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The Tropical Vegan Kitchen: Meat-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free Dishes from the Tropics: A Cookbook
Irresistible vegan recipes from all over the world from the author of The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen and Vegan Italiano.
In this culinary tour of the Caribbean, Central and South America, Thailand, Indonesia, the Canary Islands, Hawaii, Australia, Africa, India, and many more exotic places, readers will learn how easy it is to prepare authentic tropical vegan dishes with readily available ingredients. The book
? More than 225 delicious and nutritious meat-free, egg-free, and dairy-free recipes for appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, side dishes, beverages, and desserts
? A glossary of tropical fruits and vegetables with information on buying and storage
? Cook?s tips throughout
? Comprehensive nutritional analysis for every recipe
In this culinary tour of the Caribbean, Central and South America, Thailand, Indonesia, the Canary Islands, Hawaii, Australia, Africa, India, and many more exotic places, readers will learn how easy it is to prepare authentic tropical vegan dishes with readily available ingredients. The book
? More than 225 delicious and nutritious meat-free, egg-free, and dairy-free recipes for appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, side dishes, beverages, and desserts
? A glossary of tropical fruits and vegetables with information on buying and storage
? Cook?s tips throughout
? Comprehensive nutritional analysis for every recipe
196 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 6, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 27, 2009
3 ½ stars
I’ve got to stop reading these tropical books because I don’t like coconut. Coconut is the vegan rage these days. There is coconut based ice cream; I prefer soy. Then there is coconut milk; I prefer almond. And there is coconut oil. I prefer none, but olive, or maybe canola or avocado if there must be oil. There are plenty of recipes in this book that fo not contain coconut, but there quite a few that do, though I guess substitutions are possible, albeit not authentic. There are also many recipes in here appealing to me, as is or with tweaks. Many seem easy to make and many seem to have ingredients easy to procure, but not all of them.
For those who like coconut, and who are fine with sugary ingredients in savory dishes, who don’t mind using vegetable shortening and quite a bit of oil, they’ll probably appreciate more of the recipes than I did. And people like me can leave out and substitute for certain ingredients.
I love the vegetables and fruits and the cuisines from many specific regions that are included.
The only photo in the book is the cover photo and that is a shame. I’d have loved photos of all the recipes, or at least photos of some of them.
There isn’t that much text or information in this book; it’s all about the recipes, which is fine. Everything I looked up in the index, I found immediately, or almost immediately, which I appreciated.
Contents:
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Appetizers and Snacks
Soups
First Course and Lighter Soups
Heartier Soups and Stews
Salads
First-Course and Side Salads
Main-Course Salads
Main Dishes
Side Dishes
Desserts and Other Sweets
Beverages
Metric Conversion Charts
Index
I love the idea of this book, and I do appreciate the variety in this book. However, I find myself gravitating to certain recipes, ones that contain many of the same ingredients, so the recipes that appeal to me aren’t necessarily fully representative of all recipes included.
Here are the recipes that most appeal to me, for eating and (in most cases) preparing:
from Appetizers: Black Bean and Tropical Fruit Salsa; Butter Bean Guacamole (I HAVE to try this!); Haitian Peanut Sauce with Raw and Steamed Vegetables; Caribbean Eggplant Spread; Canary Island-Style Wrinkled Potatoes with Red Pepper Mojo Sauce
from Soups: African Black Barley Soup with Okra and Tomatoes; Chilled Avocado Soup; Caribbean Pumpkin Soup; Brazilian Black Bean and Vegetable Stew; Mexican Black Bean and Brown Rice Soup; Brazilian Black Bean Soup; African Groundnut Stew with Fufu; Vietnamese Noodle Soup
from Salads: Avocado and Mango Salad with Arugula and Red Onion; Costa Rican-Style Mango-Avocado Salad with Cabbage and Lime; Tropical Couscous Salad
from Main Dishes: Indian Black Bean Barley Pilaf with Bananas and Oranges; Black Bean and Avocado Enchiladas with Chipotle Sauce; Spicy Thai-Style Pasta Twists (great for pot lucks; I’m always looking for suitable dishes); Roasted Vegetables in African Peanut Sauce with Fufu; Caribbean-Style Baked Sweet Potatoes with Chili Black Beans; Black Beans with Sofrito over Rice; Spicy Bolivian-Style Lentils over Rice; African Beans and Potatoes; Hot Mango Pilaf with Almonds
from Side Dishes: Caribbean-Style Black Beans Hawaiian Orange-Ginger Carrots; Eggplant in Cuban-Style Mojo Sauce; Sri Lanken-Style Curried Green Beans with Cashews; Trinidad-Style Curried Mashed Potatoes; Venezuelan-Style Baked Potato Casserole; Brazilian-Style Braised Pumpkin; Chili-Roasted Sweet Potato Fries
from Desserts and Other Sweets: Hawaiian Chocolate-Coated Frozen Bananas; Baked Churros; Florida Key Lime Ice
from Beverages (I’m a water drinker and a very occasional tea drinker and rare homemade/restaurant made ginger ale and other ginger drinks drinker; so honestly I might never make any of these, but they do intrigue me, and I think they could be especially refreshing in hot weather if I felt like having a not too bad for me dessert. None listed contain alcohol but alcoholic drinks are included in this section.): Pomegranate-Ginger Spritzers; Guava Smoothie; Florida Key Limeade; Mango Smoothies; Mango-Peach Freeze; Strawberry-Kiwifruit Smoothies; Tropical Smoothies
I read a library copy and while I’m not tempted to buy it, my guess is I’ll borrow it a couple more times.
I’ve got to stop reading these tropical books because I don’t like coconut. Coconut is the vegan rage these days. There is coconut based ice cream; I prefer soy. Then there is coconut milk; I prefer almond. And there is coconut oil. I prefer none, but olive, or maybe canola or avocado if there must be oil. There are plenty of recipes in this book that fo not contain coconut, but there quite a few that do, though I guess substitutions are possible, albeit not authentic. There are also many recipes in here appealing to me, as is or with tweaks. Many seem easy to make and many seem to have ingredients easy to procure, but not all of them.
For those who like coconut, and who are fine with sugary ingredients in savory dishes, who don’t mind using vegetable shortening and quite a bit of oil, they’ll probably appreciate more of the recipes than I did. And people like me can leave out and substitute for certain ingredients.
I love the vegetables and fruits and the cuisines from many specific regions that are included.
The only photo in the book is the cover photo and that is a shame. I’d have loved photos of all the recipes, or at least photos of some of them.
There isn’t that much text or information in this book; it’s all about the recipes, which is fine. Everything I looked up in the index, I found immediately, or almost immediately, which I appreciated.
Contents:
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Appetizers and Snacks
Soups
First Course and Lighter Soups
Heartier Soups and Stews
Salads
First-Course and Side Salads
Main-Course Salads
Main Dishes
Side Dishes
Desserts and Other Sweets
Beverages
Metric Conversion Charts
Index
I love the idea of this book, and I do appreciate the variety in this book. However, I find myself gravitating to certain recipes, ones that contain many of the same ingredients, so the recipes that appeal to me aren’t necessarily fully representative of all recipes included.
Here are the recipes that most appeal to me, for eating and (in most cases) preparing:
from Appetizers: Black Bean and Tropical Fruit Salsa; Butter Bean Guacamole (I HAVE to try this!); Haitian Peanut Sauce with Raw and Steamed Vegetables; Caribbean Eggplant Spread; Canary Island-Style Wrinkled Potatoes with Red Pepper Mojo Sauce
from Soups: African Black Barley Soup with Okra and Tomatoes; Chilled Avocado Soup; Caribbean Pumpkin Soup; Brazilian Black Bean and Vegetable Stew; Mexican Black Bean and Brown Rice Soup; Brazilian Black Bean Soup; African Groundnut Stew with Fufu; Vietnamese Noodle Soup
from Salads: Avocado and Mango Salad with Arugula and Red Onion; Costa Rican-Style Mango-Avocado Salad with Cabbage and Lime; Tropical Couscous Salad
from Main Dishes: Indian Black Bean Barley Pilaf with Bananas and Oranges; Black Bean and Avocado Enchiladas with Chipotle Sauce; Spicy Thai-Style Pasta Twists (great for pot lucks; I’m always looking for suitable dishes); Roasted Vegetables in African Peanut Sauce with Fufu; Caribbean-Style Baked Sweet Potatoes with Chili Black Beans; Black Beans with Sofrito over Rice; Spicy Bolivian-Style Lentils over Rice; African Beans and Potatoes; Hot Mango Pilaf with Almonds
from Side Dishes: Caribbean-Style Black Beans Hawaiian Orange-Ginger Carrots; Eggplant in Cuban-Style Mojo Sauce; Sri Lanken-Style Curried Green Beans with Cashews; Trinidad-Style Curried Mashed Potatoes; Venezuelan-Style Baked Potato Casserole; Brazilian-Style Braised Pumpkin; Chili-Roasted Sweet Potato Fries
from Desserts and Other Sweets: Hawaiian Chocolate-Coated Frozen Bananas; Baked Churros; Florida Key Lime Ice
from Beverages (I’m a water drinker and a very occasional tea drinker and rare homemade/restaurant made ginger ale and other ginger drinks drinker; so honestly I might never make any of these, but they do intrigue me, and I think they could be especially refreshing in hot weather if I felt like having a not too bad for me dessert. None listed contain alcohol but alcoholic drinks are included in this section.): Pomegranate-Ginger Spritzers; Guava Smoothie; Florida Key Limeade; Mango Smoothies; Mango-Peach Freeze; Strawberry-Kiwifruit Smoothies; Tropical Smoothies
I read a library copy and while I’m not tempted to buy it, my guess is I’ll borrow it a couple more times.
October 22, 2010
Another dependable book by Donna Klein. At this point, I trust her recipes to the point that I will serve them for company without trying them at home first. I love that her cookbooks use easy-to-find ingredients. I only wish there were splashy color photos!
Here's my take on the first three dishes I prepared from this cookbook --
Caribbean-style potato-vegetable curry: I liked this, but I didn't think it was very curry-like. The spices were turmeric, cumin, allspice, and ginger. Part of the problem may have been that I forgot to add the broth. A little hot sauce gave this just the kick I wanted.
Caribbean-style baked sweet potatoes with chili black beans: I love this concept -- sweet potatoes smothered in veggie chili -- but while the recipe is easy, it does take a considerable amount of time to bake sweet potatoes, so it's not a weeknight dish. (In fact, my sweet potatoes took far longer than the 45 minutes that Donna Klein suggests.) That said, it's delicious, and I learned something new: equal parts refried beans, black beans, and salsa, plus spices and scallions, make a fast chili.
Thai lettuce wraps: On a scale of 1 to 10, kiddo rated these a 13. She's not a fan of mushrooms, but she ate them up along side the tofu, cabbage, and carrots, and we all loved the liberal use of garlic and ginger. These wraps had just the right amount of kick, and they were fun to eat!
Here's my take on the first three dishes I prepared from this cookbook --
Caribbean-style potato-vegetable curry: I liked this, but I didn't think it was very curry-like. The spices were turmeric, cumin, allspice, and ginger. Part of the problem may have been that I forgot to add the broth. A little hot sauce gave this just the kick I wanted.
Caribbean-style baked sweet potatoes with chili black beans: I love this concept -- sweet potatoes smothered in veggie chili -- but while the recipe is easy, it does take a considerable amount of time to bake sweet potatoes, so it's not a weeknight dish. (In fact, my sweet potatoes took far longer than the 45 minutes that Donna Klein suggests.) That said, it's delicious, and I learned something new: equal parts refried beans, black beans, and salsa, plus spices and scallions, make a fast chili.
Thai lettuce wraps: On a scale of 1 to 10, kiddo rated these a 13. She's not a fan of mushrooms, but she ate them up along side the tofu, cabbage, and carrots, and we all loved the liberal use of garlic and ginger. These wraps had just the right amount of kick, and they were fun to eat!
April 19, 2009
There aren't many recipes in this book that I WOULDN'T want to make. Everything looks so flavorful and delicious. The countries the dishes are derived from run the gamut from South American to Cuban to Thai to Australian and more! I made the Curried Quinoa Salad with Mango (pg 71) to go with dinner tonight and it is wonderful. Will be incorporating several new dishes from this book into my meals over the next few weeks.
January 31, 2010
Every single recipe that I've tried from this book has been delicious, surprising, and satisfying. Just last week I made the pomegranate-lentil stew with spinach, the African peanut-pineapple soup with kale, and the New Zealand brown rice-apple-kiwi salad (twice). I love it enough that I'm BUYING it instead of just continually renewing it from the library (how I usually do with cookbooks).
October 23, 2012
Lots of recipes calling for the use of corn syrup - yuck! Very disorganized layout.
June 21, 2025
This book is filled with delicious-sounding recipes! I love coconut and most of the recipes use coconut! I look forward to trying many of the recipes!!
July 6, 2009
Klein has written several veg cookbooks, and this is another great one. There are several recipes that I can't wait to try!
December 9, 2010
Great recipes.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews