Mission Vegan
Wildly Delicious Food for Everyone
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
From the author of The Mission Chinese Food Cookbook, a fresh take on vegan and plant-based cooking that emphasizes freewheeling exploration and big flavor
As cofounder and chef of the famous Mission Chinese Food restaurants in San Francisco and New York, Danny Bowien has a reputation for inventive meat dishes like Chongqing Chicken Wings and Kung Pao Pastrami. Yet eight years ago, he became a dad, got sober, and quietly began to train his gift for creating exhilarating food on meat-free, dairy-free dishes. Soon, much of the Mission menu was vegan—not that anyone noticed. They were too busy eating it up.
That’s the kind of food you’ll find in Mission Vegan: fun, original, wildly flavorful dishes that’ll thrill devotees of Danny’s lamb ma po tofu, lifelong vegans, and everyone in between. His approach reflects the same “uniquely American” perspective--a blend of his particular upbringing and his boundless curiosity and enthusiasm--that has made him one of the country’s most influential chefs. It all adds up to a book where pasta pomodoro shares a chapter with chewy Korean buckwheat noodles topped with neon-pink dragonfruit ice; where one fried rice is inspired by veggie sushi hand rolls and another is a mash-up of his favorite Thai takeout and Jose Andres’ Spanish tortilla; and where kimchi is made kaleidoscopically with habanero, with pineapple, and with the seasoning packets from instant ramen.
And while these are all dishes that have appeared, or could appear, on Mission’s menu, the recipes are all geared for the home cook, delivering restaurant-quality impact without restaurant-level effort. Keeping the emphasis on the fun of cooking and experimenting in the kitchen, Mission Vegan represents a journey-in-progress, a chef’s mission to find inspiration, joy, and flavor in food, no matter where life takes you.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bowien (The Mission Chinese Food Cookbook), cofounder of New York and San Francisco's Mission Chinese restaurants, combines Korean influences and his own flair for the dramatic in this innovative collection of vegan delights. The fun kicks off with a variety of creative kimchis and pickles, including pineapple and watermelon kimchis that take less than a week to ferment, and passion fruit cucumber pickles and dried mushroom pickles. Tofu is in abundance in a colorful soup and stew chapter, as are thin noodles, with the two joining forces along with beans, mushrooms, and herbs in an army stew inspired by the ones first served up in the aftermath of the Korean War. There are plenty of spicy recipes that turn up the heat, but Bowien also excels in showcasing subtler flavors, too, as exemplified by a cold somyeon in iced soy milk. Similarly, an inventive section of fried rice dishes places delicate golden fried rice with enoki mushrooms next to the untamed dolsot-bibimbap with grapefruit gochujang. For dessert, there are twists on old favorites, such as seaweed Rice Krispies treats, as well as a marvelous burnt banana with blueberries and walnuts, featuring an entire, unpeeled banana charred black and resting in a berry sauce. Mixing bold ingredients and techniques, this enthralling collection will satisfy vegans and carnivores alike.
