Member Reviews

A great cookbook full of vegan takes on Vietnamese food. All recipes are well set out and easy to follow

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really loved this cookbook!! While I’m not a vegan or vegetarian I eat 80% vegetarian so I’m always keen on plant based recipes. I don’t have much experience with Vietnamese cuisine but this book is easy to follow and I have made some nice dishes so far.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me access this book in exchange for my feedback.

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Full of amazing recipes that have become staple in my life. A great introduction in how to make good vegan food that is full of flavour and leaves you wanting seconds.

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I spent my time with this cookbook and really enjoyed testing a few recipes from it. The instructions are clear and easy to understand, ingredients are generally easy to find (though you should expect to visit either a well stocked grocery store or an east-asian market.) all the pictures were fantastic and mouthwatering which helped with deciding what to make. This is a great overarching cookbook for people interested in making vegan Vietnamese recipes - either to explore a cuisine new to them, or to veganize family favourites.

Thank you to the publisher and authour for access via Netgalley - it was a pleasure to review this.

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This was not a book I had a chance to attempt recipes of.
There were a lot more products in this, ones that I do not have access to or use enough to attempt several of the recipes.
The author has presented the options well, and there is a YouTube series for people who want the author's non-vegan versions as well.
Some of the pages in the book were not as clearly visible in the format I had access to but I think for people who like Asian flavours, this will be a good addition to their cookbook shelves.

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The photos are gorgeous which is a requirement for me for a cookbook. There's a photo for each recipe. And, while I haven't made any yet, the recipes are appealing with clear step by step instructions. I'm looking forward to trying them. Also, while the cookbook is vegan, I think meat eaters would be able to sub meat in if desired.

Thanks to the publisher for sharing a copy with me. All opinions are my own.

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I’m always on the lookout for Asian dishes that I can make at home because we aren’t able to go to Asian restaurants due to allergies. This book was accessible and made me feel like I could attempt to cook this cuisine.

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Huh who would have thought vegan Vietnamese?! Lots of wonderful vegan recipes although the vegan fish has me questioning. The pictures are beautiful.

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There are a vast number of plant based recipe books on the market nowadays. Standing out has become essential – and this is exactly what the book Vegan Vietnamese by Helen Le does. It’s been many years since I’ve eaten Vietnamese dishes. It’s not common to find restaurant that cater for the plant based diet. For example, fish sauce is such a staple in many of the recipes. The author, however, has put together the most wonderful range of vegan Vietnamese recipes.

Fish sauce – but vegan#
I was very impressed to find that the book started with a selection of sauces – most importantly a vegan fish sauce. Surprisingly easy to re-create at home without any speciality ingredients, this will become an ingredient in many dishes you can make throughout the book.

Mouth Watering

The amazing images will make your mouth water – it would be a beautiful book to leave on your coffee table for inspiration.

From simple salads and spring rolls, to braised and fried dishes, soups, rice and noodle dishes, there is something for everyone – and for every occasion.

The sweet and sour seitan is one of my favourite dishes in the whole book – and you don’t need to make your own seitan for it to be delicious. It’s a very simple recipe, with ingredients I already had in the kitchen cupboards at home.

I’m excited to try making my own pho, and also the braised ginger mushrooms. Honestly, I’ve never been so excited to cook!

Desserts

Let’s not forget the dessert section – my favourite being the crispy banana spring rolls. These do call for Asian dwarf bananas, but I created them with the small bananas from the Madeira region of Portugal (which we get in abundance here). You could just as easily use any banana and cut it into smaller pieces.

I highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to explore the world of plant-based Vegan Vietnamese recipes and expand their repertoire. You can buy it from good bookstores and online.

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Vegan Vietnamese: Vibrant Plant-Based Recipes to Enjoy Every Day has around 70 classic dishes that have been reconfigured without meat. The author has included pretty photographs of both the region and the finished dishes, giving the cookbook a very vibrant look. The introduction includes a good list of necessary ingredients and instruction on how to prepare certain essentials.

The recipes are separated in the following sections, listed below with some of the standout dishes.

Sauces, Condiments, & Pickles: Vegan Fish Sauce; Chili Jam; Scallion Oil

Salads, Wraps, & Rolls: Vegan Chicken Salad; Crispy Spring Rolls

Braised, Fried, Stir-Fried, & Grilled Dishes: Spicy Tofu; Oyster Mushroom Stir-Fry with Tumeric

Soups & Noodles: Thai-Style Sweet-and-Sour Soup; Spicy Noodle Soup

Rice & Sticky Rice Dishes: Pineapple Fried Rice; Black Bean Sticky Rice

Breads & Dumplings: Bahn Mi; Steamed Rice Cakes

Desserts & Snacks: Crispy Banana Spring Rolls; Crispy Macaroni

Vegan Vietnamese is a good cookbook overall and one that might entice even the pickiest eaters to have more plant-based foods.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy by NetGalley and the publisher. The decision to read and review this cookbook was entirely my own.

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The book begins with a list of the most used ingredients in Vietnamese cuisine, and how they should be prepared and stored. And then with each recipe we are introduced to it with a little culture.
These details and attention are what make the book more than a cookbook, they make it an ally in taking us into Vietnamese culture.

The images are stunning, and make your mouth water just looking at them. But after the smells of food preparation fill the kitchen, we are rewarded with tremendously tasty dishes.

As a vegetarian, I think there was a real lack of something like this. This way I can try traditional Vietnamese recipes made for me.

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My husband has been vegan for close to three years and I try and focus on eating more plant-based foods. We LOVE Vietnamese food and are very excited to finally have access to vegan Viatnamese recipes. The recipes are very accessible and use ingredients that are available online or at a local Asian market. The author lists recipes as easy, moderate or advanced, so you'll know the amount of time and effort that goes into making each dish. This will definitely be a cookbook that I plan to purchase.

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I use cookbooks mainly for inspiration, and hardly ever follow recipes. Though the book was nice enough looking, I never felt like any of the recipes pushed me to cook anything. I kept thinking “I should probably find a recipe and make something like it”, but I never did. Also, in my opinion, it was quite clear that it was made by a meat eater. It had lots of potential, but for me it didn’t make the right fit. I’m sure others, especially meat eaters looking into cutting down on their meat, will find it helpful. It for sure has it’s audience, I’m unfortunately not among them.

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I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautiful cook book! It's fully of plant-based recipes for Vietnamese dishes and photos to reference. There's a variety of recipes throughout the book and highlights how versatile a plant-based diet can be, even if you're not vegan.

Overall a nice read.

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This recipe book is a perfectly formed cookbook full of simple and more complex Vietnamese dishes made vegan. From the staple fish sauce and roasted garlic chilli peanuts to a ‘broken rice plate’, traditional pho and bánh mì, Vegan Vietnamese is easy to follow and a wonderful way to be introduced to a delicious cuisine.

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This is a beautifully designed book. Every recipe has a photo which I really appreciated. Metric measurements were also provided which was great for me and made the recipes much more accessible.

There was a comprehensive section at the start which covered the essentials, sauces, and ingredients. It was a great reference and I learnt how to make sticky rice.

I have a lot of food intolerances which means I couldn't taste test all of the recipes, mostly the ones with tofu or seitan. It's still a great resource and such a pretty book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

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Interesting set of vegan recipes although heavy on the tofu and mushrooms, I'd hoped for a wider variety of protein sources. Metric measurements in brackets so that's good. Lovely illustrations make the dishes mostly appealing. Some of the ingredients need specialist Asian shops/internet - banana flowers, pandan leaves and lotus roots for example. Comprehensive lists of basic ingredients/flavourings and so on at the start with instructions for making a selection of sauces, dips and pickles. All very easy to do. Overall, a useful book with a good range of vegan dishes. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

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Gorgeous and mouth watering cookbook! I love the huge variety of recipes. The pictures are beautiful. I can't wait to try these recipes!

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This will be constant go to for me!! The recipes in this cookbook are so good. Pretty sure Pickled Mung Bean Sprouts might be a new staple in my house, I could just eat them by the spoonful. The pictures are beautiful.

Recipes are heavy on tofu and mushrooms but as a huge lover of both, I appreciated it.

Recipes I tried (and loved):
*Pickled Mung Bean Sprouts
*Braised Tofu with Pineapple and Mushrooms
*Crepes with Mushrooms
*Crispy Spring Rolls (Mine fell apart but were still delicious.)
*Lemongrass Chili Tofu

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and try these wonderful recipes!

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A great selection of easy to follow recipes accompanied by beautiful photographs. I'm looking forward to trying out many of these recipes, especially the lemongrass chili tofu and the pineapple fried rice.

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