Hannah Che, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, connected with her culture through cooking but faced resistance when she went vegan. Though her parents scorned "hippie types," she discovered that plant-based eating has an ancient heritage in China and was reinforced by Buddhism and mid-20th-century food shortages. In fact, the Chinese word for "vegan" connotes simplicity. Che's appealing, close-up photographs in The Vegan Chinese Kitchen showcase fresh and colorful plates: Napa cabbage and vermicelli salad, steamed buns and mock meat dishes such as "vegetarian roast goose" (shiitake mushrooms and ginger and bamboo shoots wrapped in tofu skin). Along with historical information and personal anecdotes, Che gives advice for preparing ingredients and making effective knife cuts. In this cookbook, a sliced pickled radish is a work of art, and there are more mouth-watering uses for tofu than you ever imagined. --Rebecca Foster, freelance reviewer, proofreader and blogger at Bookish Beck