Dinner - Wednesday, April 10, 2013
In the middle of the 17th century, the Buddhist monk Ingen and his disciples arrived in Japan from China, establishing their head temple at Manpuki-ji in the outskirts of southern Kyoto. Ingen brought with him what is now referred to as
fucha ryori (the exact etymology of the term is ambigious) - Chinese-style ceremonial vegan meals. Today,
fucha ryori can be found at temples of the Ōbaku school of Zen Buddhism -
閑臥庵 (Kangaan) is one such temple.
Unlike the more austere
shojin ryori,
fucha ryori makes greater use of oil and frying techniques - the influence of Chinese cuisine and the relatively short history of the style in Japan. In addition, many items are prepared to resemble meat (in appearance, taste, or both) - ostensibly because the monks could not help missing meat and fish at times.
The Ōbaku school has a number of precepts dealing with food, but two which are particularly applicable here are (roughly translated):
"Don't be greedy. Be satisfied with simple food" and
"If you believe it is good for your health, it should work as you believe". Our dinner this night qualified on both counts - if only this were true for every meal!
 |
| Matcha and sweets |
The dinner began with matcha and Japanese sweets - as it turns out, a great way to prepare one's palate and stomach.
|
| Syunkan platter |
Equivalent to the
hassun in kaiseki, our platter featured a variety of tofu- and vegetable-based bites. Three standouts were: (i)
nasu hasami age - fried tofu with vegetables, stuffed in fried eggplant and topped with sweet miso; (ii) a freeze-dried tofu with shitake and shiso; (iii) a steamed tofu filled with carrot, shitake and seitan.
 |
| Ume, wheat flour, cucumber ginger, Yoshino arrowroot |
The first of many dishes making use of the thickening properties of arrowroot - the soup had the characteristically pleasing mouthfeel and was bright-tasting. It was served with the syunkan platter above, making it a good foil to the relative oiliness of the little bites.
 |
| Unpen |
A stirfry of vegetables - we identified gingko, carrots, burdock, lotus roots, konyaku, cloud ear mushrooms and bamboo. These were coated with a sauce thickened with arrowroot. Well-cooked - each vegetable maintained its ideal texture.
 |
Boiled seitan bread with mustard sauce
Mustard spinach with sesame dressing |
 |
| Goma tofu, wasabi, soy sauce |
 |
| Tempura |
The items arrived at our table fairly crispy, but not hot, diminishing their potential. The beni shoga (pickled ginger) tempura was a standout - our first time having these fried. A small basket woven from sea tangle and then fried
(center of plate), holding fried yuba, gingko and lotus root was also extremely delicious.
 |
| Steamed chestnut, imitation burr |
A vegan scotch egg, if you will. The chestnut itself was lovely, its insides steamed to fluffy perfection. The star of the dish, however, was the imitation burr crafted from fried vermicelli embedded in an inner shell of tofu - crispy and delicate, with a subtle sweetness that was alluring.
 |
Fresh yuba
Mizuna, ginger, Yoshino arrowroot |
 |
| Unagi modoki |
I've had more than my fair share of imitation fish, and this was remarkably good - it would make a top ten list. The flesh consisted of fried tofu with burdock and yam, with a skin of nori. A nice reproduction, and very tasty, if a bit greasy.
 |
| Sunomono of daikon, potatoes, carrots and cucumber |
 |
| Rice, pickles, clear seaweed broth |
 |
| Grapefruit, strawberries, hōjicha |
The Japanese are huge consumers of grapefruit (primarily the white variety) - they are the major export market for Florida's growers. Indeed, we were served grapefruit at practically every meal we ate (somehow I do not recall this from our previous trip). Here, they were crisp and refreshing, an excellent counterpoint to the sweet Kyoto strawberries.
 |
| Kangaan's Ming-inspired temple by night |
Eating at Kangaan is an experience not to be missed while in Kyoto. The cuisine is unique and would be worth trying by itself, but like at the high-end kaiseki establishments, one is allowed to dine in an expansive private room (in our case, with a beautiful night-time view of their illuminated landscaped garden). Our peaceful meal certainly made me feel like I was making progress towards another of their precepts:
"One should have this meal to achieve Buddhist virtue".
NB: We were originally alerted to Kangaan's existence by this 2009 article in the Japan Times.
Kangaan
278 Karasuma-dori
Kuramaguchi Higashi Iru
Kita-ku, Kyoto
Japan
Phone: (+81) 075-256-2480
