Veganmofo 2009 – Asian Vegan Kitchen

This is another book that I really love. It’s a great addition to any cookbook library because it covers such a wide range of cuisines in a very approachable way. The countries covered are India, Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, Indonesia, Malaysia and Korea. There isn’t a picture of every dish but there’s a reasonable amount – enough to get a feel for how things should look.

There’s a nice glossary and within each chapter there’s a range of starters, main courses, side dishes etc, so it’s easy to create a meal from any one country. Some of the ingredients can probably only be found in specialist shops or online, but wherever you are based you’ll be able to find some dishes made from readily accessible ingredients.

I haven’t made tonnes from this book, but from what I have made I’ve only had one fail – the Vietnamese pancakes fell apart but I think I may have used the wrong sort of rice flour. Most of what I’ve made has been received very enthusiastically by meat eaters too. I spent a happy afternoon making big batches of both the green and the massamun curry paste and freezing in portion sized blobs for quick dinners too.

I highly recommend this book and whether you’re new to Asian cuisine or a dab hand, I bet you’ll find something to drool over in it!

Things I’ve loved:
Chickpea Curry
Spiced courgette and potatoes
Sesame almond green beans
Spinach with sesame dressing
Cucumber salad with roasted cashews
Spicy green papaya salad
Green curry with aubergine and bamboo shoot
Massamun curry (a meat eating friend of mine said this was the nicest Thai food she has ever had!)
Gold bags

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