Vibrant Hong Kong Table: 88 Iconic Vegan Recipes from Dim Sum to Late-Night Snacks

by Christine Wong

A visual and sumptuous ode to Hong Kong that reimagines 88 classic and iconic dishes as colorful and beautiful plant-based meals.

A common Chinese greeting is 食咗飯未呀? “Have you eaten (rice) yet?” which is how Christine Wong’s paternal grandmother would welcome her home during her childhood in Hong Kong. Food was the language of love, with birthdays and special events always celebrated with family meals, from nine-course banquet-style restaurant feasts to simple home-cooked dinners. After leaving Hong Kong and adopting a vegan lifestyle for health and sustainability reasons, Christine yearned to recreate the flavors and textures of her family’s food at home without animal by-products.
 
The Vibrant Hong Kong Table celebrates many of Hong Kong’s most iconic dishes with a vegan twist. Organized by a day of eating through the city and paying homage to its culinary heritage, these fresh, bright, vegetable-based recipes include:

• Breakfast and Dim Sum 點心: Sampan Congee, Lotus Leaf Rice, “Egg” Tarts
• Cha Chaan Teng 茶餐廳 and Lunchbox Favorites: Baked Tempeh Chop Rice, Black-Pink Pepper Cabbage Steak, Jackfruit Brisket Noodles
• Family-Style Dinners, from Festival Foods to Dai Pai Dongs 大牌檔: “Fish Fragrant” Eggplant, Sweet & Sour Cauliflower, Snow Skin Mooncakes
• Siu Yeh 宵夜 (Late-Night Snacks) and Sweets: Curry “Fishballs,” Three Treasures, Hong Kong Sweet Buns

"Hong Kong Highlights," included throughout, showcase cultural customs such as balancing yin and yang and sharing food family-style. And Mama Wong’s tips for using ingredients like lotus root, taro, and salted oranges, offer an immersive experience of Hong Kong’s culinary and societal traditions. With beautiful imagery, intimate storytelling, and easy-to-follow instructions, The Vibrant Hong Kong Table is a treasury of fresh and inspiring vegan meals straight from the heart of this magnificent city to your home.

• ISBN10: 179721991X
• ISBN13: 9781797219912
• Publish Date: 12 September 2024
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Chronicle Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The Vibrant Hong Kong Table is a gorgeously presented vegan cookbook with recipes developed and curated by Christine Wong. Due out 10th Sept 2024 from Chronicle Books, it's 288 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats. 

Iconic Hong Kong dishes are rightfully world renowned for their color, presentation, and unforgettable deliciousness. There's nothing pretentious and everything about hospitality, delicious complex flavor profiles, and camaraderie. The author has taken the assignment seriously: beloved dishes translated into vegan versions whilst maintaining the same appeal and flavor profiles as the non-vegan originals.

The recipes are arranged thematically: introduction & pantry/supplies lists, breakfast & dim sum, cha chaan teng & lunch, dinners festival foods & dai pai dongs, and finally snacks sweets & siu yeh. Recipes include a description, yields, and name in Pinyin, English, and Chinese characters. Ingredients are provided in bullet lists, with measurements in both imperial (American) and metric units (yay!). Many ingredients will require a trip to a very well stocked grocery store, or (more likely) an international food store or market. The author has included helpful resource lists in the appendices for sourcing some ingredients. The step by step prep and cooking instructions are easy to understand and follow. 

Each recipe is accompanied by a clear color photograph. Serving suggestions are appetizing and appropriate and the food is well (professionally) styled. There are dishes which would be great for both casual family meals as well as more formal gatherings. 

Five stars. There are partial and ingredient recipes such as mushroom powder and twists on DIY tofu that are likely worth the price of the book by themselves. Additionally, the appendices, bibliography, resource lists, and sample menus are -very- useful.This would be an excellent choice for public library acquisition, home use, and gift giving.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.