Sushi Modoki: The Japanese Art and Craft of Vegan Sushi

In this concise manual, iina, who hosts cooking classes in Tokyo, instructs readers in the craft of vegan sushi, leaning on various vegetable preparations to visually evoke a variety of sliced fish. Skinned boiled pepper stands in for rich tuna, while steamed, seasoned eggplant takes the place of eel. Her recipes are clever, but often the sleight of hand falters: konnyaku, a firm, flavorless jelly, plays the roles of both squid and shrimp to ill effect. A wan impression of uni, the roe of sea urchin, reveals the limits of pure imitation, as a mixture of kabocha squash, carrot, and sake lees (the leftover from sake fermentation) can deceive the eyes but not the palate. While iina finds her footing in commonplace vegan recipes like inarizushi, bundles of rice in a sweet fried tofu skin, she often stumbles when she strays too far from tradition. One recipe needlessly replaces rice with cauliflower, and another marries kiwi, asparagus, and tofu cream cheese in a rice paper wrap. Beyond the delight of visually appealing dishes, home cooks will likely find little satisfaction here. (Nov.)