true. There are quite a lot of options once you learn which products are which.

4. Buy edible plants, eat

5. Chickpea flour.

   It’s less than 500 yen per kilo.
   It is shelf stable. You can make falafel, bread, pancakes and lots of things with it.
   It is extremely easy to use and I’ve never worked with such an inexpensive, delicious, versatile ingredient. The stuff is amazing.

   Currently I make a batter with it and pour it into a panini oven top iron. You can put whatever you want inside. Absolutely delicious.
   I wish I had started working with it long ago.
   It’ll go with whatever fat you use. It’s high in protein and will fill you up. Surprisingly it’s not as super farty as the whole, unprocessed beans themselves… Maybe just a little though..

   I found the seller on Amazon but I bypass Amazon and buy directly from the seller. It’s cheaper and I can be happy I’m supporting a local business and not Amazon.

   The store name is Kobe Spice.