Vegetarian Cooking – what the fundamentals are and how to do it

Vegetarian cooking and cuisine has for hundreds of years been a healthier diet option for humans – whether for religious, health or policy reasons, converting to vegetarian cooking is a conscious choice and for some, a hard one. As well as giving a rough outline of the types of vegetarianism out there, here you’ll find tips and suggestions for vegetarian cooking itself – from common ingredients to substitutes. Hopefully by the end of it, you’ll want to give vegetarian cooking a go yourself!

Vegetarian Cooking : types of vegetarian

Different types of vegetarianism are defined by the food and the limits placed on themselves when it comes to vegetarian cooking -

*vegan : vegans will exclude fish, meat, poultry, dairy and eggs in their diet. The ingredients in a vegan’s vegetarian cooking would contain pretty much all plant-based foods.

*lacto vegetarian : lacto vegetarian cooking will also contain mainly plant-based products however lacto vegetarians will also consume dairy products.

*lacto ovo vegetarian : as you might have guessed from the name, lacto ovo vegetarian cooking will be all the above plus eggs. Mostly plant based but eggs and dairy allowed.

*flexitarian : not sure it is fair to call a flexitarian a type of vegetarian but flexitarians will adhere to the rules of eating plant (+eggs and dairy)-based vegetarian cooking but will make exceptions of eating small amounts of fish or poultry on occasion – yes, flexible + vegetarian = flexitarian

vegetarian cooking

Common vegetarian cooking ingredients

Cereals such as maize, corn, rice, wheat, barley, oats, buckwheat (as in popular japanese dish ‘soba’) and other products derived from these ingredients. Common carbohydrate products such as bread and pasta are obviously derivatives of flour, which is commonly made of flour.

As the name would suggest, vegetables play an integral part in vegetarian cooking – close to all vegetables are suitable for a vegetarian diet, though some Indian vegetarians don’t eat mushrooms. Raw or cooked vegetables are fine, as are derivatives of vegetables such as vegetable oil and vegetable stock, vegetable juice etc.

Fruit is also included in vegetarian cooking – from tomatoes to apples and pears, fruit (dried or fresh) are very important in a vegetarian diet

Beans, soybeans, chickpeas, lentils and other legumes are an important part of the diet providing necessary sustenance and energy. There are many common derivatives from these, such as tofu, which, in vegetarian cooking, is considered one of the closest things to meat hence the tofu steaks and burgers.

Spices and herbs are mostly used for flavor and other nuts and seeds also become great snacks.

As mentioned earlier, dairy products such as milk, cream, cheese, butter and yoghurt, are also well used in vegetarian cooking, depending on what type of vegetarian you are. Honey and eggs are also products that are used depending on how strict of a vegetarian you are.

Vegetarian Recipe

Finally, here is a very simple vegetarian cooking recipe you might want to try at home and see if it works for you. If it does, go ahead and delve in – if not, there are many alternatives you can keep trying until you find a path within vegetarian cooking you are comfortable with.

Very simple Japanese vegetarian cooking :

Tofu, Tomato and Avocado Sashimi on Rice

Ingredients :

1 x packet of tofu

1 x avocado (ripe)

1 x tomato (ripe)

soy sauce

wasabi (japanese green mustard radish)

bowl of rice

1 x spring onion (optional)

Instructions :

simply cut avocado and tomato into equally small pieces,

mix the wasabi and soy sauce,

mix everything together and place on bowl of hot rice

add small thin slices of spring onion on top

you’re done!

There is no fish in the dish but the reason why it is called ‘Sashimi’ is because the wasabi and soy sauce mixture, combined with the avocado makes for a texture similar to tuna sashimi.

Enjoy and hope you try this and other types of vegetarian cooking at home!

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