Mission Vegan: Wildly Delicious Food for Everyone

by Danny Bowien, JJ Goode EdD.

Overview

From the author of The Mission Chinese Food Cookbook, a fresh take on vegan cooking that emphasizes freewheeling exploration and big flavor

As cofounder and chef of the famous Mission Chinese Food restaurants in San Francisco and New York, Danny Bowien has a reputation for inventive meat dishes like Chongqing Chicken Wings and Kung Pao Pastrami. Yet eight years ago, he became a dad, got sober, and quietly began to train his gift for creating exhilarating food on meat-free, dairy-free dishes. Soon, much of the Mission menu was vegan—not that anyone noticed. They were too busy eating it up.

That’s the kind of food you’ll find in Mission Vegan: fun, original, wildly flavorful dishes that’ll thrill devotees of Danny’s lamb ma po tofu, lifelong vegans, and everyone in between. His approach reflects the same “uniquely American” perspective—a blend of his particular upbringing and his boundless curiosity and enthusiasm—that has made him one of the country’s most influential chefs. It all adds up to a book where pasta pomodoro shares a chapter with chewy Korean buckwheat noodles topped with neon-pink dragonfruit ice; where one fried rice is inspired by veggie sushi hand rolls and another is a mash-up of his favorite Thai takeout and Jose Andres’ Spanish tortilla; and where kimchi is made kaleidoscopically with habanero, with pineapple, and with the seasoning packets from instant ramen. 

And while these are all dishes that have appeared, or could appear, on Mission’s menu, the recipes are all geared for the home cook, delivering restaurant-quality impact without restaurant-level effort. Keeping the emphasis on the fun of cooking and experimenting in the kitchen, Mission Vegan represents a journey-in-progress, a chef’s mission to find inspiration, joy, and flavor in food, no matter where life takes you. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063012981
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/23/2022
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	516,210
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 7.50(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Danny Bowien is the cofounder of Mission Chinese Food in San Francisco and New York. He won the 2008 Pesto World Championship in Genoa, Italy, the James Beard Foundation for Rising Star Chef in 2013, and the main subject of the sixth season of the travel and food show The Mind of a Chef. He was born in Korea, raised in Oklahoma, and lives in New York, where he is the chef at Mission in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

JJ Goode, co-writer, has co-authored several New York Times bestselling cookbooks and has won a James Beard Award. The editors of The Norton Reader selected his Gourmet magazine essay on cooking with one arm for their anthology of nonfiction, which includes writing from Nora Ephron, Barack Obama, and Jesus. 

 

Table of Contents

Foreword vii

Introduction xiii

Kimchi

Watermelon Kimchi 5

Pineapple Kimchi 7

Habanero Kimchi 9

Stuffed Cucumber Kimchi 10

Radish Water Kimchi 13

Go-To Cabbage Kimchi 14

Stuffed Cabbage Kimchi 16

Quick Red Cabbage Kimchi 18

Koji Chive Kimchi 21

"Instant Ramyeon" Kimchi 23

Dilly Dandelion Greens 25

Tangerine Kimchi 26

Pickles

Passion Fruit Cucumber Pickles 31

Green Chili Pickles 32

Peter's Pickled Peppers 33

Tartine Tofu Pickles 35

Bánh Mì Pickles 37

Sweet-and-Sour Seaweed Pickles 39

Soy Sauce-Pickled Perilla Leaves 41

Dried Mushroom Pickles 43

Sweet Braised Peanuts with Old Bay 45

Other Sides

Smashed Cucumbers with Tingly Granola 49

Sara's Sesame String Beans 51

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad 54

Squeezed Spinach with Scallion-Miso Dressing 55

Dad's Carrot Banchan with Raisins and Pineapple 58

Kimchi-Marinated Broccoli Rabe 59

Sweet and Sticky Lotus Root 62

Mung Bean Pancakes 63

Vegetables

Sweet-and-Sour Eggplant 68

Honey Butter Corn Ribs 70

Mushroom Bulgogi 72

Steamy Mushrooms 75

Kabocha Samgyetang 77

Smoky Fried Napa Cabbage 79

Whole Eggplant "Miznon" 80

Hot Sauce Greens 83

Watercress Salad with Acorn Jelly 84

Tiger Salad 86

Stews and Soups

Mapo Tofu 90

Mapo Ramen 92

Quick Doenjang Stew 93

Kimchi Stew 96

Spicy Silken Tofu Stew 97

Not-Spicy Silken Tofu Stew 101

Potato and Perilla Leaf Stew 103

Army Stew 107

Mino's Lentil Soup 109

Seaweed Soup 112

Pea Leaves in Pumpkin Broth 114

Kim's Kabocha Congee 116

Chilled Tofu in Peanut Milk 119

Noodles and Dumplings

Matcha Pho 123

Lemon Pepper Glass Noodles 125

Somyeon in Iced Soy Milk 126

Knife-Cut Noodles in Shiitake and Squash Soup 128

Hand-Torn Noodles in Hot Pepper Broth 132

Cold Buckwheat Noodles with Radish Water Kimchi Broth 134

Cold Buckwheat Noodles with Dragon Fruit Ice 136

Black Bean Sauce Noodles 138

Chilly Green Chili Noodles 142

Pasta Pomodoro 145

Somyeon in Seaweed Broth 146

Somyeon Salad with Sesame, Yuzu, and Shiso 149

Cumin-Flavor Tofu Skin 150

Kimchi Dumplings 152

Cilantro-Tapioca Pot Stickers 154

Lung Shan's Vegan Delight 157

Rice

Scorched Rice 163

Fragrant Chili Fried Rice with Herbs 164

Pineapple-Kimchi Fried Rice 166

Portobello Jerky Fried Rice 168

Ume-Shiso Fried Rice 170

Fragrant Fried Rice with Charred Bamboo and Hojicha 172

Dim Sum Go Go Fried Rice 174

Golden Fried Rice 178

Dolsot-Bibimbap with Grapefruit Gochujang 180

Barley Rice Salad 183

Multigrain Rice 187

The Walrod Special 189

Spicy Sticky Rice Cakes 190

Crispy Rice Cakes with Garlic Soy and Pumpkin 192

Sweet Sticky Rice Lotus Leaf Parcels 195

Spicy Crispy Rice Salad 197

Sweet Treats

Sandy's Purple Sweet Potatoes 203

Burnt Banana with Blueberries and Walnuts 205

Seaweed Rice Krispies Treats 207

Peanut Brittle 209

Divinity 211

Microwave Mochi with Sesame Ganache 212

Jim's German Chocolate Cake 215

Sauces and Seasonings

Lemon Kosho 219

Whipped Garlic Sauce 220

Tart Garlic Sauce 221

Charred Chili Paste (Red and Green) 222

Grapefruit Gochujang 223

Scallion-Miso Dip 224

Ginger-Scallion Sauce 225

Black Bean Sauce 226

Smoky Coconut 227

Cashew Cream 227

Chili Oii 228

No-Cook Hot Sauce 229

Mushroom Stock 230

Mushroom Seasoning Powder 231

Umami Salt and Pepper 231

Ingredients 232

Acknowledgments 243

Index 245

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/02/2022

Bowien (The Mission Chinese Food Cookbook), cofounder of New York and San Francisco’s Mission Chinese restaurants, combines Korean influences and his own flair for the dramatic in this innovative collection of vegan delights. The fun kicks off with a variety of creative kimchis and pickles, including pineapple and watermelon kimchis that take less than a week to ferment, and passion fruit cucumber pickles and dried mushroom pickles. Tofu is in abundance in a colorful soup and stew chapter, as are thin noodles, with the two joining forces along with beans, mushrooms, and herbs in an army stew inspired by the ones first served up in the aftermath of the Korean War. There are plenty of spicy recipes that turn up the heat, but Bowien also excels in showcasing subtler flavors, too, as exemplified by a cold somyeon in iced soy milk. Similarly, an inventive section of fried rice dishes places delicate golden fried rice with enoki mushrooms next to the untamed dolsot-bibimbap with grapefruit gochujang. For dessert, there are twists on old favorites, such as seaweed Rice Krispies treats, as well as a marvelous burnt banana with blueberries and walnuts, featuring an entire, unpeeled banana charred black and resting in a berry sauce. Mixing bold ingredients and techniques, this enthralling collection will satisfy vegans and carnivores alike. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"Danny Bowien combines Korean influences and his own flair for the dramatic in this innovative collection of vegan delights. . . . There are plenty of spicy recipes that turn up the heat, but Bowien also excels in showcasing subtler flavors, too. . . . Mixing bold ingredients and techniques, this enthralling collection will satisfy vegans and carnivores alike." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

From the Publisher