East Meets Vegan

The author of this book was born in Singapore and is now a med student at Oxford University. She became a vegan and learned to reinvent cherished family recipes to maintain the flavors that she loved, while omitting the animal products. The recipes were designed “to be accessible, affordable and easy to whip up”. At the beginning of the book are sections on pantry items and equipment used. The author is under the impression that ingredients like makrut lime leaves, lemongrass, jackfruit and palm sugar are available in local supermarkets. Well, maybe in England, but I don’t think I would have much luck finding them without a trip to an Asian market. Also, you can find anything online. The list of necessary spices didn’t have anything that is not readily available to me. The book has beautiful photos of most dishes. Each recipe gives the preparation and cooking times. The prep time was usually under 30 minutes. I’ve been a vegetarian for many years and wanted to eat everything in this book, but not necessarily cook everything, since some of these recipes seemed like a lot of work. I really have no complaints about the book. The food looks good and the author’s writing style is charming.

Examples of recipes:

India. Cauliflower samosas, Creamy spinach curry with crispy tofu, Tandoori cauliflower “wings” (that looked amazingly like fried chicken), Sweet potato and onion pakoras, Vegan “butter chicken”

Thailand. Tofu pad thai, Mushroom tom yum soup, Thai green curry, Pineapple fried rice, Thai basil “chicken”, Sweet corn fritters

Singapore and Malaysia. Satay, Fluffy peanut pancake, Popiah spring rolls, Nasi lemak, Pandan and coconut dumplings

China. Rice noodle rolls, Mushroom and chive dumplings, “Egg drop” soup, Peanut meltaway cookies

Japan. Teriyaki tofu, Baked tempura, Japanese curry, Squash katsu-don, Shiitake “tonkotsu” ramen

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

This book is so diverse I adore it! My favorite type of food always has been Asian food.
Transitioning into veganism and finding Asian food to replace all my favorites with meat in it has always been a challenge. Luckily, living in NYC veganism has massively grown and it has become less of a challenge for me to eat my favorites.
East Meets Vegan has all of my favorites and some new dishes I am excited to try. I love to cook and experiment with new ingredients and tools. A lot of the recipes contain items I have never used and I am so delighted for new challenges. With East Meets Vegan, I don't have to spend another dime on take out or dining out! I can find the joy of making new dishes and some old favorites right at the comfort of my home.
East Meets Vegan is the cookbook I have been searching for two years!
Thank you Sasha Gill for making this beautiful book, you are brilliant!

Oh my. A whole book of Asian recipes that are all vegan? Yes, please! There are recipes from India, Thailand, Singapore & Malaysia, China and Japan, making for a huge variety of foods to tempt the home cook. The accompanying photos are very well done. There are so many recipes here I want to try. I'll definitely be adding a copy of this one to my permanent collection when it's published!

Thank you to The Experiment and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Amazing vegan recipes with great visuals and diagrams to aid in creation. The samosa one was very straightforward. I love the vibrancy and many spices featured in Eastern cuisine. The mint and cucumber raisa sounds like a too easy compliment for curry, There were also featured lassi recipes including one with a twist. This cookbook features a great mix of recipes for all different levels of expertise.

Tidy collection of vegan versions of popular dishes from China, Japan, Thailand, India, Singapore and Malaysia. You'll find Ma Po Dofu, Rendang, Katsudon, Kofta, Kaya and more. Very colorful, a nice pretty gift of a book.

Every aspect of this book is enjoyable. From the recipes, to the photography, to the intimate personal information Gill shares about her own journey becoming vegan, East Meets Vegan is a comprehensive guide on how to enjoy traditional Eastern meals without any animal products.

This beautiful cookbook is filled with amazing pictures and stories about the author and her love of Eastern food. Most of the recipes have ingredients that will be easy to locate in any grocery store and her recipes are super easy to follow. I love the bright and vibrant pictures throughout the book.

A cookbook filled with Asian recipes that also happen to be 100% vegan?! Dreams really do come true! I read through the entire cookbook in one sitting, it looks amazing!! I cannot wait until the physical cookbook is released, I am going to buy it and cook my way through the entire thing!

The introduction was great, I especially liked how, the author, Sasha Gill, as a student at university, knows that: 1) not everyone has a fully stocked pantry full of spices and appliances waiting for them at home; 2) not every one has the money to fully stock their pantry in one shopping trip; and 3) not every one has an unlimited amount of time/energy to cook a complicated meal.

There is a section in the beginning that lists easy substitutions for ingredients that are hard to find or, for example, if you don’t have a specialty flour listed, she gives a few common substitutions to use in its place. The recipes all left me wanting to rush home and start cooking! I really liked each of the recipe descriptions and how she tells a story about the dish, gives tips and tricks, and recipe pairings with other recipes throughout the cookbook. Toward the back of the book, there is a whole section on mixing and matching your leftovers from the cookbook; it’s a great idea that I haven’t seen in one of my cookbooks (and I have a fairly large collection).

Honestly, this cookbook can’t be released soon enough; I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy!

The first thing I loved right away was the index in the back! I could search for any ingredient and find all the recipes that called for that ingredient. That was so handy!! As for the recipes, I confess I didn't make them all, but what I did make was delicious and easy, don't be intimidated by ingredient lists, they're mostly spices. The Vegan Butter "Chicken" was amazing and I didn't make my own seitan. I recommend making the cucumber relish and putting it on EVERYTHING; it's that amazing!! Like just eat it with a fork amazing! The Kofta Curry was also very flavorful and I will make it again as well as the pineapple fried rice. That was an interesting take on traditional fried rice and I really recommend it, the pineapple added just the right something to make it really special. The recipes on my list to make next are the Peddlers Noodles (mmm a big bowl of noodles is perfect for this snowy winter!) and the Jackfruit Biryani. I've not really experimented with the whole jackfruit as meat thing yet so I'm looking forward to it. I'm also positive I'm going to love the Yakisoba Stir Fry so that's on deck for this weekend and the lettuce cups I'm sure are going to be in regular rotation for work lunches. I highly recommend this cookbook for anyone looking to dive into more Eastern cooking and/or those looking for flavorful & varietal vegan recipes. There is truly something in here for everyone.

Having recently spent 5 months in SE Asia, the sections on Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand brought flooded me with a wonderland of gastronomical memories. All of our favorite recipes from street food to regional dishes were accounted for. The transformation of these traditional dishes to vegan with clear attention to texture and vibrant flavor make me eager to work my way through this entire cookbook. Cuisine of India, China and Japan are also included and while I am quite familiar with all of these cuisines, I was delighted to discover new intriguing recipes to try.

I love this book!

My fiance and I are foodies but we also like cooking at home and this book gave us the ability to enjoy ethnic tastes in our own kitchen! We found the directions easy to follow and while we occasionally had to search out ingredients, we found the exercise beneficial as it facilitated the discovery of shops we'd never visited in our own backyard.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review East Meets Vegan. The following is, as always, my honest opinion.

To start, it is a beautifully put together book. It is filled with bright and colorful photos. Nice layouts. The recipes themselves are clear and easy to read.

I tried the "Butter Chicken" recipe. The instructions were very easy to understand and follow. Most importantly, it was absolutely delicious. The two omnivores that ate it also loved it. As I am gluten free, I used the recipe included alternative of tofu instead of seitan. Love that it is a feature.

I would recommend this to vegans and non-vegans wanting to try it out or eat a little healthier.

I almost never request cookbooks from Netgalley, but East Meets Vegan looked so enticing that I couldn’t resist. The author’s heritage is Indian and Eurasian, and she grew up in Singapore, so I figured that (but for the substitution of plant-based foods for animal products and some other creative experimentation) the recipes would be authentic as well as tasty. And they do indeed look delicious.

The cookbook falls into six different sections: Basic Recipes and Techniques, India, Thailand, Singapore & Malaysia, China and Japan. In its pages are both familiar favorites (Dal Makhani, Cucumber and Mint Raita, Tofu Pad Thai, Thai Green Curry, Satay, Sambal, Scallion Pancakes, Mapo Tofu, Baked Tempura and Shiitake “Tonkotsu” Ramen) and new-to-me dishes (Cauliflower Samosas, Fennel and Parsnip Tarka Dal, Thai-Style Ocean Cakes, Sweetcorn Fritters, Malaysian Rojak Salad, Tempeh Rendang, Gua Bao with Sweet Potato “Belly,” and Hong Kong “Egg” Tarts).

There are color photographs of most of the recipes, and directions are straightforward. Occasionally, some unusual ingredients are called for, but that is only to be expected of a cookbook that is both vegan and one of Asian recipes. On the whole, it seems very accessible for the kind of cookbook it is, and I very much look forward to cooking from it.

In fact, I like the look of it so much that despite having received an advanced reading copy from the publisher, I ordered it from Amazon in the hopes that the book will sell well enough that there will be more cookbooks from Sasha Gill.

East Meets Vegan is a wonderful cookbook with delicious recipes and incredibly concise instructions. As an educator, a father, and an uncle, this book hits all of my criteria for a staple cookbook in the pantry: easy, yummy, beautiful, and more. Even the kids enjoy it! So far we've tried about four different recipes from each section, let alone the neat division of recipes based on geography.

I would highly recommend this book to everybody looking for a healthy and cultural twist on cult classics.

This was a very well written cookbook. I found the layout to flow well and the recipes were easy to understand and follow along to. I look forward to trying some of them out for my family.

Pretty and colorful - which I love in a cookbook. Directions are concise and the ingredient lists aren't too obscure, which is a plus. The pictures are really appetizing and there are a few recipes I really want to try like the vegan naan and the creamy carrot halwa. I love how the book is organized by region too!

I was so excited when I stumbled upon this cookbook. My husband and I have always enjoyed eating and preparing Asian meals. In April of 2018, we started following a vegan / plant based diet and have never regretted that decision. It was definitely an adjustment at first and took a lot of research and prep along the way. We relied heavily on social media and a few popular vegan cookbooks to help guide us on our new lifestyle.

East Meets Vegan is a wonderful resource that I will eagerly add to our collection and will recommend as a staple to any kitchen bookshelf. The book is incredibly colorful and includes vivid pictures with easy to follow instructions. It begins with a brief author intro as well as a few pages about pantry essentials, equipment, and certain explanations about techniques that you will find throughout the recipes. The book is broken down into color coded sections: India, Thailand, Singapore / Malaysia, China and Japan. I loved the personal messages that the author used to describe each dish. They included great memories, helpful information and came across very relatable.

The recipes are fantastic and include easy to shop for ingredients. The ones I flagged to make first are: Cauliflower Samosas, Creamy Spinach Curry with Crispy Tofu, Tandoori Cauliflower “Wings”, Sweet Potato and Onion Pakoras, Tofu Pad Thai, Pineapple Fried Rice, Thai Basil “Chicken”, Mango Sticky Rice, Fluffy Peanut Pancake, Vegan Roti John, Mushroom and Chive Dumplings, Scallion Pancakes, Sweet and Sour Mushrooms, Dumpling Noodles, Teriyaki Tofu, Japanese Curry and Yaki Soba Stir Fry, As you can see, I have lots of new meals to try out.

Overall, this is a fantastic cookbook for anyone interested in Asian cuisine and /or vegan cooking. It would make a wonderful gift as well.

The food in this book is so delicious!! I love that this is a different sort of book that talks more about the delicious food from the other side of the world from where I am at. She talks about the origins of some of the dishes as well as the twists and how they were originally created. Just to add in, the pictures in this book are beautiful and really just make you want to try and make the food. I am not a chef, but I enjoy trying to cook new foods and this was a great book for learning how to do this.

This is a beautifully illustrated cookbook of vegan Asian recipes broken down by region (India, China, etc.). It's full of information on creating authentic tasting dishes and provides a symbol to show you which recipes are GF and which are spicy. There are color photos of most recipes. They seem a little on the complicated side and you will need to buy some specialty ingredients, but they seem quite doable. This would make a great cookbook for those who want to expand their vegan cooking or who are looking for great Asian recipes in general.

I love Asian food and was very excited since this cookbook is uniquely laid out by country, i.e. India, Thailand, China, Japan, etc. There are many recipes I look forward to making like Tofu Pad Thai, Teriyaki Tofu, Naan Bread, Mint Chutney, Pineapple Fried Rice, and more. I also love that in the back of the book she provided a whole section on how to mix and match your leftovers --a very clever idea that I haven't seen done by any other cookbook author!

*Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley. However, all opinions are my own.*