Plantasia (Pamelia Chia)

Transform the way you cook and think about vegetables with Plantasia by Pamelia Chia, which showcases Asia’s diversity through the eyes of 25 cooks and 88 vegetarian recipes. 

Born in the ‘90s, Singaporean author of Wet Market to Table Pamelia Chia grew up eating meat and seafood in almost every dish at every meal. Her nonchalant attitude towards vegetables persisted until she moved to Australia in 2018, the year the country experienced bushfires of unprecedented intensity. Recognising the impact of the rising demand for meat, she resolved to lower her meat intake, but struggled to sustain the change. Unsatisfied with leafy salads and grain bowls, she turned her gaze to Asia.

Plantasia is the distillation of Chia’s journey in Asia’s vegetable wisdom, written with the playful spirit of one who has grown up in one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. Through gorgeous watercolour illustrations and lush photography, Plantasia will inspire you to appreciate vegetables for what they are, rather than as substitutes for meat. The range of vegetarian recipes in the book, such as Hot Butter Mushrooms, Split Pea Tofu Salad with Chilli Crisp, Podi-Rubbed Roasted Cauliflower and Thunder Tea Kimbap, exemplify the dynamic and satisfying creations that can result when we open our minds and kitchens to the diversity of Asian cooking. 

Plantasia also includes interviews with 24 cooks on subjects ranging from how plant-based eating in Asia differs from that in the West, to how we can align our efforts in the kitchen with sustainability. Plantasia demonstrates that to eat plants is not to be deprived, but a celebration of all that nature has to offer, and is essential reading for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.