Gill - Jackfruit and blue ginger: Asian favourites, made vegan

Blogger and social media foodie Sasha Gill writes from a firmly held conviction that we can all benefit from a little bit of vegan in our lifestyle. Of Indian and Eurasian heritage, Sasha grew up in Singapore and is currently studying medicine at Oxford University. She was attracted to vegetarianism as a teenager for health reasons and has made a gradual transition into veganism. She is not a vegan evangelist, but does believe that everyone, at some time, can benefit from an aspect of vegan in their life, for their own health and that of the planet.

@thesashadiaries

FOOD

I grew up in the kitchen. Some of my earliest memories revolve around helping my mother make pineapple tarts. Hands off the pineapple jam! Or flipping through my nanas handwritten recipes, the pages stained with little bits of butter mementos of the curries they helped to create. I loved helping around the kitchen. Not because, at the age of seven, I was terribly interested in the cooking itself; it was more about what I could sneak a taste of when no one was looking. My sister and I used to have a deal: she would get to lick the bowl clean, while I got the balloon whisk, its crevices hiding little pockets of cake batter. Cooking and eating is the one thing my family loved to do, and we do it well.

I moved to the UK for sixth form college, convinced I wouldnt miss home. I was so excited to jump head first into my new life in a country with a cold climate and soft grey skies (in hindsight, creature of habit that I am, such a change must surely have terrified me). I lasted two weeks before I missed home, my family, proper sunshine, and my favourite popiah spring rolls. When the summer holidays finally rolled around, I returned and stuffed myself silly with popiah: juicy, stewed yam bean encased in paper-thin crpes, studded with roasted peanuts. How I had missed it!

Nowadays, studying medicine at Oxford University, I spend my time trying to master the art of getting out of bed by seven in the morning (I am not quite there yet), and pushing the boundaries of how long I can leave a bike unlocked without it getting stolen (hint: dont). The kitchen, however small and lacklustre it may be, is and will remain my happy place. Clichs aside, cooking is my escape. When life is a whirlwind of activity that sets my head spinning, cooking grounds me. And life, as we all know, is often a whirlwind.

I had toyed with the idea of vegetarianism many times before, but always had an excuse not to take the leap. Until one day, none of those excuses seemed good enough anymore. When I was seventeen, I decided to stop eating meat. A few months later, I stopped eating animal products altogether. Going vegan wasnt as hard as I had imagined, although my decision was met with a copious number of questions. So, what do you eat? Dont you need protein? Doesnt it get boring just eating salad? Dont you miss it?

Deep down, I did miss it. I missed my favourite tandoori chicken and my grandfathers famous sugee cake. I missed being able to eat all the things I used to love. It wasnt the meat, or the eggs and dairy that I craved, but the flavour .

As I got better at cooking plant foods I realised that the deep flavours I missed so much did not have to come from animal products. I made alternative versions of family recipes, one by one, trying to keep everything as authentic as possible. These were not lesser versions of their non-plant counterparts, or something only I enjoyed. They had a spot in the centre of the dinner table, so that everyone plant-eater and carnivore alike could help themselves.

Singapore, which I still call home, is a melting pot of cultures, and with this comes an extraordinary array of food. As a greeting, you get asked Are you hungry? before anything else. With people drawn from all across Asia and beyond, food is our universal language. I feel lucky to have been surrounded by such a wonderful, diverse food scene for so much of my life. That is why I decided to write this book. I want everyone to be able to enjoy the amazing food Asia has to offer, in their own homes. And, hey , it just so happens plant-based too! With all the incredible spices and sauces, you dont miss anything. Not at all.

Some may be intimidated by Asian cooking. The variety of Indian spices can dazzle even the bravest home cook, and it might be difficult trying to wrap your head around ingredients with foreign names. This book is here to help you. As a university student, I get that spending too much time and money cooking can be a worry. Trust me, I do. The recipes in this book are all designed to be accessible, affordable and easy to whip up. So, whether its a snappy Monday packed lunch or a Friday evening get-together, youll find a recipe perfect for the occasion.