Book Review: Vegan Street Food

Caitlin McGraw reviews her new cookbook 'Vegan Street Food' by Saskia Sidey in her bid to try out new, healthy recipes moving into 2023.

Caitlin McGraw

Every January, I set a New Year’s resolution along the lines of trying new recipes and cooking more meals from scratch to ensure that cooking remains a fun hobby rather than a necessary task, with the added bonus of eating healthier following festive indulgence. One of my Christmas presents this year, a recipe book titled ‘Vegan Street Food’ by food writer Saskia Sidey, has already proved a hit and provided recipes to begin another year of expanding my palate and cooking capabilities.

and many more cuisines. ‘Vegan Street Food’ promises ‘50 Vegan recipes inspired by the world’s finest street foods’, including ambitious curries, burgers, steaks, side dishes and salad recipes consisting entirely of animalfree and plant-based ingredients. Whilst the style may be street food, the portions are anything but small. The recipes are perfect for group meals or batch cooking, alongside others working as quick snacks or salads. Moreoever, flipping through the pages, readers are greeted with colourful shots of each dish that highlight how vegan food can be beautiful, diverse and appetising to non-vegans like me.

well-seasoned, innovative and relatively simple to follow, ultimately producing a comforting winter dinner for the whole family. Sweet potato, aubergine, cauliflower, beans, and mushrooms appear throughout the recipes as core substitutes for meaty textures and flavours, providing organic and nutrient-filled approaches to cooking plantbased dishes. Appreciating the new ingredients, recipes, and flavours gained by eating vegan food can make changing diets and lifestyles easier, as can considering the environmental benefits associated with making compassionate food choices.

push the boundaries of which recipes I chose to recreate.

considered, and made cooking even more enjoyable in its easyto-follow instructions and concise ingredient lists. Even if you do not wish to make the jump to veganism, consider integrating a few vegan dishes and recipes into your mealtimes to enjoy the experience of cooking with unfamiliar ingredients and flavours, without the pressure of a new lifestyle.

The cookbook combines two of my favourite types of meals: street food and vegan / vegetarian dishes. It offers a fresh take on foods from India, Mexico, Italy

In the spirit of ‘Veganuary’, I first attempted the sweet potato and cauliflower curry, which included creamy coconut milk and ground turmeric to add a bright yellow kick to the dish. As far as curries go, this recipe was

Since receiving this cookbook, I have added banana pancakes, cauliflower nuggets and teriyaki courgettes to my repertoire, with the latter standing out as a favourite due to the texture and flavour of courgette fried and steamed in a way that I had never attempted before. Making the teriyaki marinade was also fun and more authentic than buying a premade sauce - it tasted delicious too! I am looking forward to attempting the sweet potato quesadillas and black bean meatballs next, with this recipe book providing versions of dishes that I have often avoided or deemed too complicated to replicate. The cookbook also came attached with two seasonings to be used in various dishes. These were great as they acted as a motivator to