Exquisite vegan desserts
Emma Lan, who is the first blogger in Taiwan specializing in veganism, focuses on desserts as a way to change the popular impression that “a vegetarian diet is really sad.” In particular, she has altered the notion that desserts must be made with eggs and milk (or cream) as has been done in the West for hundreds of years, making it possible for vegans to enjoy desserts such as tiramisu and chestnut Mont Blanc.
To give vegans the option of drinking latte, milk tea, and café au lait rather than being limited to black coffee, in 2015 Lan opened a vegan coffee shop called the Veganday Café, using soybean milk imported from Japan as a substitute for milk or cream.
In fact, a decade or so ago Emma Lan was living a “sad and difficult life” as a vegetarian. While classmates ate steak, she could only eat salad. There were no vegetarian restaurants near her university, and for a whole semester she ate nothing but bagels and mung bean soup from 7-Eleven. When she dined with any of her erstwhile boyfriends, because they all ate meat, she was often left ignored and hungry. This carried on until she made the decision that her last boyfriend would have to be vegetarian. That person is now her husband, and he has been a vegetarian since primary school. He has been by her side in opening the Veganday Café (originally called Bluesomeone’s Vegan Café) and the Veganday Cuisine restaurant.
On the restaurant’s menu are dishes like cauliflower wings, fried spinach-cheese wontons, and Veganday ratatouille, putting into practice the concepts that “eating vegetarian can be exciting, and eating vegetarian is more kindhearted.” There is also Lan’s favorite, vegan boeuf bourguignon without wine. Using lion’s mane mushrooms that are fried until aromatic and soft in place of beef, and cabbage juice and balsamic vinegar in place of Burgundy wine, she can still produce a dish with a rich flavor and texture, that is “really similar to boeuf bourguignon.”
Vegan pastries and desserts are ones in which no animal products are used, including eggs, milk, cream, gelatin, honey, and carmine. Lan, who always has a sweet smile on her face, says: “In fact, aromatic ingredients, like pumpkin and grain flour, not to mention vanilla and chocolate, all come from plants. All of these have rich fragrances.”
For example, to make chestnut Mont Blanc, fresh chestnuts (never canned) are steamed into a paste, then high-quality grapeseed and safflower seed oils are added to increase the smoothness and bring out the aroma of the chestnuts. Mousse made with organic soft tofu for texture and multi-grain soy milk powder for fragrance, with non-dairy cream added, retains the silky mouthfeel and flavor of conventional mousse. “One can avoid unnecessary cruelty to animals, and still have a beautiful life,” says Emma Lan.
Fine food has always been mankind’s most engaging source of pleasure. Leaving aside the merits of a meat diet versus a vegetarian diet and focusing only on taste, why not feast on some fantastic vegan food in the new year?
The caviar on this vegetarian foie gras is simulated using belvedere fruit from Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan.
For pan-fried scallop with seaweed and perilla, knife work and ingenious cooking techniques are employed to subtly harmonize the flavors of the ingredients.
The chefs at Gorou interact enthusiastically with customers, creating the atmosphere of a private guesthouse.
A single gourmet meal can change a person's attitude towards vegetarianism.
Caramel mocha mousse with sea salt is made using black tea cake with layers of caramel mousse; the texture is soft and delicate.
Vegan spaghetti with truffles and cream sauce is made with flour and potatoes in place of fresh cream and cheese, but still offers a rich flavor.
Emma Lan hopes to use fine vegan cuisine to tell the world that life can be very pleasurable on a vegan diet.
At the Veganday Cuisine restaurant you are immersed in an eco-friendly atmosphere and a dietary outlook based on respect for living things.