I am currently working on a cookbook with Murdoch books, which will be published in Jan 2019.

I grew up in a family who loved to cook. A lot of my earliest memories revolve around helping out in the kitchen, like helping my grandfather find his bag of semolina flour, or helping my mother to eat all the chocolate chunks that were ‘too big’ for her cookies! I am from Singapore, and if you have ever visited Singapore you know two things. Firstly, it is incredibly humid, and secondly, it has amazing food. It is a country full of foodies, and there is nowhere else in the world where you can grab delicious curry at 2a.m. in the morning the second a craving strikes.


Four years ago, I decided to go vegan for my health and for the planet. It was something I had always wanted to do, but never really had the courage to. When I was 17, and in the U.K. for sixth form, I realised that I no longer had a good enough excuse not to try it. It was hard at first, not because I missed ice cream or pizza, but because I couldn’t have my Nana’s Devil’s Curry anymore, or have my Mother’s incredible Kaya (coconut custard).


I still loved cooking, so I decided the only way I would enjoy myself and nourish myself properly would be to cook my own meals. In sixth form and in the first year of uni, cooking for myself wasn’t so easy. I had no kitchen, only a communal (and often very dirty) microwave oven. I got inventive, became a master of microwave granola, and the rest is history.

My instagram was something I used to keep myself accountable, to stay inspired, and to hopefully inspire others. Other than a love for cooking, I also inherited a passion for photography from my grandfather, and that really helped me keep up with posting. My instagram is the perfect marriage of my two favourite things, it’s me, in a nutshell.

Being a medical student, my days are almost always jam-packed. Cooking is my ‘me’ time, it relaxes me and I adore doing it. A lot of people think that in order to cook well and have fun doing it, you need a big space, tons of cool equipment and a lot of time on your hands. My kitchen in uni is tiny, with a hob that is incredibly wobbly and an oven that only heats up in one corner. My basement bedroom doubles as a photo studio, but it works for me. You make do with what you have, and you always have fun!

Writing a cookbook with Murdoch is a dream come true. I want to show people that vegan cooking isn’t as hard as it may seem, and it doesn’t have to be expensive or boring either. I love to cook what I know best—the food I grew up on. Asian food is so full of flavour from spices and herbs, so it really is the perfect thing to cook when you are plant-based. No obscure ingredients and nothing boring, just lovely, nourishing and inclusive meals for everyone—plant eater and carnivore alike.

For more updates, cookbook sneak peaks and behind the scenes, follow me on my instagram - @thesashadiaries