Customer Reviews

Authentic Chinese Cuisine

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

I've got to give props to the author of this book for creating some really great seitan recipes that just work. It's a bit overwhelming to read, but has some really great info about working with an assortment of TVP products and also helpful brand suggestions when hitting the asian markets.
The tofu foo yung recipe is a staple at my house and is great any meal of the day. I have like 90 something vegan cookbooks and when I'm drawing a blank I usually reach for this one.

I found the recipes in this book to be easy to follow, and to me the food tastes just like restaurant Chinese food. I have had a great time shopping in the local Asian grocery store, but many of the ingredients can be purchsed at any grocer. I got adventurous and made potstickers and they are so yummy with the suggested dips, that I had to make more!

As someone who was born with a milk allergy, I have always loved Asian food. When authentically made, it is almost always dairy-free, yet rich with so many different flavors. I often take my ability to enjoy flavors of the East for granted, since cuisines such as Chinese can actually be a minefield for those who are on even more restrictive diets, such as gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, or vegan. In fact, in reading this cookbook (yes, I actually read all cookbooks before I trial recipes), my eyes were opened to just how may recipes use animal-based ingredients. The Chinese are not shy with their use of eggs, chicken, beef, pork, duck, seafood, and condiments such as oyster sauce.

While I can cook from most Chinese cookbooks, Bryanna made me realize that this isn't quite as easy for vegetarians. To solve this problem, she not only created mock recipes for meat-filled steamed dumplings, egg foo young, sweet and sour pork, and kung pao chicken, but she also goes to the root of the "problem," the ingredients. You will actually find recipes in this book for homemade, egg-free won ton wrappers and animal-free oyster sauce and duck sauce.

This cookbook really is a must have for vegetarians and vegans who are yearning for some good, comforting, Chinese food. For myself (a non-vegan), I am still happy to put this book among my petite collection of cookbooks that get used. The various homemade sauces look like they will be quite fun to experiment with, and I have been very curious to trial making Chinese buns and dumplings at home.

Bryanna focuses on authenticity with all of her regionally inspired cookbooks, yet you shouldn't need a trip to the Asian market when first starting out with this cookbook. Most of the recipes, including the homemade sauces, use everyday "American" ingredients, but in a few of the recipes, she doesn't hesitate to use Chinese vegetables.

Bryanna Clark Grogan does it again - demystifies great tasting vegan food for those of us who want to be able to cook at home and enjoy flavors that may have seemed only available from restaurant chefs. The instructions for home made seitan are worth the price of the book itself.

I am in love with this cookbook. I used to eat a lot of authentic Chinese food when I was younger and have been missing it for years. This book makes it so easy to recreate dishes that I used to eat as an omnivore and they taste even better as vegan! It took me about 3 trips to an Asian grocery store to get all of the ingredients that I needed but it was totally worth the effort. I love that the author even incorporated mock meats that you can find at the store, my favorite being "Mock Duck." If you're serious about venturing into Chinese cooking, you absolutely need this book.

The book lives up to it's name, it tastes like the food in China. Which is somewhat freaky in the case of several recipes, how many American's are used to black tree fungus & lily buds? But as far as the more universal flavors go, these recipes are spot on.

I bought the book after eating at a local zen center, where I discovered how amazing Asian mock meats can be. The Buddha's Chicken & all it's variations are what sold me on the book. If you don't eat meat & wish that you could still have good Chinese food, this book will definitely help you re-create the take-out experience, or even better the dim-sum experience!