Authentic Chinese Cuisine [Paperback]

Bryanna Clark Grogan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2001

This book stands out among the many Chinese vegetarian cookbooks available with its many innovative recipes for vegetarian "mock meat" dishes, just like those you'd enjoy in Buddhist restaurants. These recipes are as authentic as possible, without calling for extremely exotic ingredients that may be very hard for anyone outside of a large city to find.

Best-selling cookbook author Bryanna Clark Grogan, well known for her in-depth exploration of global cuisine, generously shares her knowledge of Chinese ingredients and cooking techniques, helping to enrich your experiences with her superbly crafted recipes. Chinese vegetarian cuisine can provide variation and culinary delight along with nutritional excellence.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bryanna Clark Grogan has been a food writer and teacher for more than 30 years. Her interest in cooking began before she can remember and having her first child sparked a lifelong interest in nutrition. She is also the author of Authentic Chinese Cooking, Soyfoods Cooking for A Positive Menopause, Nonna's Italian Kitchen, 20 Minutes to Dinner, The Almost No Fat Cookbook, and The Almost No Fat Holiday Cookbook.. She lives with her husband Brian on idyllic Denman Island, off the coast of Vancouver.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Book Publishing Company (TN); 1 edition (January 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157067101X
• ISBN-13: 978-1570671012
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 7.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #160,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > Asian > Chinese

More About the Author

To see more than 100 photos of recipes in "World Vegan Feast", go to: http://tinyurl.com/6vbksdn
Bryanna is the author of 8 popular vegan cookbooks, including the new release, World Vegan Feast, vegan bestseller "Nonna's Italian Kitchen", and is co-author of several others. She wrote and published the popular subscription newsletter, the Vegan Feast, for 5 years, and maintains a vegan cooking blog, veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.com.

Bryanna has devoted over 40 years to the study of cooking and nutrition, the last 23 to vegan cooking. Eighteen of her (pre-vegetarian) recipes appeared in The Harrowsmith Cookbook, Vol. I and some in The Harrowsmith Pasta Cookbook, as well. She wrote newspaper cooking columns for over 20 years, wrote and edited a newsletter on bread and sourdough, and was a frequent contributor and reviewer for Vegetarian Times magazine for 5 years. In 2001 she became a "resident expert" and moderator of the Vegsource New Vegetarian discussion board.

She has conducted cooking workshops and classes in her local area and at numerous health and vegetarian conferences and gatherings in North America over the years (including several NAVS Summerfests). In February 2002 she was a guest speaker at the International Scientific Conference on Chinese Plant Based Nutrition and Cuisine in Philadelphia, hosted by the American Vegan Societyand the Institute for Plant Based Nutrition. Over several years, Bryanna has demonstrated some of her recipes and signed books at the Vegetarians of Washington 2-day "Vegfest" in Seattle, and has also appeared at the Portland, Oregon's VegFest. Some of her recipes appear in the Seattle VegFest cookbook, The Veg-Feasting Cookbook . In April of 2006 and 2007, Bryanna was the only Canadian presenting, alongside many reknowned vegan chefs and restauranteurs, at the Vegetarian Awakening vegan chefs' conference in Grand Rapids, MI. Bryanna has also presented at the McDougall Celebrity Chef Weekend in Santa Rosa, CA. She appeared as a panelist on 2 panels (Nutrition and Publishing) at the 1st vegan bloggers conference in Portland,OR. the VidaVeganCon in August 2011.

Her recipes also appear on Dr. Andrew Weil's website, and his new HealthyAging site, and in Howard Lyman's ("the Mad Cowboy", a former cattle rancher turned vegan activist) book, No More Bull!. Some of her recipes also appear in Cooking with PETA.

Clinical researcher Dr. Neal Barnard of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine asked Bryanna to develop recipes for his ground-breaking book on diabetes, "Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes Without Drugs". Bryanna appears in the new vegan cooking DVD "Everyday Dish" with authors Julie Hasson and Dreena Burton. She is currently working on recipes and research for an exciting new book with David Lee, founder of the Fieldroast company in Seattle, WA. She is also working on a book on making homemade seitan in a number of ways.

Bryanna was born in California, but has resided in British Columbia, Canada for many years. She raised a family of four children, two foster sons, and also has two stepsons, and 9 grandchildren. She was a La Leche League leader (mother-to-mother breastfeeding support) for several years and taught cooking and baking at LLL International conferences in Chicago, Kansas City, Washington, DC and Anaheim, as well as serving as an Associate Editor for the LLL official cookbook, Whole Foods for the Whole Family, still in print (NAL Books). She was also instrumental in opening the first vegetarian restaurant in Courtenay, BC.

Bryanna loves experimenting and learning. The main focus of her cooking is low-fat vegan cooking, particularly ethnic cooking. She is considered an expert at making tofu appealing to die-hard "soyaphobes", but in her books World Vegan Feast, 20 Minutes to Dinner, Nonna's Italian Kitchen, she has addressed the needs of vegans allergic to soy by providing non-soy alternatives to most of the soy-based recipes. With each book she learns more about the processes of cooking--how and why things work. Her great joy is sharing what she's learned with others, and she delights in helping vegans keep true to their heritage through "veganizing" their family and national recipes.

Bryanna has run a small branch of the Vancouver Is. Regional Library for 30 years and hopes to write a mystery novel someday with a vegan detective, combining two of her life interests. She also loves dancing, particularly Middle Eastern and Latin, and danced with the Melissae Dance Company of Denman Island, BC for 6 years.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Chinese cuisine by the greatest vegan cook!, November 17, 2002

By 

Søren Jensen (Copenhagen, Denmark) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Authentic Chinese Cuisine (Paperback)

Bryanna's Italian cookbook "Nonna's Italian Kitchen" must be the very finest ever example of vegan cookbook published to this date. And now she's done it again - with this wonderful vegan cookbook on Chinese cuisine, taking you all the way through dumplings, dim sum, noodles, soups, stir-fries, ... and vegetarian "mock-meats" that were invented thousands of years ago by strict buddhist monks. Whereas it used to be quite a work to rinse out the starch of a flour ball so that only the protein (gluten) was left, the arrival of pure gluten powder makes this a snap to prepare at home. While some recipes are somewhat elaborate which acquire some routine (making dumplings, spring rolls, etc.), there are several quick recipes (stir-fry chapter a.o.) that are very easy to prepare. It is an excellent cookbook if you love chinese foods, and the innovative inclusion of above-mentioned "mock-meats" makes it a cut above the rest. The pages are jam-packed with one tasty recipe after the other - this is a shining example that you do not need to feel deprived when embarking on a vegan diet.

26 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars for those pursuing a vegetarian life style, January 27, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Authentic Chinese Cuisine (Paperback)

Authentic Chinese Cuisine For The Contemporary Kitchen offers a superbly developed compendium of vegetarian Chinese recipes similar to those found in a Buddhist restaurant. Bryanna Grogan brings her expertise to bear in offering delicious, nutritious recipes for homemade "Mock Meats"; savory snacks and appetizers; dumplings and breads; rice; noodles, soups, and sauces; stir-fried dishes; braised, steamed, and stewed dishes; and even sweets. From Shanghai Spring Rolls, Mandarin Pancakes, and Savory Rice Porridge, to Duck Sauce, Buddha's Delight, and Walnut Cookies, Authentic Chinese Cuisine For The Contemporary Kitchen will quickly became a personal and family favorite for those pursuing a vegetarian lifestyle.

26 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This book is OK., July 22, 2006

By 

wonderbreadpowers - See all my reviews

This review is from: Authentic Chinese Cuisine (Paperback)

I appreciate what the author was trying to do with this book; it's great to have a source for Chinese-style mock meats. However, after trying several of the recipes, I found that they just aren't as good as I thought they would be.

I was excited to use vital wheat gluten to whip up a batch of seitan, but it turned out to be incredibly gummy. I assume this problem is avoidable, but the directions in the book don't give much guidance: "Mix until it forms a smooth, firm dough. Knead briefly." There's no information about what to do you if instead of a smooth dough, you end up with a rubbery, bouncy ball. (Perhaps it's better to mix and knead by hand rather than using my mixer? Tips like this would help a lot!)

As far as the regular recipes go, they are hit and miss. The simpler the recipe, the better they seem turn out. The page on Basic Stir-Fried Chinese Vegetables contains really useful information, and the recipe on the facing page for Stir Fried Chinese Broccoli is a winner. However, the "Beef" and Broccoli with "Oyster" Sauce and the Kung Pao "Chicken" are just OK, and Mapo Doufu was downright weird. But I will still continue to work my way through the book; I would like to try the Lemon "Chicken" and some of the versions of the Steamed Savory Filled Buns.

Overall, it is a decent resource for vegetarian Chinese cooking. For people who are interested in this topic, it's probably a good place to start. I would recommend using store-bought seitan though!