Vegan Vietnamese: Vibrant Plant-Based Recipes to Enjoy Every Day, written by Helen Le, features a vibrant and exciting collection of 70 recipes from every region of Vietnam. A few highlights include Five-Color Salad, Lemongrass Chili Tofu, Quang Noodles, Broken Rice Plate, and Green Sticky Rice with Coconut. I will also be sharing her recipe for Braised Ginger Mushrooms following the review.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Rock Point in exchange for my honest review. All comments and opinions are my own. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.
Helen Le
Helen Le was born and grew up in the coastal city of Da Nang, Vietnam. In 2011, she started Helen’s Recipes, a YouTube cooking channel featuring authentic Vietnamese recipes for home cooks. It is now one of the largest YouTube cooking channels on Vietnamese food.
She has appeared on numerous cooking programs and was one of the top five finalists in the Seoul Fusion Hansik Cooking competition. Helen is also the author of Simply Pho and Vietnamese Food with Helen’s Recipes.
Vegan Vietnamese
Helen begins Vegan Vietnamese with a short introduction before sharing a few descriptions of Vietnamese pantry staples to help get started. I especially love how Helen has even included prep notes on specific ingredients such as banana blossoms and seitan.
Chapters are divided according to the following: Sauces, Condiments & Pickles; Salads, Wraps & Rolls; Braised, Fried, Stir-Fried & Grilled Dishes; Soups & Noodles; Rice & Sticky Rice Dishes; Breads & Dumplings; and Desserts & Snacks. The contents have a list of included recipes and page numbers for easy reference.
The photography is provided by Detas Studio. Each recipe is paired with a beautifully styled, full-page photo of the finished dish.
Measurements are listed in US Customary and Metric. Titles are written in English with often the Vietnamese name mentioned underneath. Every recipe has a short headnote with background information, skill level, yield, helpful tips, and ingredient notes.
Braised Ginger Mushrooms
To pair with this post, I made Helen’s Braised Ginger Mushrooms (Nấm Kho Gừng)! This easy dish brings together king oyster mushrooms and julienned ginger in a sweet and savory sauce.
Simply cut the mushrooms into bite-size pieces and briefly marinate in stock powder, soy sauce, leek, and pepper. This will help the mushrooms soak all that flavor into every bite.
The mushrooms are then tossed in caramelized sugar and slowly simmered until tender and the sauce has reduced by half.
Serve the Braised Ginger Mushrooms immediately with a dusting of ground pepper, more ginger strips, and optionally sliced chilies and/or cilantro.
Notable Ingredients
Bird’s eye chilies are small, but pack quite the kick. These thin, pointed peppers are green as they grow, then turn red with maturity. I used one in this recipe, but you can adjust or omit as desired.
I kept the seeds in the chilies, but removing them will also decrease the heat level. On the Scoville scale, these chilies land between the cayenne and habanero. They can be found in the produce section of markets with Southeast Asian ingredients.
For those in Northern Virginia, I found the chilies and mushrooms at Lotte Plaza Market in Chantilly.
More Dishes
I also made the Pickled Cabbage, Braised Tofu with Pineapple and Mushrooms, Sticky Rice Dumplings with Coconut Filling, and Crispy Macaroni.
The Pickled Cabbage recipe comes from the Sauces, Condiments & Pickles chapter. This was such a great way to use up leftover cabbage and prevent food waste. The thinly sliced cabbage is paired with julienned carrots and Vietnamese mint leaves, then soaked for 2-3 days in a brine until pickled and sour. Helen has also included tips on sterilizing jars.
The Braised Tofu with Pineapple and Mushrooms had such a fantastic blend of flavors. Firm tofu is pan-fried until golden, then tossed with pineapple in a caramelized sugar mixture along with mushrooms and a savory sauce.
The Sticky Rice Dumplings with Coconut Filling are wonderful for special occasions. This sweet version has a glutinous rice-based wrapper with a brown sugar coconut filling. After assembling, they are steamed in banana leaves or parchment.
The final chapter is filled with an assortment of desserts and snacks. I especially loved the Crispy Macaroni. Rice flour-based pasta is fried until crisp and puffy (this was so fun to watch), then tossed in a garlic vegan fish sauce mixture and served immediately. Helen also makes a note for some flavor variations such as matcha or even cocoa.
Vegan Vietnamese is a wonderful pick for those interested in Vietnamese cuisine with a focus on plant-based recipes. There is a nice variety of both sweet and savory options for every time of day. Some recipes come together in as little as 15 minutes while others require more prep or resting times.
Having a market with Vietnamese ingredients will be helpful in locating items such as cassava, bird’s eye chili peppers, rice flour, pandan leaves, dried wood ear mushrooms, banana leaves, lemongrass, lotus root, sticky rice, Vietnamese mint, rock sugar, black cardamom, tamarind, wild betel leaves, and more.
Braised Ginger Mushrooms Recipe
Excerpt from Vegan Vietnamese
Braised Ginger Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 7 ounces (200 grams) king oyster mushrooms rinsed and cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 teaspoon vegetable or mushroom stock powder
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced leek white part only
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more for garnish
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 ounce (28 grams) ginger julienned, plus more for garnish
- Sliced bird's eye chili pepper for garnish (optional)
- Cilantro for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine mushrooms, stock powder, soy sauce, leek, and pepper. Mix well and set aside for 15 minutes.
- In a medium skillet, heat oil over low heat. When hot, add sugar and cook until melted and caramelized (1 to 2 minutes).
- Add marinated mushrooms and ginger and stir well. Continue to cook over low heat until mushrooms are soft and sauce is reduced by half (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat.
- Transfer to a platter; lightly dust with ground pepper; garnish with more ginger strips, sliced chili pepper (if using), and cilantro (if using); and serve.
DK
These braised ginger mushrooms look amazing! The ginger essence adds the perfect kick!
Kathryn
This looks incredible! Love all of these flavors!