The Korean Vegan Cookbook: Reflections and Recipes from Omma's Kitchen

by Joanne Lee Molinaro

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

If you are one of the millions of fans that follow The Korean Vegan on social media you already know the transformative power of Joanne’s voice and the bold, unapologetic personal narrations she gives while cooking up delicious plant-based Asian cuisine. With over 80 recipes and stunningly beautiful photography taken by Joanne, this JAMES BEARD AWARD-WINNING cookbook is full of heart and unbelievable flavor!

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST NEW COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Epicurious • EATER • Stained Page • Infatuation • Spruce Eats • Publisher’s Weekly • Food52 • Toronto Star

The dazzling debut cookbook from Joanne Lee Molinaro, the home cook and spellbinding storyteller behind the online sensation @thekoreanvegan

Joanne Lee Molinaro has captivated millions of fans with her powerfully moving personal tales of love, family, and food. In her debut cookbook, she shares a collection of her favorite Korean dishes, some traditional and some reimagined, as well as poignant narrative snapshots that have shaped her family history.
 
As Joanne reveals, she’s often asked, “How can you be vegan and Korean?” Korean cooking is, after all, synonymous with fish sauce and barbecue. And although grilled meat is indeed prevalent in some Korean food, the ingredients that filled out bapsangs on Joanne’s table growing up—doenjang (fermented soybean paste), gochujang (chili sauce), dashima (seaweed), and more—are fully plant-based, unbelievably flavorful, and totally Korean. Some of the recipes come straight from her childhood: Jjajangmyun, the rich Korean-Chinese black bean noodles she ate on birthdays, or the humble Gamja Guk, a potato-and-leek soup her father makes. Some pay homage: Chocolate Sweet Potato Cake is an ode to the two foods that saved her mother’s life after she fled North Korea.
 
The Korean Vegan Cookbook is a rich portrait of the immigrant experience with life lessons that are universal. It celebrates how deeply food and the ones we love shape our identity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593084274
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/12/2021
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	1,427
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Joanne Lee Molinaro is a Korean American trial lawyer, born and raised in Chicago. Molinaro adopted a plant-based diet in January 2016 and began The Korean Vegan as a passion project later that year. Her immensely popular TikTok, @thekoreanvegan, incorporates her recipes with personal narration. She has been featured in Salon, Healthyish by Bon Appétit, The Atlantic, The Kitchn, Thrive, and VegWorld, and on Food Network, CNN, BBC, and CNBC.

Table of Contents

Introduction 9

The Korean Vegan 17

The Korean Vegan Pantry 23

1 The Basics 34

2 Bbang ($$$ Breads) 54

3 Banchan ($$$ Dishes) 76

4 Kimchi and Salads 109

5 Soups and Stews 141

6 Noodles and Pastas 165

7 Bar and Street Foods 194

8 Main Dishes 228

9 Sweets 274

The Lees in Korea 320

Acknowledgments 325

Index 329

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/18/2021

In this touching and transportive debut, TikTok creator Molinaro reinterprets the Korean classics she grew up with as vegan fare. She swaps out the beef used in bulgogi for soy curls (cooked and dehydrated soy beans) to recreate its meaty texture, and makes a vegan “fishy sauce” with a variety of mushrooms and dashima (dried kelp) for umami flavor. Throughout, Molinaro’s dishes are enriched with wistful anecdotes about cooking with her omma (grandmother) and stories from her parents’ youths in Korea: The chocolate sweet potato cake, for instance, is inspired by the two foods that saved her mother’s life when she fled from North Korea to South Korea as a little girl. Molinaro also adapts Western dishes for the vegan Korean kitchen, such as Angry Penne Pasta, a riff on pasta arrabbiata prepared with gochugaru and gochujang. Each recipe is categorized by difficulty level, ranging from “easy” dishes like dooboo jorim (braised tofu) to “practice makes perfect” choices such as kkanpoongi (spicy crunchy garlic “wings” made with tofu and jackfruit). Though some ingredients may prove difficult to source (such as jjajang, a fermented black soybean paste), Molinaro’s assured guidance simplifies everything else. This tasty tribute is full of heart and flavor. Agent: Charlie Brotherstone, Brotherstone Creative Management. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

“[Joanne is] an expert in veganizing dishes, especially Korean food, and a soothing storyteller….Over the course of exactly 60 seconds, Molinaro somehow makes you want to laugh, cry, march in the streets and devour every damn thing on her plate."
–The Washington Post
 
“Joanne masterfully entwines food, culture, education and self-improvement with incredibly honest, vulnerable, heartfelt stories….May this extraordinary woman inspire you to think more deeply about your own story—and the indelible power inherent in sharing it.”
–Rich Roll, ultra-endurance athlete, wellness advocate, and the host of The Rich Roll Podcast

“This Tasty Tribute is full of heart and flavor.”
–STARRED Publisher's Weekly

“With these stories, it becomes clear that every dish is deeply personal to Molinaro, and by presenting the recipes here, she does more than offer up delicious food — she invites the reader to honor one immigrant family’s story.”
–EATER
 
“You don’t have to be vegan to consume Joanne Molinaro’s cooking videos. Although you might come for the food, you’ll leave with life lessons on love, grief, and growing up Korean. If you grew up in an immigrant household or ever felt like you weren’t enough, then Molinaro’s stories may resonate with you.”
–SELF
 
“Joanne Lee Molinaro gained fame as @thekoreanvegan on TikTok, and her debut cookbook is a welcome addition to our shelves. Come for the savory soups and stews, stay for the mushroom galbi and gochujang-glazed persimmon upside-down cake.”
–EPICURIOUS
 
"All of Joanne Lee Molinaro's work reminds us that the best part of any recipe is the story behind it. In her debut cookbook, she shares not only so many wonderful vegan Korean dishes (I want to cook so many things!), she also shares herself and her family with us. We are better for it."
–Julia Turshen, Bestselling Cookbook Author of Simply Julia, Host of Keep Calm & Cook On, and Founder of Equity at The Table

"When you crack open The Korean Vegan Cookbook, you won't just want to make every one of Joanne's mouthwatering recipes (and you will!), you'll want to devour her writing, too. Between her creative, plant-based takes on noodles, banchan, bagels, and more, she shares stories of her family that will move you to laughter and tears by turns."
–Jeanine Donofrio, author of The Love and Lemons Cookbook

"Come for the veganized Korean recipes that will inspire you in the kitchen and delight your tastebuds (the Tteokbokki and Kkanpoong Tofu will change your life). Stay for Joanne’s poetic stories about family and culture that will move you to tears."
–Nisha Vora, creator of Rainbow Plant Life and author of The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook
 
"Stunningly beautiful in every way. This book will make you fall in love with the author, her culture, her family and Korean cuisine instantly. I couldn’t recommend it more."
–Kim-Julie Hansen, founder of Best of Vegan and author of Vegan Reset

From the Publisher

★ 02/01/2022

This standout memoir/cookbook by vegan blogger Molinaro presents a rich array of vegan Korean dishes, including traditional recipes, modern interpretations, and Korean twists on a range of global cuisines. In the "Basics" chapter, Molinaro shares her secret weapons for flavor (a range of go-to sauces and dressings, including a vegan "fish" sauce) that she calls on in the book's other recipes (breads, soups, noodles, kimchi, vegetables, main dishes, street foods), all with straightforward instructions that are easy to follow. Molinaro's versions of widespread Korean dishes like bulgogi and stuffed pancakes will thrill vegan foodies; readers with a sweet tooth will appreciate her riffs on American desserts (chocolate-persimmon cupcakes; pecan pie flavored with sweet red bean paste). Many recipes have been handed down to Molinaro from family members, and she highlights the histories of these heritage dishes in poignant memoiristic accounts. VERDICT The deep connection between food and family shines through in Molinaro's enticing collection, which is highly recommended for anyone wanting to learn more about Korean cuisine and culture.—Kelsy Peterson

Library Journal