A vegetarian follow-up to the very popular Chinese Soul Food cookbook that includes 75 plant-based comfort food recipes you can make at home.
Chinese Soul Food drew cooks into the kitchen with the assurance they could make this cuisine at home. Though a popular cuisine across North America, Chinese food can be a little intimidating. But author Hsiao-Ching Chou’s friendly and accessible recipes work for everyone, including average home cooks. In this new collection, you’ll find vegetarian recipes for stir-fries, rice and noodle dishes, soups, braises, and pickles. Of course, the book wouldn’t be complete without vegetarian versions of Chou’s famously delicious dumplings, including soup dumplings and shu mai, as well as other dim sum delights. Separate chapters feature egg and tofu recipes. From Cauliflower with Spiced Shallot Oil to Kung Pao Tofu Puffs, and from Hot and Sour Soup to Ma Po Tofu to Steamed Egg Custard, these recipes will satisfy your every craving for classic Chinese comfort food–and all without meat.
You will also find helpful information including essential equipment, core pantry ingredients (with acceptable substitutions), ways to season and maintain a wok, and other practical tips that make this an approachable cookbook. Home cooks are gently guided toward becoming comfortable cooking satisfying Chinese meals. Whether you’re a vegetarian or simply reducing the amount of meat in your daily diet, these foolproof recipes are made to be cooked any night of the week. As the author likes to say, any kitchen can be a Chinese kitchen!
Hsiao-Ching Chou is an award-winning food journalist, a cooking instructor, and communications consultant. She is a member of the James Beard Foundation cookbook committee and Les Dames d'Escoffier. Chou has been a guest on local and national shows, including Public Radio's The Splendid Table, the PBS documentary The Meaning of Food, and the Travel Channel's Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. In her spare time, she teaches popular everyday Chinese home cooking classes at the Hot Stove Society. She lives with her family in Seattle.
Named One of Delish's 10 Best Cookbooks of 2021
"[Hsiao-Ching Chou's] sole regret about her first cookbook, [Chinese Soul Food], is that she didn’t include more vegetarian recipes. Her second one—Vegetarian Chinese Soul Food—comes right when we could use more vegetables after overdoing the COVID-19 stay-home holidays. [Chou] concentrates on accessible assistance: mostly straightforward recipes, wok-buying advice, a guide to pantry ingredients, a vegetable tutorial and more."
—Seattle Times
"Hsiao-Ching Chou’s new cookbook is an exercise in exceptional approachability."
—Seattle Met magazine
"In this compact book Hsiao-Ching Chou, a Seattle-area cooking instructor who’s particularly popular for her dumpling classes, demonstrates the astonishing diversity and appeal of Chinese vegetarian cooking."
—Kitchen Arts & Letters
"Above all, Vegetarian Chinese Soul Food is another example of the author’s passion for sharing China’s storied cuisine. She’s committed to encouraging people to try their hands at creating exciting home-cooked meals that will leave them satisfied and perhaps a little surprised at their own abilities. Once again Chou proves that any kitchen can be a Chinese kitchen—even a vegetarian one."
—International Examiner
"The beauty of [this] cookbook, and Chinese cooking in general, is that it’s forgiving."
—Pittsburgh Post-GazetteNamed One of Delish's 10 Best Cookbooks of 2021
"[Hsiao-Ching Chou's] sole regret about her first cookbook, [Chinese Soul Food], is that she didn’t include more vegetarian recipes. Her second one—Vegetarian Chinese Soul Food—comes right when we could use more vegetables after overdoing the COVID-19 stay-home holidays. [Chou] concentrates on accessible assistance: mostly straightforward recipes, wok-buying advice, a guide to pantry ingredients, a vegetable tutorial and more."
—Seattle Times
"Hsiao-Ching Chou’s new cookbook is an exercise in exceptional approachability."
—Seattle Met magazine
"In this compact book Hsiao-Ching Chou, a Seattle-area cooking instructor who’s particularly popular for her dumpling classes, demonstrates the astonishing diversity and appeal of Chinese vegetarian cooking."
—Kitchen Arts & Letters
"Above all, Vegetarian Chinese Soul Food is another example of the author’s passion for sharing China’s storied cuisine. She’s committed to encouraging people to try their hands at creating exciting home-cooked meals that will leave them satisfied and perhaps a little surprised at their own abilities. Once again Chou proves that any kitchen can be a Chinese kitchen—even a vegetarian one."
—International Examiner
"The beauty of [this] cookbook, and Chinese cooking in general, is that it’s forgiving."
—Pittsburgh Post-GazetteNamed One of Delish's 10 Best Cookbooks of 2021
"[Hsiao-Ching Chou's] sole regret about her first cookbook, [Chinese Soul Food], is that she didn’t include more vegetarian recipes. Her second one—Vegetarian Chinese Soul Food—comes right when we could use more vegetables after overdoing the COVID-19 stay-home holidays. [Chou] concentrates on accessible assistance: mostly straightforward recipes, wok-buying advice, a guide to pantry ingredients, a vegetable tutorial and more."
—Seattle Times
"Hsiao-Ching Chou’s new cookbook is an exercise in exceptional approachability."
—Seattle Met magazine
"In this compact book Hsiao-Ching Chou, a Seattle-area cooking instructor who’s particularly popular for her dumpling classes, demonstrates the astonishing diversity and appeal of Chinese vegetarian cooking."
—Kitchen Arts & Letters
"Above all, Vegetarian Chinese Soul Food is another example of the author’s passion for sharing China’s storied cuisine. She’s committed to encouraging people to try their hands at creating exciting home-cooked meals that will leave them satisfied and perhaps a little surprised at their own abilities. Once again Chou proves that any kitchen can be a Chinese kitchen—even a vegetarian one."
—International Examiner
"The beauty of [this] cookbook, and Chinese cooking in general, is that it’s forgiving."
—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette