Chloe Flavor Cookbook Review & Recipe • Chloe Coscarelli

So I got an email that went something like this:

Lovely people from Nasoya: “Sam, what up homie? You heard about Chloe C’s new rad cookbook, right!? Wanna review it and use our tofu?”

Sam: “Duuuudes!! That’s legit. Chloe is the bomb and tofu is my dig. That would be sick. I’m in. Fist bump!”

Ok, so that’s not actually at all how the emails went, it was a lot more professional than that on both ends, but you get the drift.

Nasoya partnered up with Chloe Coscarelli to help launch her latest cookbook Chloe Flavor, and when Nasoya asked if I would help them by reviewing Chloe’s book and sharing a tofu recipe from the book, I was 100% in. This post is not sponsored and all opinions are my own. I’m just doing Chloe and Nasoya a solid. 👊

Now for my story featuring Chloe Coscarelli as my night in shining armour. When I first went vegan, everything was super quinoa, kale, energy ball, juice, and buddha bowl focused, and I hated it. It was my discovery of Chloe Coscarelli’s first cookbook, Chloe’s Kitchen, that showed me you could eat “normal” food, and have it vegan too. In many ways, Chloe inspired me to start my own style of cooking, giving me hints at how I could veganize my old favourite recipes. Insert huge sigh of relief for Sam here.

Fast forward 4 years. I had just finished writing my cookbook Fuss-Free Vegan and my editor asked me to try and contact a few people to write early reviews for the back cover of my cookbook. Chloe was one of the first people that came to mind as she was such a huge inspiration to me. I emailed her on a whim, but I didn’t actually expect a reply. So I was shocked when I got a response from her almost instantly, saying she be happy to write a blurb for my book. And so she did!

See there it is!! Right on the back of my book. How cool is that!? I obviously did cartwheels all day… except I can’t do cartwheels… but you know, cartwheels in spirit.

Now to Chloe’s book. Ah, the joys of receiving this book. The first thing that made me giggle is that the inner cover of this book is a shade of pale turquoise. The same shade that is my favourite colour and can be seen all over my kitchen, my house, and throughout my own cookbook. Then when deciding on what recipe to make, I knew it had to be Burnt Garlic Un-fried Rice because of the introduction to the recipe. Ok, get this: Chloe wrote a love letter to garlic. Now, if you own a copy of my book, you may have noticed on my French onion soup recipe (page 80), I wrote a love letter to an onion. Yeah, I know, my mind has been officially blown. I have not yet met Chloe, but in some parallel universe, we clearly connect.

Now to the recipe! Well, fried rice, need I say more? Yes, I need to. This isn’t just any fried rice, this dish contains 20 cloves of garlic. Yes, 20!! I took a cue from Chloe and bought my garlic pre-peeled (not something I normally do, but now I’m wondering why as it made it so easy). The tofu is crumbled, seasoned, and lightly fried. In a new pan, a portion of the garlic is browned and then removed from the pan. The garlic-y oil is left to fry up the rest of the deliciousness, then you toss everything together along with the browned garlic, and the remaining garlic. I tweaked mine only slightly to suit my own tastes, by chilling out on the oil a bit and reducing the salt slightly.

To say this is a flavor bomb is an understatement. This will definitely be the star of dinner. I served mine with some simple roasted broccoli and a glass of cold beer. Take out hasn’t got anything on this!

Chloe Flavor is jam-packed full of scrumptious, gorgeous, and creative recipes. The No-Huevos Rancheros, Homemade Cocoa Puffs, Goldenfish Crackers, Fiesta Taco Bowl, California Nachos, and Raspberry Shortbread Bars are calling my name next. And considering I already own and love her first three cookbooks, I know I won’t disappointed in a single recipe. You can pick up your own copy of Chloe Flavor here on Amazon.

4.75 from 4 votes

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Burnt Garlic Un-fried Rice

Dear Garlic,

How can you be so good, even when you're burnt? I'll be wondering.

Love always,

Chloe

While twenty cloves of garlic might sound like a lot, the flavor is pretty mellow and you'll be glad you used every last one. For a shortcut, buy peeled garlic cloves and mince them by pulsing in a food processor.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings: 4

Author: Chloe Coscarelli

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more as needed
• 8 ounces extra-firm Nasoya tofu, drained and crumbled
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 20 garlic cloves, minced or thinly sliced
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 3 cups cooked jasmine rice
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 2 scalliona, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons lime juice

Toppings:

• Hot sauce or sriracha (optional)
• lime wdges (not optional!)

Instructions

1. In a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add the tofu, curry powder, coriander, turmeric, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring often, for 3 to 5 minutes, until the spices are evenly distributed. Remove the skillet from the heat.

2. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet or wok, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add 2 tablespoons of the minced garlic and cook until very browned but not blackened, about 3 minutes. Transfer the burnt garlic to paper towels to drain, reserving the oil in the skillet.

3. Add the onion to the garlic oil in the skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, until softened. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add the ginger, rice, cashews, scallions, and lime juice, and cook, stirring often and adding more oil as needed if the pan looks dry, 6 to 8 minutes more, until heated through.

4. Stir in the burnt garlic, remaining garlic, and the tofu and cook for about 1 minutes more to warm through. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve with hot sauce, if desired, and lime wedges.

Recipe Notes

Shared with permission from the amazing new cookbook Chloe Flavor by Chloe Coscarelli.

Bon appetegan!

Sam.