序 第一次下厨是七岁的时候,大家可能觉得很不可思议,那个时候三代一起移民到纽西兰,一个屋子里住着二十几个人,父母与家里的长辈人手不足的情况下,身为大孙女的我,只好跟在大人身边一起下厨。
起初觉得料理很好玩,但由于家里吃素,早期在国外取材不易,想吃什么料理就必须自己做,12 岁那年全家又移民到澳洲,又开始对于新的环境与新的食材重新了解,慢慢的我也开始四处取经,像是从认识的前辈学习与购买书籍,当时国外素食食谱并非盛行,所以我时常看荤食食谱做料理并将它改成素食,创造成新的菜色,没想到不断尝试新菜色的成果,让有吃过我的料理的人询问我是不是能为他们开课,这也让我更全心全意的投入烹饪美食的行列。
当我成年可以自己坐飞机四处旅行时,我发现原来有许多美食是国外吃不到的,我要如何把这些琳瑯满目的美食带回澳洲?那时我买了很多食谱回家研究,不断想到底有什么食材是可以取代的,什么香料是在澳洲可以唾手可得的,或是当我回到我最初的家乡台湾探亲时,是否我也可以亲手做我喜爱的外国料理不论是美式、印度、台湾……等,让我都能亲手做,这次透过书籍的传递我想把我所学从入门到进阶传授给大家,让素食料理不只好吃也能结合各国美食并变化。
这是一本很幸福的书,很多人说美味的食物可以使人感到幸福,我希望这本书可以让大家都感受到幸福的氛围。
杨雅涵
The first time I cooked was when I was seven. Many of you may think that is unbelievable. At the time, three generations of my family migrated to New Zealand and there were over twenty people living under the same roof. My parents and my uncles and aunties were often shorthanded hence, being the oldest granddaughter; I had no choice but to cook with the adults.
At the start, I thought cooking was fun but since our family were vegetarians it was difficult to obtain the ingredients overseas. Whatever we wanted to eat, we had to make it ourselves. When I was twelve years old, our family migrated to Australia. I grew anappreciationtowards the new environment and new ingredients. Slowly, I began to explore different resources such as learning from different teachers and also studying books. At that time, there were not many vegetarian recipes overseas hence I often needed to read non-vegetarian recipes and adjust the recipe to become vegetarian and create new cuisines. I could not imagine that through experimenting with new foods made those that tried my cooking ask whether I can start a class to teach them. This made me more determined to fully devote myself in the culinary arts.
When I was old enough to travel on my own, I realized there were many delicacies not available in Australia. I wondered how could I bring these delicacies back to Australia? At that time, I brought back many recipe books with me to study and would constantly be thinking of which ingredients could be substituted and which condiments can be easily obtained in Australia. I would also think about when I returned to my home country to visit my relatives whether I am able to make my favourite exotic cuisine whether it is American, Indian or Taiwanese etc. on my own. Through this book, I wish to pass on to you what I have learnt starting from the very basics through to advanced levels of cooking.Vegetarian cuisine will not only taste good but can also be fused with foods from different cultures.
This is a book of happiness. Many say that great food can bring happiness to people. I hope this book can bring you happiness.
Ya-Han Sophie Yang