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Fyretigger
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#1 Posted : Tuesday, January 20, 2026 11:12:21 PM(UTC)
Sorry for the TLDR intro here, but all the information is relevant.

While multitasking with various things I needed to get done online, I’ve been watching “Culinary Class Wars” season 2 on Netflix. This exposed me to Venerable Sunjae, master of Korean Buddhist Temple cuisine and the 5 forbidden pungents.

Most Monday evenings I get together with and most times cook for a friend who has severe (non-allergy) food intolerances. She is NOT an ethical vegetarian, but she can’t tolerate most animal proteins; most seafood is fine and she can tolerate a small portion of lean game meat like venison. She is also intolerant of everything in the onion/garlic family, which eliminates huge swaths of vegetarian cooking.

When you look at my friend’s intolerances, they align nicely with Korean Temple Cuisine: vegetarian minus the 5 forbidden pungents. I of course immediately searched on Venerable Sunjae and none of her works appear to be available in English. Then I searched on Buddhist and those cookbooks on EYB don’t seem to eliminate the 5 forbidden pungents (onion being a frequent feature of recipes).

Does anyone know of a cookbook featuring Korean Temple Cuisine (vegetarian minus the 5 forbidden pungents) available in English?
Rinshin
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#2 Posted : Wednesday, January 21, 2026 11:45:44 AM(UTC)

These are two I have which are in English.  Look into shojin cooking


The Enlightened Kitchen


Good Food from a Japanese Temple 

Zephyrness
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#3 Posted : Wednesday, January 21, 2026 12:45:53 PM(UTC)
Ganga108
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#4 Posted : Wednesday, January 21, 2026 5:29:56 PM(UTC)

There are several Indian sub-cuisines that don't use any form of onion or garlic. These might be helpful too. Some I've found that might be worth checking out.


Any cookbook on Jain cuisine. It's tough to search for on EYB as Jain is also a common surname. Look for books with "Jain" in the title. 


Any Hare Krsna cookbook, or go here for hundreds of recipes


Lord Krishna's Cuisine, or any book by Yamuna Devi (this book is a favourite of mine)


Navratri Special Vegetarian


Saatvik Khana


Satvik Khaana - No Onion No Garlic


No onions no garlic


These are the ones I found in a quick search on EYB. Also, you can search online for "satvik" or "no onion no garlic" recipes or cookbooks.

Fyretigger
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#5 Posted : Wednesday, January 21, 2026 6:14:26 PM(UTC)

Thank you for the recommendations. This information will give me a good start.

Indio32
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#6 Posted : Saturday, January 24, 2026 1:31:55 AM(UTC)

Korean Temple Cooking by Hoo Nam Seelmann published by Hardie Grant US would definitely be worth a look at.

Fyretigger
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#7 Posted : Saturday, January 24, 2026 7:13:39 PM(UTC)

Originally Posted by: Indio32 Go to Quoted Post
Korean Temple Cooking by Hoo Nam Seelmann published by Hardie Grant US would definitely be worth a look at.


Thank you. It comes out digitally next month and I’ve placed a pre-order. I’m all but out of cookbook space, so try to buy digital when I can.

Fyretigger
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#9 Posted : Sunday, March 1, 2026 4:55:14 PM(UTC)
Netflix now has a series about Jeong Kwan, the author of “Korean Temple Cooking.” The series is “The Philosopher’s Kitchen, Jeong Kwan.” There are 2 episodes so far. I have watched the first. It is beautifully, beautifully, photographed. So of the pickling and fermenting scenes are absolutely fascinating, layer the main ingredient with things like shiso leaves and blackberry syrup to enhance the flavors.

You actually see photos for the book being taken by the Swiss publishers in the show.
johnny_bq3zle
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#10 Posted : Monday, March 2, 2026 3:06:56 AM(UTC)

Originally Posted by: Fyretigger Go to Quoted Post
Does anyone know of a cookbook featuring Korean Temple Cuisine (vegetarian minus the 5 forbidden pungents) available in English?


Here are 5 to check out, all currently available on Amazon:


Wookwan's Korean Temple Food
Korean Temple Cooking
The Korean Vegan Cookbook
The Korean Vegan - Homemade
Heart-Stirring Medicine of Korean Temple Food


EYB EDIT - I hope you don't mind johnny_bq3zle but I changed the links to EYB pages so members can view the recipe indexes. There are BUY BOOK links to Amazon on each listing.

Indio32
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#8 Posted : Sunday, March 8, 2026 8:28:57 AM(UTC)

Originally Posted by: Fyretigger Go to Quoted Post
Thank you. It comes out digitally next month and I’ve placed a pre-order. I’m all but out of cookbook space, so try to buy digital when I can.


Managed to see a copy yesterday in my local bookshop and although I didn't buy it I've definitely put it onto my thinking about getting it. I think you're going to love it!

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