{"id":187016,"date":"2021-12-22T10:00:07","date_gmt":"2021-12-22T02:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thehoneycombers.com\/hong-kong\/?p=187016"},"modified":"2024-11-20T18:47:07","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T10:47:07","slug":"vegetarian-holiday-recipes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehoneycombers.com\/hong-kong\/vegetarian-holiday-recipes\/","title":{"rendered":"Whip up a feast with vegetarian holiday recipes from cookbook author Simran Savlani"},"content":{"rendered":"

I love the holiday season in Hong Kong, and all the dinners<\/a>, and the celebrations<\/a> that come with it. However, it wasn\u2019t always like that\u2026 I moved to Hong Kong as a vegetarian<\/a>, decades ago, and holiday meals were a struggle. I was often served a standard pasta dish, along with all the Christmas sides, as my meal. Don\u2019t get me wrong, I love sides but I wanted more than just pasta. So I took matters into my own hands and started cooking a full Christmas vegetarian dinner at home. This tradition was born out of a need, but now my family now looks forward to our favourite vegetarian holiday recipes.<\/p>\n

Looking for inspiration for holiday feasts? Check out some of my family\u2019s favourite vegetarian holiday recipes and start cooking! Or, if you\u2019re not interested in making a mess in the kitchen, skip down to my recommendations for vegetarian holiday menus in Hong Kong for dining out.<\/p>\n

Dining in: Vegetarian holiday recipes<\/h2>\n

1. Mulled Wine<\/h3>\n
\"vegetarian
Get the party started with mulled wine. (Photography: Gaby Dyson via Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No matter your dietary preference, no festive dinner is complete without a few glasses of mulled wine. I start my holiday cooking preparations by simmering a bottle of supermarket red wine with a teaspoon of Asian-five spice powder (which generally combines cinnamon, fennel, star anise, cloves. The fifth spice can be a roulette between ginger, white pepper and Sichuan peppercorn). This is a great spice mix to keep on hand so you are not running around with multiple spice boxes and, even better, it is powdered so no need to strain the mulled wine before serving. Throw in a few orange wedges and a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar to sweeten to taste. Cover the pot, let it come to a simmer for a few minutes and you are ready to serve!<\/p>\n

Pro tip:<\/strong> If you like it sweet AND spicy, add a few Sichuan peppercorns to the mix!<\/em><\/p>\n

2. Sweet Potato Casserole + Spark Crispy Chili Oil<\/h3>\n
\"Vegetarian
Add some heat to our sweet potato casserole with the Crispy Chili Oil from Simran’s line of Spark Sauces.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is my family\u2019s favourite dish and we can never have too much of it. It is quite simple and there are several variations you can experiment with. It has sweet elements with the sweet potato and marshmallow, but I like to add some spice to the sweet potato mash to get that perfect bite of sugar, spice and salt! Combine 3-4 boiled and peeled sweet potatoes, with \u00bd cup brown sugar, a tablespoon of butter, pinch of salt and two tablespoons of Spark Crispy Chili Oil. Use a potato masher\/fork to combine it all together and transfer it to a casserole dish. Sprinkle marshmallows on the top to create a layer and then bake it for 12-15 minutes at 180\u00baC till the marshmallows turn golden brown.<\/p>\n

Pro tip:<\/strong> Use mini marshmallows as the smaller size provides more texture, puff and the delicious goey-ness!<\/em><\/p>\n

3. (Veggie) Pigs in a Blanket<\/h3>\n

Can I get a hallelujah for the numerous choices of plant-based sausages? I hit up Green Common, which has a wide range of options, to make this dish. I like to make this dish as an appetiser, so I normally cut up the sausage into three pieces and then roll each mini sausage piece in a small square of puff pastry. This appetiser can be made in advance and kept frozen, just bake it for 15-20 minutes at 200\u00baC in a conventional oven.<\/p>\n

Pro tip:<\/strong> If you would like to make this a little fancy, brush some cranberry jelly on the puff pastry before wrapping it around the sausage.<\/em><\/p>\n

4. Katsu Curry<\/h3>\n

Katsu Curry is a popular dish that has become a staple at our family Christmas dinners. It is warming, more-ish, vegan, and has all the comforting flavours that you want to enjoy at a holiday meal. A katsu curry cube is super handy and I\u2019ve used it a few times. But while I was formulating recipes for my cookbook, I experimented with making katsu curry from scratch! You\u2019ll be happy to know that I now have a quick and fool-proof recipe in my cookbook, A Spark of Madness<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

5. Chocolate ice cream with Spark Crispy Chili Oil<\/h3>\n
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A post shared by A Spark of Madness (@asparkofmadness)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n