Photography by Sasha Gill

When Sasha Gill went vegan, she wasn’t about to leave her family’s home-cooked favourites behind. Pad Thai without fish sauce? Curry without ghee? In East Meets Vegan, Sasha proves that Asian cooking can be plant-based—as well as easy, affordable, and delicious! Here are:

• Veganized favourites: Spring rolls, red bean pancakes, shiitake ramen, mango lassis
• Can’t-believe-it’s-vegan twists: Tandoori cauliflower “wings,” pineapple fried rice, jackfruit biryani, “butter chicken,” a sushi feast to feed a crowd
• Mix-and-match pairings: Combine leftovers for your own take on Asian fusion.

Bursting with more than 100 sumptuous photographs, this is your passport to a culinary adventure—from the comfort of your kitchen.

East Meets Vegan: The Best of Asian Home Cooking, Plant-Based and Delicious is available at Amazon.com and Amazon.ca.

Pineapple Fried Rice

This version of fried rice has the classic Thai sweet-and-salty twist. Pineapple might seem like an odd addition to fried rice, but it works. Much less controversial than pineapple on pizza. I love cutting the pineapples in half and, after scooping out their sunny flesh with a spoon, using the hollow shells as serving bowls. This is a genius way of making this uncomplicated dish look impressive.

Serves 4

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Gluten Free: Use tamari in place of the soy sauce.

• 2½ tablespoons vegetable oil
• half 14-ounce (400 g) block extra-firm tofu, pressed and crumbled
• ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon black salt or regular salt
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 inch (2.5 cm) ginger, finely chopped
• 3 cups (550 g) cooked rice, chilled – jasmine rice works best
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sriracha
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1½ cups (240 g) pineapple chunks
• ½ cup (75 g) frozen peas cilantro leaves and roasted cashews, to garnish

Pour half the vegetable oil into a wok or nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat and fry the tofu with the turmeric until it looks drier and firmer, like scrambled eggs. Add the black salt, then pour it out onto a plate.

Wipe out the pan with a paper towel. Add the remaining oil and fry the garlic, scallions and ginger until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and continue to fry, breaking up any clumps with a spoon or spatula, for 2 minutes.

Stir in the soy sauce, sriracha and sesame oil, then add the pineapple, peas and the scrambled tofu. Make sure everything is well distributed, then let it cook for 2 minutes, to make sure the fried rice is heated right through.

Serve hot, garnished with cilantro leaves and cashews.

Recipe from East Meets Vegan: The Best of Asian Home Cooking, Plant-Based and Delicious © Sasha Gill, 2019. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment.