Farm to Table Asian Secrets: Vegan & Vegetarian Full-Flavored Recipes for Every Season, written by Patricia Tanumihardja, features an incredible variety of flavors and textures paired with seasonal ingredients. A few highlights include Asparagus in Coconut Cream Sauce, Burmese-Style Pumpkin and Parsnip Curry, Broccolini with Seasoned Soy Sauce, Ice-Cold Korean Buckwheat Noodles, and Mixed Vegetable Salad with Indonesian Peanut Sauce. I will also be sharing her recipe for Curried Vegetable Turnovers following the review.
Disclosure: I received this book from Tuttle Publishing 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.

Patricia Tanumihardja
Patricia Tanumihardja was born in Jakarta, Indonesia and grew up in Singapore before moving to the United States for college. She is now based in Northern Virginia with her family.
As a food writer, Patricia focuses on topics related to food history and culture. Her work has been featured in Edible Seattle, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, Saveur, and more.
Patricia is also the author of The Asian Grandmothers’ Cookbook, Asian Pickles at Home, Instant Pot Asian Pressure Cooker Meals, and Ramen for Everyone.
Farm to Table Asian Secrets
I got the chance to meet Patricia a couple of years ago during one of her cooking demos and was so excited to discover she was putting together a new cookbook- Farm to Table Asian Secrets!
Along with the fantastic collection of recipes, this book is packed with helpful tips, ingredient notes, cooking techniques, and menu planning guides.
Chapters are divided based on season: Basic Recipes, Spring Recipes, Summer Recipes, Autumn Recipes, and Winter Recipes. The contents page has a full list of the included recipes with notes on whether the specific recipe is vegan, gluten-free, or if it can easily be made so with substitutions.
The Asian Pantry section includes photos and descriptions of notable ingredients and herbs with favorite brands, where to find them, and substitutes when possible. There is also an overview of basic equipment and utensils with photos.
The photography is provided by Sarah Culver. Many of the recipes are accompanied by a beautifully styled quarter to full page photo of the finished dish. A handful have step-by-step photos to demonstrate wrapping, stuffing, and other techniques.
Measurements are written in US Customary and Metric. Every recipe has a headnote with background information, tips, and variations.
Curried Vegetable Turnovers

These Curried Vegetable Turnovers are savory little treats inspired by the curry puffs of Singapore. Instead of a fried short-crust pastry base, this version uses premade puff-pastry and are baked for an easier and lighter alternative.
The turnovers are filled with a curry-spiced combination of potatoes, carrots, and bell peppers. Other possible additions include hard-boiled eggs and vegetables such as corn, peas, or celery.
If you don’t want to cut out the puff pastry sheets into circles, they can also be sliced into 12 equal squares to form triangles.
Refrigerate leftover Curried Vegetable Turnovers in an airtight container and reheat in a 300˚F (150˚C) oven for 15 minutes or until heated through.
Other Dishes

I also made the Blanched Baby Spinach with Sesame Sauce, Spring Fried Rice with Asparagus and Cilantro, Mushu Vegetable “Burritos,” and Warming Vegetable Pho.
The Blanched Baby Spinach with Sesame Sauce was so easy to make and so flavorful. It can even be prepared a day in advance for easy serving. The spinach and shredded carrots are blanched just long enough to cook briefly, then tossed in a lightly seasoned soy sesame sauce.
The Spring Fried Rice with Asparagus and Cilantro is perfect for a weeknight meal. Pieces of asparagus, garlic, shallots, and chilies are tossed with cooked white rice and seasoned with cilantro and soy sauce.
The Mushu Vegetable “Burritos” are filled with eggs, mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts, and green onions. Instead of the traditional pancake, premade tortillas are used for the base for easy weeknight preparation. The burritos are seasoned with hoisin sauce and chili paste that can be brushed on using homemade green onion brushes (loved this).
The Warming Vegetable Pho was one of the more time-consuming recipes, but so incredibly flavorful and a huge hit. Homemade mushroom (which I used) or vegetable stock is the base of the rice noodle soup and spiced with cinnamon, ginger, onion, star anise, clove, coriander, and a little brown sugar.

Farm to Table Asian Secrets is a great pick for those wanting to try a variety of bold flavors in lightened vegetarian meals. Many are also vegan and/or gluten free. Instead of just swapping meat for tofu (though tofu is an ingredient in a handful of recipes), Patricia focuses on maximizing the flavors of the vegetables to make them the star. With the exception of a few, the dishes are perfect for weeknight cooking and can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.
The recipes have generally been adapted to feature ingredients available in larger American supermarkets. A few may be more difficult to find such as miso, Korean red pepper powder, kombu, daikon, hoisin sauce, Thai chilies, chive blossoms, jicama, lemongrass, tamarind, sticky rice, and bánh phở.
Curried Vegetable Turnovers Recipe
Adapted from Farm to Table Asian Secrets
Curried Vegetable Turnovers
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) vegetable oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped shallots or red onion
- 2 teaspoons yellow curry powder
- 8 ounces (250 grams) yellow potatoes peeled and chopped into 1/4 inch (5 millimeter) dice
- 1/3 cup (15 grams) diced carrot
- 1/4 cup (60 grams) diced red bell pepper
- 1/3 cup (85 milliliters) water
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound (500 grams) puff pastry preferably all butter, defrosted according to package directions
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) milk
Instructions
- In a large wok or skillet, drizzle vegetable oil over medium high heat. Once shimmering, add the garlic and shallots.
- Cook until just aromatic, about 30 seconds. Stir in the curry powder and cook until fragrant, another minute.
- Stir in the potatoes, carrots, and bell peppers. Add the water and season with salt, sugar, and black pepper.
- Stir, cover, and reduce heat to medium low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, 8-10 minutes.
- If too dry and beginning to stick to pan, add a little more water. Season if needed and remove from heat. Allow to cool to room temperature or refrigerate for up to 2 days.
- Preheat oven to 400˚F (205˚C) and line 1-2 baking sheets with parchment. In a small bowl, beat together the egg and milk.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out a sheet of puff pastry until it is 1/8 inch thick (3 millimeters). Cut out circles 4-5 inches (10-12 centimeters) wide using a circle cutter or small bowl.
- Gather and reroll the scraps to cut out another circle or two. Repeat with remaining pastry sheet if there is one.
- Place a tablespoon of the cooled filling in the center of each circle, leaving 1/2 inch (1.5 centimeter) border around the edges.
- Brush the edges with the egg wash and fold the pastry over to enclose the filling in a half moon shape. Use a fork to seal the edges and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining circles.
- Brush the tops of the pastries with the egg wash and bake until golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Karen @ Seasonal Cravingsse
Oh my, I am loving that gorgeous flaky crust and the savory filling. It’s the perfect in complementary flavors!
David @ CookingChat
sounds like the cookbook has some great recipes, including the ones that you have made! I like the idea of organizing the recipes by the seasons.
Brandi Crawford
The crust looks yummy! These are fab!
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables
Ohh these sound delicious! I love curried vegetables but I’ve never tried making turnovers before! Yum!
swayam
This looks so good Tara!! Just perfect for meatless days and curried vegetables in this crunchy turnover avatar is bound to be loved by the little ones! win win
Lauren @ Sew You Think You Can Cook
What a perfect cookbook for you!
Mahy
What a great book! I lovehow many wonderful ideas it includes. Just perfect for me!
Dionne
My favorite way to make turnoveers. I mean, very similar to what I’ve been making. Yum!
Jamie
The puff pastry shell is so flakey and the filling is so flavorful! My family will love this!
Michaela
These vegetable turnovers look so good, perfectly puffed pastry and they are pleasantly spiced.
Toni
I’d love to get a copy! This recipe is seriously amazing!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
I can’t wait to try this recipe. My family will love it!