East: 120 Vegan and Vegetarian recipes from Bangalore to Beijing
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- Create Date：2021-03-28 12:17:54
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Meera Sodha
- ISBN：0241387566
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Summary
Modern， vibrant， easy-to-make food。 East is a must-have whether you're vegan， vegetarian， or simply want to eat more delicious meat-free food。
Drawing from her 'New Vegan' Guardian column， Meera Sodha's stunning new collection also features plenty of brand-new recipes inspired by a wide range of Asian cuisines。 There are warming noodles， curries， rice dishes， tofu， salads， sides and sweets， all surprisingly easy to make and bursting with exciting flavours。 Taking you from India to Indonesia， Singapore to Japan， by way of China， Thailand， and Vietnam， East will show you how to whip up a sprout nasi goreng and a swede laksa; how to make Kimchi pancakes， delicious dairy free black dal， and chilli tofu。 There are sweet potato momos for snacks and unexpected desserts like stem ginger chocolate truffles and matcha roll cake。
Drawing from her 'New Vegan' Guardian column， Meera Sodha's stunning new collection also features plenty of brand-new recipes inspired by a wide range of Asian cuisines。 There are warming noodles， curries， rice dishes， tofu， salads， sides and sweets， all surprisingly easy to make and bursting with exciting flavours。 Taking you from India to Indonesia， Singapore to Japan， by way of China， Thailand， and Vietnam， East will show you how to whip up a sprout nasi goreng and a swede laksa; how to make Kimchi pancakes， delicious dairy free black dal， and chilli tofu。 There are sweet potato momos for snacks and unexpected desserts like stem ginger chocolate truffles and matcha roll cake。
Reviews
Claire
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Cooked: Bombay rolls （amazing）Leek and chard martabak （very good） Roasted rutabaga noodle soup （I forget the name） Chile eggs （delicious） Will probably still cook: Roasted cabbage and carrots with gochujang
E
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Uninspiring。
Laura Steele
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Easily the best cook book I have ever owned。 I will make every single recipe from this over and over again。 I LOVE IT。
Bridget McGovern
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I very （impatiently） patiently waited for this cookbook as it was backordered for weeks at my local bookstore。 I’m a big fan of Meera Sodha’s column on the Guardian， the New Vegan， and considering this cookbook made it on a handful of Best Cookbooks of 2020， I was very excited。 Once I finally got the book， I sat down and read the entire book cover to cover。 I appreciate Meera Sodha’s ability to pleasantly surprise by bringing simple ingredients together in new ways。 And even if a recipe didn’t i I very （impatiently） patiently waited for this cookbook as it was backordered for weeks at my local bookstore。 I’m a big fan of Meera Sodha’s column on the Guardian， the New Vegan， and considering this cookbook made it on a handful of Best Cookbooks of 2020， I was very excited。 Once I finally got the book， I sat down and read the entire book cover to cover。 I appreciate Meera Sodha’s ability to pleasantly surprise by bringing simple ingredients together in new ways。 And even if a recipe didn’t immediately strike me as appealing， her description of it always had me excited for it by the end。 After reading every recipe and its description， it was impossible to choose which recipe to try first。 Fortunately， Sodha included an “Alternative Contents” at the beginning where she conveniently categorized a handful of recipes into her favorites， quick recipes， seasonal recipes， etc。 I’ve made nine recipes so far and each have truly been phenomenal。 I’ve tried to list them in order from best to good （as there have been no “bad” or even “okay” recipes）， but I have three tied for first。 Anyway， maybe someone overwhelmed by all the recipes will find it useful slash I will use it for future reference:1。 （Tie） Onigiri stuffed with walnut miso: Oh my goodness。 This was absolutely， unbelievably delicious。 I did make proper sushi rice （seasoned short-grain rice with vinegar， sugar， and salt）。 That was my only alteration， though。 But these looked beautiful， they tasted amazing。 That walnut miso is to die for， truly。 And they were so easy to make！1。 （Tie） Honey， soy， and ginger braised tofu: This was listed as one of Meera’s favorites and it did not disappoint。 As a vegan， I substituted maple syrup and I steamed broccoli， red bell pepper， and carrot。 I did make 1。5x the sauce just because I like things saucier。 Such a lovely marriage of flavors among the gochujang， pear， and ginger。 1。 （Tie） Eggplant larb with a shallot and peanut salad: I have never made such a beautiful dish。 It seriously looked exactly like the photo in the book and it was so easy。 For the salad， I didn’t have time to go to my Asian supermarket for Thai basil， so I had to substitute it with Italian basil and some mint。 （And I substituted the cilantro for parsley because I hate cilantro。） Regardless， it was so good， I plan to double the salad next time。 Truly divine。 I can’t emphasize enough how good it was。 2。 Peanut butter and broccolini pad Thai: I like Pad Thai， but I’m not crazy about it。 I wouldn’t order it at a restaurant or when people suggest it to make for dinner， I feel very “meh” about it。 With all that being said， this was for sure the best homemade pad Thai I’ve had and a recipe I will absolutely make again。 To be fair， it’s certainly not authentic if that’s what you’re going for。 The sauce was good and the whole meal was very satisfying。 3。 Mushroom bao: It was really hard to decide whether to place this before or after the pad Thai。 In the end， the bao is more time-consuming and isn't necessarily a dish I would make regularly， so I'm placing it after。 I made these for a family dinner and everyone loved them。 Even my mom， who is a voracious meat eater and finds a steak the pinnacle of all meals， claims the bao is just as satisfying as a steak。 That's a big statement。 They were full of flavor and， honestly， very easy to make。 I will certainly make these for another group dinner。 They were a crowd-pleaser， for sure。4。 Brussels sprout nasi goreng: I think I’ve always had Brussels sprouts roasted as a side or shaved in a salad。 This was a new interpretation of the vegetable for me and it was such a pleasant surprise。 The sauce was also easy to whip up and， once everything was chopped and prepared， it was super easy to come together。 I think some seared tofu would be good with it， too。 5。 Burmese mango salad with peanut and lime: I want to make this again。 I made this for a family dinner and tossed everything together beforehand， which yes， I know you shouldn't do but I lacked the Tupperware to separate everything。 Once we finally ate it （a couple hours after making it）， the vegetables lost their crunch， the garlic and onions were no longer crispy， and the salt brought out the juices of the vegetables。 So had I eaten it right after preparing it， I may have rated this higher。 I did use the leftovers， however， to make noodles in a peanut sauce with mushroom and tofu and it was very good。6。 Salted miso brownies: I am obsessed with all things miso so when I read that， I knew that was the first dessert I would try。 （Just a quick note: the cookbook is abundant with vegan and vegan option recipes。 The vast majority， in fact。 The dessert section is a tiny bit lackluster compared to the rest of the sections， however。） The brownies were decadent and heavenly。 Super dense and fudgy。 So rich。 They were a tad sweet for me that I’d be curious to experiment to see how much I can cut back on the sugar without drastically altering the integrity of the recipe。 7。 White miso ramen with tofu and asparagus: I was surprised that I didn’t like this as much as I expected。 The broth had a slight bite to it that I attribute to the onions not cooking all the way through。 I wonder if sauté-ing them for a bit before putting them in the blender would improve it。 Or perhaps I didn’t cook the broth for long enough。 Either way， it was still quite good。 But honestly， the best part about the dish was the asparagus。 I would certainly make that on its own again， and it was super quick to prepare。 。。。more
Ady
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Non-Fiction=No Rating， This book will be used though
Samantha
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I wanted to love this， but the Chinese/Southeast Asian recipes were just awful and lacked authentic flavours and I wouldn’t recommend this to any Southeast Asian （eg。 fried rice using freshly cooked rice instead of cold rice was a red flag for me）。 The Indian recipes were good though， the Bombay rolls and scrambled silky tofu were excellent， but overall I found this disappointing。
Hirondelle
，
This was a bit disapppointing。 Very beautiful presentation but the recipes feel a bit "well， how funny， I was hired to do a cookbook of vegan/vegetarian food， so I dug up through lots of cuisines and changed stuff to make it more Londoner and hip！"。 Some traditional recipes would have been good enough for me， preferable even。 The recipe writing was also a bit by the numbers。 In general a miss to me， though I found the dessert chapter was a lot more interesting to me and I just might cook from it This was a bit disapppointing。 Very beautiful presentation but the recipes feel a bit "well， how funny， I was hired to do a cookbook of vegan/vegetarian food， so I dug up through lots of cuisines and changed stuff to make it more Londoner and hip！"。 Some traditional recipes would have been good enough for me， preferable even。 The recipe writing was also a bit by the numbers。 In general a miss to me， though I found the dessert chapter was a lot more interesting to me and I just might cook from it。 。。。more
Leonie
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So I have borrowed a number of vegetable centric cookbooks from the library this year and have found each one to be more inspiring than the last。 I've cooked out of a few， but none has made me nearly so hungry as Meera Sodha's East。 I want to cook， and more importantly， eat， everything in it。 This is the one I am going to buy！ No need to borrow another cook book again。 So I have borrowed a number of vegetable centric cookbooks from the library this year and have found each one to be more inspiring than the last。 I've cooked out of a few， but none has made me nearly so hungry as Meera Sodha's East。 I want to cook， and more importantly， eat， everything in it。 This is the one I am going to buy！ No need to borrow another cook book again。 。。。more
Rachelle
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East。。。 the most current and culturally varied cookbook I've ever read。 Easy to prepare dishes with simple ingredients bring to life Asian cuisine focused on vegetables， a vegan and omnivore's delight。 Gorgeous plating and photography。 Loved author's notes and explanations with each recipe。 East。。。 the most current and culturally varied cookbook I've ever read。 Easy to prepare dishes with simple ingredients bring to life Asian cuisine focused on vegetables， a vegan and omnivore's delight。 Gorgeous plating and photography。 Loved author's notes and explanations with each recipe。 。。。more
Abbigail
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I was going to wait until I actually cooked something from this book to rate it， but considering everything I doubt I will make anything from it anytime soon。 The recipes seem to be very well written and easy to follow。 The pictures look amazing although the one with the tomato was kind of weird。 I get that it is artistic， but I'm way more interested in seeing what the meal actually looks like。 This book made me crave tofu which I think is a success in and of itself。 I was going to wait until I actually cooked something from this book to rate it， but considering everything I doubt I will make anything from it anytime soon。 The recipes seem to be very well written and easy to follow。 The pictures look amazing although the one with the tomato was kind of weird。 I get that it is artistic， but I'm way more interested in seeing what the meal actually looks like。 This book made me crave tofu which I think is a success in and of itself。 。。。more
Natasha Niethamer
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Such wonderful recipes with an explosion of unique flavors。 Before moving to the UK， I lived in California which has incredible Mexican food but extremely lacking in any quality Indian food （besides the stuff my mom makes of course having lived in India for a chunk of her life）。 Moving to the UK opened my eyes to the unique Indian spices/combinations I now have grown to love！ This book has taught me invaluable lessons about how to combine different spices such as fenugreek powder and garam masal Such wonderful recipes with an explosion of unique flavors。 Before moving to the UK， I lived in California which has incredible Mexican food but extremely lacking in any quality Indian food （besides the stuff my mom makes of course having lived in India for a chunk of her life）。 Moving to the UK opened my eyes to the unique Indian spices/combinations I now have grown to love！ This book has taught me invaluable lessons about how to combine different spices such as fenugreek powder and garam masala and one of my favorite flavors of all， sautéing mustard seeds/cumin seeds before a curry。 Besides the odd recipe that （in my opinion） needs a bit more salt， most recipes have been perfect in balancing different spices and avoiding any blandness。 Fantastic recipe book that I continue to regularly cook from！ - Oh， and I love the commentary by Meera as well。 Every time I read her little stories before a recipe， my heart warms a bit as it does feel like I'm talking to a friend。 。。。more
Hannah
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My favourite cooking book！ Veggie Asian food with a modern twist。 We regularly cook from this book and have discovered some new favourites such as the soy marinated eggs， the eggplant larb， or the Spring pilau。 We also regularly make the tofu scramble for breakfast， it's so good！ My favourite cooking book！ Veggie Asian food with a modern twist。 We regularly cook from this book and have discovered some new favourites such as the soy marinated eggs， the eggplant larb， or the Spring pilau。 We also regularly make the tofu scramble for breakfast， it's so good！ 。。。more
Elissa Mann
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My first cook book purchase of 2021 and so far， I have not cooked a bad recipe from here！！ The flavors are wonderful， the instructions are accessible， simple to follow， and great for weeknight and weekend cooking alike。 I am not a vegetarian but have been trying to cut down on meat and dairy and this book has offered so many delicious alternatives。 Highly highly recommend。
Linnette
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Different and unique Vegetarian and vegan recipes written to enhance already developed cooking skills and teach about new and different ingredients。 Insanely colorful and a joy to read。
Jamie
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Don't get me wrong， this book has so many great looking recipes I really want to try。 However， I don't "read" cookbooks just for the recipes， I read them for the voice of the cook and their stories。 Whilst Sodha is a very competent writer， I did find she lacked a "voice" that I crave when reading。 It was like I could have been reading anyone， and after I finished the book， I felt I came out not knowing much about the writer， except she ate in some fancy London restaurants and had travelled the w Don't get me wrong， this book has so many great looking recipes I really want to try。 However， I don't "read" cookbooks just for the recipes， I read them for the voice of the cook and their stories。 Whilst Sodha is a very competent writer， I did find she lacked a "voice" that I crave when reading。 It was like I could have been reading anyone， and after I finished the book， I felt I came out not knowing much about the writer， except she ate in some fancy London restaurants and had travelled the world。 You may not see this as a criticism; cookbooks are， as in the name， designed and written for you to cook from， so who cares what else is in there？ Especially now， when you can google any recipe and find it， what makes printing and publishing an entire book of them worthwhile？ The voice！ The writing。 The passion。 The tips and tricks and stories。 But， to me anyway， the best cookbooks are always about more than food。 。。。more
Victoria Wang
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My partner is vegetarian， so for the better part of a year， I've been mostly doing plant-based cooking。 At first， it was a bit of a struggle because many east Asian dishes have things like fish and shrimp additives to bump up the umami so the veggie versions always tasted bland in comparison。 I also am east Asian， so I'm very picky about authenticity in flavours — don't mind fusion-y takes but the flavours need to at least be similar enough。This cookbook has been an absolute game changer！！ Every My partner is vegetarian， so for the better part of a year， I've been mostly doing plant-based cooking。 At first， it was a bit of a struggle because many east Asian dishes have things like fish and shrimp additives to bump up the umami so the veggie versions always tasted bland in comparison。 I also am east Asian， so I'm very picky about authenticity in flavours — don't mind fusion-y takes but the flavours need to at least be similar enough。This cookbook has been an absolute game changer！！ Everything I've made so far tastes amazing， hits the right balance between authentic flavours and simplicity/accessibility。 The honey， ginger soy braised tofu is my go to quick dish （that pear + gochujang soy glaze is *chefs kiss*）。 The aubergine larb is my partner's absolute favourite。 Sure， if you're expecting the purple sprouted pad thai to taste just like the pad thai you'll find at a street stall in Bangkok， you might be disappointed。 But for quick-ish everyday meals， I cannot recommend this cookbook more。 。。。more
Lara
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This one。。。pretty much everything in it looks delicious and the food photography--mmm！ That said， I feel like a lot of the recipes would be a bit much for me to handle， but there are definitely a few that I'm planning to try， and I miiiight have to check this one out again at some point because it may just be that I'm feeling particularly lazy these days。 This one。。。pretty much everything in it looks delicious and the food photography--mmm！ That said， I feel like a lot of the recipes would be a bit much for me to handle， but there are definitely a few that I'm planning to try， and I miiiight have to check this one out again at some point because it may just be that I'm feeling particularly lazy these days。 。。。more
Swetha
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Straight-forward delectable collection of Asian and Indian recipes！
Judy
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I am a big fan of Meera Sodha's cookbooks。 Her writing is vivid， personal， and enthusiastic - she provides so much context for her recipes。 Her first two books featured Indian recipes， but in East she has collected delectable recipes from all over Asia。 I have read them all， and want to make so many！ Some of her ingredients may be hard to find in a traditional American supermarket - I recommend choosing a few recipes and ordering any ingredients you need （she lists sources at the end of the book I am a big fan of Meera Sodha's cookbooks。 Her writing is vivid， personal， and enthusiastic - she provides so much context for her recipes。 Her first two books featured Indian recipes， but in East she has collected delectable recipes from all over Asia。 I have read them all， and want to make so many！ Some of her ingredients may be hard to find in a traditional American supermarket - I recommend choosing a few recipes and ordering any ingredients you need （she lists sources at the end of the book）。 。。。more
Jodi Geever
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The spice blends & oils likely will be a challenge for most home cooks to find。 But the photos are stunning and the charts about rice and tofu varieties will be helpful。
Megan Barrie
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If I ever go to London， I'm tracking down all the places Meera writes about creating riffs on。 I've already made a few of the dishes and they make me so happy how approachable they are。 For anyone who wants to get into cooking， I feel like she does an incredible job of designing recipes that are plant forward and telling little stories along the way。 If I ever go to London， I'm tracking down all the places Meera writes about creating riffs on。 I've already made a few of the dishes and they make me so happy how approachable they are。 For anyone who wants to get into cooking， I feel like she does an incredible job of designing recipes that are plant forward and telling little stories along the way。 。。。more
Heidee
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A vegetarian recipe book that doesn't solely rely on beans and pulse！ A vegetarian recipe book that doesn't solely rely on beans and pulse！ 。。。more
Hannah Lane
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The best for vegans💚
Hilary
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I received this wonderful book for a Christmas present。 I haven't been able to put it down and have tried recipes from it everyday since and they have all worked well and been absolutely delicious and like nothing I have tasted before！There are beautiful photos that will really get you drooling and I was pleasantly surprised how well the instructions are written。 There's an interesting paragraph or two about each recipe but the instructions themselves are very straightforward， I really appreciat I received this wonderful book for a Christmas present。 I haven't been able to put it down and have tried recipes from it everyday since and they have all worked well and been absolutely delicious and like nothing I have tasted before！There are beautiful photos that will really get you drooling and I was pleasantly surprised how well the instructions are written。 There's an interesting paragraph or two about each recipe but the instructions themselves are very straightforward， I really appreciate that they are easy to refer to whilst in the throws of cookery and not long winded （Delia- much as I enjoy hers）Most recipes use ingredients I could source from the local supermarket， I appreciated there were substitute suggestions for more hard to find ingredients such as using dry sherry in place of saki。 One minor downside for me was the ingredients are only listed with grams and not ounces but luckily I also got some electric scales for Christmas so I was saved the pain of having to convert the measurements to use my scales with weights。The Mushroom Bao was delicious and surprisingly easy to make， I have never attempted to make steamed bread before so expected this to end in disaster but they actually looked just like the photo！ The caramelised onion and chilli ramen was amazing， as was the chilli tofu and shitake pho。 There's an alternative contents table which makes suggestions under categories such as breakfast， quick lunch， picnics and seasonal food。Really interesting collection， it's such a pleasure to look through and a constant joy to choose which one to try next。 Highly recommended， a great gift for someone who loves cooking and trying new meals as it's also a beautiful book to look through。 。。。more
Mary
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Started my 2021 'Cook the Book' plan early。 Plan is to cook several 3-5 recipes from cookbooks every month。 Borrowing from the library and buying when they are excellent。 And this cookbook is excellent I'm 5 for 5 with recipes tried and liked and there are enough other ones I want to try that I bought the book。 Recipes are easy to make， don't require any special equipment and contain mostly easy to find ingredients。 Brussels Sprout Nasi Goreng - Never really eat brussel sprouts but this seemed l Started my 2021 'Cook the Book' plan early。 Plan is to cook several 3-5 recipes from cookbooks every month。 Borrowing from the library and buying when they are excellent。 And this cookbook is excellent I'm 5 for 5 with recipes tried and liked and there are enough other ones I want to try that I bought the book。 Recipes are easy to make， don't require any special equipment and contain mostly easy to find ingredients。 Brussels Sprout Nasi Goreng - Never really eat brussel sprouts but this seemed like a stir fried rice dish。 Only one specialty ingredient kecap manis that you can diy with soy and brown sugar。Bombay Rolls - blender a herb chutney add some cheese and roll up in puff pastry。 little salty which is easy to adjust but otherwise so good。Koren Egg Bread - Simple bread made in a loaf pan with hard boiled eggs inside。 Little bit smoky from the smoked paprika so will half with regular paprika next time。 Fabulous toasted for breakfast。Roasted carrots and cabbage - That pretty much what this one is with a nice marinade。 Even though I got distracted and burnt most of the carrots what I managed to save was good。Banana Tarte Tatin - Yummy， easy and uses the other puff pastry sheet （see Bombay Rolls）。All recipe results vetted by a neighbor who agreed that I should buy the book。 :） 。。。more
Martha
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This book has been recommended by nearly every cooking website， booklist， etc。 to which I subscribe。This book is well organized， colorful， educational and has expansive variety。 If you are not vegan or vegetarian， this book my tempt you！ Heavy on curries， rice， tofu， legumes and much， much more。 It is just the nudge I needed to expand my diet and cooking skills。 Highly recommend。。。。。。。。。。。。
Kristine
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I love this cookbook。 Vegetarian and vegan。 Everything I have made was so delicious and easily prepared。 I like the layout， cover design， commentary， clarity of the recipes， helpful things index。 What I made: chile tofu; new potato， chard， and coconut curry; roasted paneer aloo gobi; honey， soy， and ginger braised tofu。 I did choose to make two tofu dishes， but tofu is just a small section。 The sections include salads， noodles， curries， rice， tofu， legumes， sides， sweet， condiments， and snacks a I love this cookbook。 Vegetarian and vegan。 Everything I have made was so delicious and easily prepared。 I like the layout， cover design， commentary， clarity of the recipes， helpful things index。 What I made: chile tofu; new potato， chard， and coconut curry; roasted paneer aloo gobi; honey， soy， and ginger braised tofu。 I did choose to make two tofu dishes， but tofu is just a small section。 The sections include salads， noodles， curries， rice， tofu， legumes， sides， sweet， condiments， and snacks and small things。 The helpful things section lets you know what some of the ingredients are， what you may substitute， and how to make your own of some of the ingredients， like kecap manis。 I haven't been able to find some of the ingredients （curry leaves， makrut lime leaves， Kashmiri red chile powder）， but I've been inspired to order what I could find online because the dishes are so good I want to replicate them as much as possible。 The cookbooks I enjoy the most are beautiful and easy to follow， yet create complexly flavored， elegant food。 。。。more
Christine
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I feel duped by this cookbook。 It's called East。 But it's better than 50 percent Indian。 While I understand the geography， the title is misleading。 It's an Indian cookbook with a few token recipes from other parts of Asia。 If you LOVE CUMIN， and like tika masala， and madras curry， this is the cookbook for you。 But it's not for me。 I feel duped by this cookbook。 It's called East。 But it's better than 50 percent Indian。 While I understand the geography， the title is misleading。 It's an Indian cookbook with a few token recipes from other parts of Asia。 If you LOVE CUMIN， and like tika masala， and madras curry， this is the cookbook for you。 But it's not for me。 。。。more
Diana
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This was in a stack of cookbooks I checked out from the library and it was the one book I’m buying for myself。 I made a list of the 16 recipes I want to try first including: honey， soy， ginger braised tofu and coconut rice with eggplant and pickled cucumber。
Sarah
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