精進料理（素食料理） / Shojin Ryori

精進料理（素食料理）是基於佛教的戒律，不使用動物性食材的料理。在亞洲的各個國家都可看到素食料理，日本式的精進料理也有日本獨有的特色。日本的精進料理是使用昆布、紅豆、黃豆、葫蘆干、乾香菇、甜菜、牛蒡等食材來熬高湯。日本料理上常使用的味醂因為含有酒精，因此不用在精進料理上。

Shojin Ryori is a category of Japanese cuisine. Shojin literally stands for purifying or devoting oneself to something. Shojin Ryori is based on the ideas of Buddhism, and doesn’t use any meat or animal proteins. Actually, it’s seen in various Asian countries, but the style and ingredients are slightly different. As dashi (soup stock) has an important role in Japanese cuisine, kombu (kelp), red beans, soy beans, kanpyou (dried gourd), dried shiitake (mushroom), turnip, and gobou (edible burdock) are typically used to make the stock. Mirin is a very important seasoning in Japanese, but it’s not used because it contains traces of alcohol.

Photo from Wikipedia