Vegan MoFo 2015 Day 12: Tell us about your favorite cookbook.
More often than not, I use the Internet as my cookbook: I do an image search for whatever dish I'm looking for, pick out the images that look appetizing and work back from there. It usually works quite well.
Although I own a fair number of cookery books, I rarely use them. The one exception is Bryanna Clark Grogan's Authentic Chinese Cuisine. Before I started making recipes from this book, any Chinese-style meal I made didn't taste right. Or rather, it didn't taste like any kind of Chinese food that I'd ever tasted (not that I'm an expert).
Whether from her blog or from her cookbooks (you can find links to all her books on her blog), I love Bryanna's recipes because they always turn out well and are full of flavor--I've never been disappointed.
In addition to recipes from Dim Sum to dumplings, and from soup to stir fries, main courses, and sweets, this book is full of information. It includes a history of Chinese vegetarian cooking, a chapter on the regional cooking of China, a section on how to plan and serve an authentic Chinese meal, and more...
I have to be honest, I haven't read every section of the book from start to finish, although the snippets I have read are quite interesting. I'm sure over time, I will have read all of it in little bits and pieces.
The recipe for Spicy Sichuan Eggplant is one of my favorites from this book:
This photo doesn't do it justice, because you can't see the sauce--I usually double it and add in tofu and other veggies. It's full of heat and sweetness with a hint of sour.
Another cookery book that has worked its way into my cooking regime is Mimi Kirk's book Live Raw. I don't own it, but have checked it out of the library three times. I'll do a separate post on recipes from her book sometime in the future.
Happy MoFo-ing...we're almost halfway through!!
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Posts
I've never laid my eyes on this book, but this isn't the first time I see it mentioned online. I only own World Vegan Feast by Bryanna and the recipes I've tried have been absolutely great.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Bryanna's recipes are great, and her blog is such a great resource.
DeleteOh, I"m so glad to see this post! I have this book, but I almost never use it. Just the other day, I was making some chinese dish, and the flavor wasn't quite right, so it occured to me to check the recipe for the same dish in this book. Looking at Bryanna's recipe gave me ideas for how to improve the flavor and seasonings -- and it totally worked. <3
ReplyDeleteHi Amey,
DeleteExactly...the recipes aren't fancy or anything, but the flavor profiles are great; certainly what any Chinese-style meals I made before lacked.
I love Chinese food but I rarely try to cook it. We are lucky to have an amazing Chinese vegetarian restaurant not too far away. I'd not been aware of this book though. It sounds like a great recommendation.
ReplyDeleteOh, a vegetarian Chinese, that sounds lovely. I think I prefer to eat any kind of Asian cooking in a restaurant rather than at home because it usually tastes better than what I make, but this book has helped on that front. :)
DeleteThat's the first time I hear from that book
ReplyDeleteLooks amazing, and her blog seems very interesting
thank you!
I agree, her blog is really a great resource.
DeleteI am not a huge fan of Chinese cuisine, I have just never taken to it, but I would be most happy to have this cookbook on my shelf, esp, as it comes recommended by you. Another for the wish list (my husband is going to roll his eyeballs at me),..but I will in return bat my lashes.
ReplyDeleteHaha...I'm sure your husband will oblige! :)
DeleteSo happy to see this is your favourite book! Like Amey, I haven't made a lot from this one even though I know there are so many good things in there. I'm going to look up that eggplant dish because it looks super delicious.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely check it out...another recipe I like is her "pork" balls.
DeleteOh! O nearly forgot about this one...it's a goodie!
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of Eggplant (yet), but the dish looks beautiful. Glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDelete