Vegan
Vegan at a Japanese restaurant: what to ask about
Most of what determines whether a Japanese dish works for vegans is not printed on the menu. Here is what is usually in there, and how to ask about it without an interrogation.
What catches people out
- Dashi
- As above — the defining issue in Japanese food for both vegetarians and vegans.
- Egg in batter and noodles
- Tempura batter usually contains egg, as do some fresh noodles.
- Honey and mayonnaise in dressings
- Japanese mayonnaise is egg-yolk based and appears on more dishes than you would expect.
Usually a good starting point
Buddhist temple cuisine, which is vegan by construction — including kombu dashi instead of bonito. Worth seeking out.
Rice in sweet fried tofu pouches, with no fish involved.
What to actually say
One specific question is easier for everyone than three vague ones — for you and for the person answering.
- “Is the dashi made with kombu or bonito?”
- “Is there egg in the batter?”
- “Do you have anything shojin?”
What Japanese menus don’t print
Nobody is hiding anything. These are foundational ingredients that a Japanese kitchen treats the way you treat salt — not an ingredient, a medium. That is exactly why they never appear in a description.
Most simmered dishes, miso soup, and many dipping sauces. It is usually made with katsuobushi (dried bonito), so 'vegetable' dishes are frequently not vegetarian.
A great many glazes and sauces, including teriyaki.
Nearly everything, and most varieties contain wheat.
Sprinkled on okonomiyaki and takoyaki, sometimes invisibly folded into fillings.
Recipes vary between restaurants and change without notice, so treat all of this as what to raise with the kitchen rather than a guarantee about any particular dish. The staff always have the final word.
TableSage reads menus using an AI language model, which gets things wrong sometimes.
Know which dishes to ask about.
Photograph the menu and it flags what is worth raising — including the ingredients that are never printed.