Big Vegan Flavor

Big Vegan Flavor

by Nisha Vora
Genres: Cooking / Vegan
Published on September 3, 2024
Pages: 608
Format: eBook Source: Library
Amazon

The instant New York Times bestseller

A groundbreaking and comprehensive “vegan flavor bible”—with 150 must-make recipes—from the wildly popular home cook and creator behind Rainbow Plant Life

With more than two million devoted fans online, Nisha Vora has become the trusted source for exceptional vegan recipes for the home cook. That’s because of her “flavor first” philosophy. It's an approach she’s honed nearly a decade creating plant-based dishes that just plain taste amazing, labels aside. Now she’s created an essential, comprehensive guide that codifies the principles of plant-based cooking for the first time, from how to coax the most out of your ingredients and how to understand essential flavor pairings, to how to achieve impossible-to-resist, must-have-more textures and embrace the myriad ways vegetables can be enjoyed: roasted, caramelized, braised, pampered in bold marinades and umami-rich sauces, and so much more.

As Nisha demonstrates in this groundbreaking book, the creative possibilities are endless thanks to the rich variety in the plant-based kingdom and the infinite and exciting ways there are to achieve big flavor.

This book illuminates not only the how, but the why of these fundamental principles so that anyone can boost their confidence and reach their full, plant-savvy potential in the kitchen—whether they like to rotate in a few veggie meals a week, or they are experienced home cooks looking for next-level, wow-worthy meals. With more than 150 globally-inspired recipes, easy “flavor boosters” that add depth or pop to all kinds of dishes, simple swaps for whatever you’re craving or have on-hand, make ahead tips, and more, Big Vegan Flavor is packed with ideas and inspiration. Each recipe offers a quick tutorial: Dishes like Miso Butter-Seared King Oyster Scallops will teach you how to brine plants until perfectly tender. Chai-Spiced Custard Tart with Mango will open your eyes to the power of a good spice blend and a sweet-tangy, creamy-crunchy dessert. Or use Nisha’s favorite protein, grains, and sauce recipes to create mix-and-match meals that always excite.

A timely and visionary cookbook, Big Vegan Flavor is destined to become a classic.

I’ve watched Nisha Vora a lot on YouTube. Her channel, Rainbow Plant Life, is very popular. It was just a matter of time until she had a cookbook. But she’s really gone above and beyond with this one.

First off, it’s huge. This book is over 600 pages. I’m glad I read it as an ebook. It also has a very large front section that discusses theory. A lot of vegan cookbooks do this but this is different. This isn’t the typical “Don’t be afraid of vegetables.” This assumes that you are eating vegetables because you want to instead of under duress. It focuses on ways to increase flavors in your sauces and bring out stronger flavors in your meals.

She talks a lot about the theories behind mixing salt, sugar, heat, acid, and aromatics effectively.  This can help elevate any kind of cuisine that you are cooking. She writes about layering flavors in a dish by roasting spices or sautéing aromatics or adding in different salty ingredients at different stages of cooking. I found this section fairly interesting. She recommended several specific ingredients for each taste that I haven’t tried before that I am going to try to find like Aleppo pepper flakes or Gochugaru flakes for heat instead of red pepper or cayenne for a change. I’ve already tried some of her techniques to perk up my basic stir fry sauce and it did make it better.

I’ve never been a big fan of adding acid or oil to recipes though so she was losing me there.  I don’t know if I just can’t taste it well or not but I’ve never been able to sense a lot of difference from adding lemon or lime juice to a dish. I absolutely can’t stand oil in food. Every time she’s wax poetically about adding a pour of oil to a dish at the end for a “velvety mouthfeel” I’d gag and move on. So gross.

Even though we have major palate differences I did save some recipes to try.  

  • Saucy beans in sofrito
  • Indian-spiced charred corn salad (I make a Mexican street corn-style salad for potlucks. I already have to back off the spices when taking it to my very white Midwestern family dinners. I’ll have to keep this version to myself.)
  • Plantains and black beans in charred poblano sauce
  • Mushroom carnitas tacos
  • Chai-spiced custard tart with mango
  • Chocolate mousse with raspberry compote
  • Creamy baked wild rice with carrots – This is going to be a Thanksgiving dish this year.
Snapshot
From Big Vegan Flavor