[Herald Interview] Christine Cho’s vegan classics come alive in new cookbook

Herald Corp.’s organic food developer Organica has released a new cookbook featuring 40 vegan and raw food recipes penned by its head chef Christine Cho.

“When I came (to Organica) last June, we started the blog Christine’s Vegan Kitchen. The recipes started to grow, and we thought we wanted to share them in a book form,” Cho told The Korea Herald in an interview on Wednesday.

According to Cho, “Organica Vegan Kitchen” is a guide for Koreans who want to pursue a healthy vegan diet, but do not know where to start. The book has 100 pages and costs 12,000 won. 

“Koreans understand a variety of grains, rice and mixed rice. Tofu and soybean are so common in their diet. They eat all the funky stuff that are strange to the Western palate. It’s not that hard to switch over. And what we’re doing here is to support just one day a week, or one meal a day of plant-based food.”

Cho said the goal of the book was not to convince people to completely change their diet, but rather to introduce them to healthy alternatives.

“We don’t want to tell people to change their lifestyle, but slowly incorporate it into their lives and make (healthier) choices,” she said.

The cookbook was designed for those who are not used to a vegan or raw food diet, hence Cho chose recipes that would be accessible to beginners.

“We wanted to share the classics in a raw, vegan or vegetarian diet, using ingredients you can find easily. Also, the price point. You don’t want to make these so expensive. So those were the three requirements for the recipes,” she said. “We tried to make it for a first-timer. I think the hardest thing will be finding the ingredients, but I’m always saying you can make each recipe in your own style. There are no rules to (the ingredients).”

According to Cho, the cookbook “stemmed from a lot of the development work” at Organica. Following its release of cleanse juices and soups, Organica’s next step was Reset Day, an edible detox food delivery service consisting of three meals and two juices per day. 

 

Many of the recipes from “Organica Vegan Kitchen” is included in the program, for those who want to taste recipes made by Cho herself. “If you can’t make it, I’ll make it for you,” she said. “But really, it’s quite easy.”

“Organica Vegan Kitchen” is now available at www.organica.kr and Kyobo bookstores.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)