Category Archives: Asian Recipes

Chinese Homestyle Black Pepper Portobello Mushrooms

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A plant-based play on the classic black pepper beef.
A plant-based play on the classic black pepper beef.

Versatile, sizeable, and hefty, portobello mushrooms make a fine and satisfying substitute for meat in so many dishes, including this classic Chinese one.

If you’re a fan of black pepper beef, then you will much enjoy “Black Pepper Portobello Mushrooms,” a plant-based play on the classic that’s absolutely delicious.

The recipe is from “Chinese Homestyle” (Rock Point, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

The cookbook is by Maggie Zhu, a New York food writer and creator of the Omnivore’s Cookbook blog.

It’s a collection of 90 plant-based Chinese recipes that are a breeze to make. They’re perfect for anyone who’s vegetarian or vegan or for any home cook who wants to add a veggie-centric dish to a family-style spread.

Get your chopsticks at the ready for everything from “Baked Crispy Tofu Nuggets,” “Char Siu Baos” (made with button mushrooms instead of pork), and “Egg-Less Egg Drop Soup” (with yuba sheets standing in for the strands of eggs) to “Three-Cup Scrambled Tempeh” and “Creamy Red Bean Ice Pops.”

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Bejeweled Pomegranate Rice Pilaf

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Presto chango -- basmati rice goes from white to deep fuchsia in this pilaf recipe.
Presto chango — basmati rice goes from white to deep fuchsia in this pilaf recipe.

Light up the holiday table this year with a shot of brilliant fuchsia that’s dazzlingly delicious, too.

That’s just what this “Pomegranate Rice Pilaf” is like.

It’s from the new “Masala” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy.

The collection of 100 recipes is by India-born Anita Jaisinghani, chef-owner of Pondicheri restaurant in Houston and a cooking columnist for the Houston Chronicle.

Spices are integral to Indian cooking, and there’s a whole chapter on them that includes a primer on how to toast and bloom them, the taste profile of the most commonly used ones, their Ayurveda properties, and suggestions on best ways to use them.

The recipes will take you from morning through afternoon to evening in dishes such as “Coconut Pancakes,” “Three Dal Stew,” “Homestyle Butter Chicken,” “Kerala Beef Fry,” and “Saffron Chocolate Bread Pudding.”

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It’s The Great Pumpkin (Curry)

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Pumpkin gets spiced up for the season.
Pumpkin gets spiced up for the season.

We can’t help but get smitten with all things pumpkin at this time of year.

We make no secret, either, of tending to veer to the sweet side, with pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie, and even pumpkin lattes (which, of course, has no pumpkin in it at all).

However, the savory flip side shouldn’t be relegated to second fiddle.

Not when it means indulging in something savory and sweet, plus spiced and spicy like “Pumpkin Curry.”

A Sugar Pie pumpkin stars in this dish.
A Sugar Pie pumpkin stars in this dish.

This hearty, warming dish is from “Plant-Based Himalaya” (Red Lightning Books), of which I received a review copy, a new cookbook showcasing vegan recipes from Nepal.

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Sink Your Teeth Into Chicken Banh Mi Burgers

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The chicken burger goes Vietnamese.
The chicken burger goes Vietnamese.

Take all the fresh and lively flavors of your favorite Vietnamese banh mi sandwich and transform it into a burger instead.

That’s just what “Chicken Banh Mi Burgers” is all about.

Easy enough to whip on a weeknight, this delectable recipe is from “Delicious Gatherings” (Shadow Mountain), of which I received a review copy.

The book is by Tara Bench, the founder of the perfectly named blog, TaraTeaspoon, as well as the former food editor at Martha Stewart Living and former food director at Ladies’ Home Journal.

With that kind of background, she definitely knows what home-cooks want — fuss-free recipes for everyday eating or holiday entertaining that deliver. This book delivers just that, with more than 120 recipes, most of which span only one page.

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The Fun of Grilled Sticky Rice Skewers with Peanut Sauce

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For fans of sticky rice, this is the bomb.
For fans of sticky rice, this is the bomb.

If you are a sucker for the crispy, crackly texture of Persian tahdig or the smoky, charred exterior of Japanese grilled onigiri, then you’re sure to go wild for “Grilled Sticky Rice Skewers with Peanut Sauce.”

I know I sure did.

In fact, this recipe, which supposedly feeds four, was roundly devoured in one fell swoop by just my husband and I.

Because I’m sure two regular people can — and will — easily lay waste to this dish, I changed the number of servings to reflect that in the recipe below.

It comes from “Rice Is Life” (Chronicle Books), of which I received a review copy. The cookbook is by Caryl Levine and Ken Lee, the founders of Lotus Foods, the Richmond, CA company that imports rice grown on small family farms in Asia to the United States.

In business since 1995, Lotus Foods definitely knows all things rice after pioneering its black Forbidden Rice in 1995 and introducing the first certified organic jasmine rice in the United States.

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