Post Punk Kitchen Forum

So who else has got this and what are your impressions?
Going on an Asian market shopping spree tomorrow afternoon and I'm excited and looking for inspiration!

So far I've made:
- Spicy Sesame Peanut Noodles (yum)
- Pad Thai (good but I think I like the VWAV recipe better)
- Szechuan Green Beans and Red Pepper (Made it w/ Chinese Long Beans, was OK, probably better to stick to the ordinary green beans.)
- Bok Choy w/ 5 Spice Cashews (yum)
- Chinese Fried Rice (very good)
- Seitan w/ Black Bean Sauce (Good but would have been more Chinese restaurant tasting had I used the recommended fermented black beans, had none so used ordinary black beans.)
- Kung Pao Tempeh (Good but my one criticism is that the recipe -possibly in the interest of time- doesn't call for pre-steaming the tempeh. I did it as written, it was slightly too bitter. Much better the second time when I steamed ahead.)

I don't necessarily find that I get every dish on the table in 30 minutes or less, but I'm a bit of a kitchen slowpoke. Plus a lot of this food cooks way quick and you have to have everything prepped in advance, which is touch in a teeny kitchen with barely any counter space. My excuses aside, it's still generally quicker than some other books I have tried.

I love this book! So much more approachable than Vegan World Fusion Cuisine.

I just pulled it out this morning to make the tamarind sauce (to dip samosas in tonight). It tastes like the restaurant version, except it doesn't have any refined sugar.
I also love the Thai cucumber salad which is now a summer staple.
The edamame dip in the Japanese section was yummy and I put it in nori rolls for a nice change of pace.

Thanks for all the suggestions on other yummy recipes!

I really like this cookbook, and also Robin Robertson's Vegan Fire and Spice, which I bought at the same time - I was really craving spicy food.

Recipes I've tried and liked are:

Chow Mein
Szechuan Tempeh and Veggies (even better the 2nd day)
Teriyaki Tofu
Broccoli and Red Bell Pepper Soba
Pan-Seared Shiitake Udon Bowl (extremely good)
Nepalese Dhal Bhat - but I cook the dhal and veg separately and combine them at the end

Hm, I may need to pick this up. I've been craving Thai and Chinese food like crazy for the past month or two.

I have this but I think I've only used it once! I like it though, I think. I made a dal--maybe the Nepalese one?

I made the peking seitan, it was really tasty! I made one or two other things from it I can't remember now. I need to cook more from it.

Do you guys find that the ingredients are easily attainable? That seems to be an issue with some Asian cookbooks.

Yeah I'd say that this one keeps the hard-to-find stuff to a minimum. Which is a good and a bad thing--the good obvious, but the bad is that some of the recipes look a bit boring.

This is what I've tried:

Tempeh Lettuce Wraps with Mango Ginger Sauce (so good!)
Braised Tempeh with Green Beans in Sesame Sauce (really good)
Massaman Curry (did not really like it as it didn't really taste like a Massaman curry)
Filipino Mongo (Mung Bean Stew) (passable, not my favourite)
Broccoli and Red Bell Pepper Soba (pretty standard stuff, nothing fancy)

I've revived this book and pleasantly surpised with the newer recipes:

Mixed Vegetables with Coconut Sauce (Yum Tavoy) - very good. subbed coconut beverage with great results
Galangal Lemongrass Soup - I didn't like this fresh off the stove but leftovers were great. Added tofu to make this more of a filling meal
Green Papaya Salad - I ended up adding more lime juice along with some long beans. I made it all in my food processor since it would have taken me ages to grate the papaya! I really liked this, though!

I had the Szechuan Green Beans and Red Pepper on my menu this week with the long beans, so I hope it is still ok. I agree, green beans taste better but now I know not to buy the long beans again. ;)

Szechuan Green Beans and Red Pepper (made with Chinese long beans) - I actually really liked this dish. Yum!
Spicy Asparagus (Thai chapter) - Not that impressed here. Thought it would be WAY more flavourful.

Made the tofu tikka masala (chicken tikka masala was my all time favorite indian dish in my meat eating days). It came together for me in about 40 minutes and I really enjoyed it. Not quite like the real thing and not really authentic tasting but really good nonetheless. I doubled the recipe and 2 cups uncooked brown rice was the perfect amount to go with it-leftovers were tasty.

I recently got this book, because I liked the Taste Of Europe so much, and I'm loving this one!

I've made tofu tikka masala a few times
I made the tempeh vindaloo (but I used tofu instead) and loved it!
Also I made the Saag Aloo, but with kale instead of spinach and it was super!

This week I'm planning a couple more recipes from the India chapter and 2 from the Thai chapter. I love that the recipes are simple enough that I can make two and feel like we are having a fancy two-part dinner. But the flavors are really good too!

I am loving this book so much.

Last night I made the Ramen Stir Fry (reduced the oil down to 1 tbsp) and it was seriously such a totally great dinner. Yummy, filling, colorful, great textures, it was a total home run. Try it!!

This is my favorite of their books! The tofu in creamy tomato sauce is the best thing I have ever eaten, hands down.