Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors by Andrea Nguyen (PDF)

Description

An intimate collection of more than 175 of the finest Vietnamese recipes.When author Andrea Nguyen’s family was airlifted out of Saigon in 1975, one of the few belongings that her mother hurriedly packed for the journey was her small orange notebook of recipes. Thirty years later, Nguyen has written her own intimate collection of recipes, Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, an ambitious debut cookbook that chronicles the food traditions of her native country. Robustly flavored yet delicate, sophisticated yet simple, the recipes include steamy pho noodle soups infused with the aromas of fresh herbs and lime; rich clay-pot preparations of catfish, chicken, and pork; classic bánh mì sandwiches; and an array of Vietnamese charcuterie. Nguyen helps readers shop for essential ingredients, master core cooking techniques, and prepare and serve satisfying meals, whether for two on a weeknight or 12 on a weekend.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: From Publishers Weekly Vietnam-born Nguyen writes passionately and knowledgeably about the history and fundamentals of Vietnamese cuisine and offers more than 175 tempting and largely nonintimidating recipes, with the Vietnamese translation of the name beneath the English name and headnotes that provide excellent context and helpful tips. Chapters begin with alluring introductory text—the first set of recipes, for example, are the “Gifts to the Mouth,” which the author explains is a translation of the Vietnamese phrase for snacking. The chapter includes such dishes as Beef and Jicama Hand Rolls, the Baguette Sandwich—the “one sandwich in the Vietnamese repertoire… a tour de force”—and Fried Shrimp Chips. Other chapters are Sacred Soups (Chicken Dumpling and Chrysanthemum Leaf Soup is one beautiful entry), Classic Meats (like Beef Flank and Ginger Simmered in Caramel Sauce), Vegetables Many Ways, and Delightful Sweets and Palate Refreshers, which features Grilled Bananas with Coconut Sticky Rice and Lemongrass Ice Cream. Chapters on noodles, poultry, fish and shellfish, and basic sauces, as well as guides to Vietnamese ingredients, round out this culturally rich culinary tour. (Nov.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review IACP FinalistJames Beard Award nominee“Andrea Nguyen may be to Vietnamese food what Julia Child was to French fare and Barbara Tropp to Chinese cuisine.”—Chicago Tribune“Best for: Anyone who wants to fall in love—truly, madly, deeply—with Vietnamese food.”—San Jose Mercury News“[A] smart, soulful collection of Vietnamese recipes.”—Saveur“A comprehensive take on a delicate yet dynamic cuisine.”—Philadelphia Inquirer“No other author has presented such a detailed account of the culinary abilities of Vietnamese home cooks, and subjects like the role of pickled vegetables and the techniques of charcuterie have never been so clearly explained for a wide audience.”—New York Times”Only now is Vietnamese food culture getting the attention it deserves, and a book of this beauty and seriousness will do much to explain the origins, traditions, and refinement of the country’s cuisine.”—John Mariani’s Virtual Gourmet“Nguyen makes Vietnamese cuisine accessible with this extensive cookbook, which stretches from soup to charcuterie.”—Houston Chronicle“An impressive, carefully researched, and thoroughly readable guide to Vietnamese food and culinary tradition.”—Library Journal From the Publisher * A landmark collection of more than 175 classic Vietnamese recipes, framed by stories of one family’s home kitchen and a wealth of information on the regional cuisines, essential ingredients, and culinary traditions of the country. * Illustrated with more than 50 stunning color photographs, this is the first comprehensive full-color cookbook devoted to Vietnamese food in the English language. * One of the world’s most elegant cuisines is also one of the most healthful and easy to prepare. Many dishes take less than 45 minutes from prep to pan to table and require just a handful of ingredients. About the Author Andrea Nguyen is an author, teacher and consultant based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Born in Vietnam, she came to the United States at the age of six. Andrea’s food writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Saveur, and Rodale’s Organic Life where she is also a contributing editor. Read more

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐`Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors’ by Vietnamese / American culinary journalist and teacher, Andrea Nguyen is a superior book on a minor national cuisine. What is surprising is how rich this `minor’ cuisine can be in comparison, for example, to other `minor’ cuisines I know such as those from the Philippines, Poland, Malaysia, and Hungary.Just as Poland’s cuisine is a satellite of both French and Russian cuisines, the Viet cuisine is an amalgam of Chinese, Indian (by way of Thailand), and French cuisines. The fact that the differences between Chinese and French cooking are so great has probably contributed much to the glorious variety we find in this delightful book.One important observation is that this book is not, a la Paula Wolfert, a study of `authentic’ Viet cooking. As the subtitle clearly suggests, there is much in the book that is `modern’, for which we must read `post-Vietnam war and emigration from Vietnam’. On the one hand, Ms. Nguyen was a very young girl when her family escaped the collapse of South Vietnam, so all her adult culinary experience has been from life in California. On the other hand, her primary source of ethnic recipes is a little notebook compiled by her mother while they lived an upper middle class life near Saigon. A good illustration of the tug of traditional and modern influences can be found in the very first recipe for baked shrimp toasts, adapted from the more traditional Chinese / Viet fired shrimp toasts. Rather than copy directly from Mom’s cookbook, the author borrows a Susana Foo recipe.I generally need to find only one or two things to make me excited about a new cookbook, but this one has several.The first thing to impress me was the degree to which the author remained true to her Viet ingredients. While the author did some modernization (see paragraph above), she made every effort to remain true to her homeland’s original flavors. Fortunately, almost all common Oriental ingredients are readily available in either megamarts or Asiatic markets. Unfortunately, there are still a few fresh herbs that may still be beyond the pale. For those, the author helpfully supplies sources for seeds where, if you really need to, you can grow your own.The second very good thing I found was the rich source of noodle dishes. There is just something so iconic about noodle soup which extends far beyond the classic Jewish mother stories. It is the central theme of the great Japanese foodie movie, `Tampopo’ and it seems to pop up in all sorts of well-known Sci Fi movies such as `Blade Runner’ and `The Fifth Element’. Almost seems as if Harrison Ford and Bruce Willis can’t get through a thriller without some comfort food.The third good thing was the recipe for the Chinese classic steamed buns (in Vietnamese, Banh Bao), done with baking powder instead of yeast. Every reasonably authentic recipe I have encountered usually runs to two or three pages, so any reasonable simplification is welcome, since these little goodies are such terrific treats.The fourth good thing are the Crepe recipes, which I’m sure are a pure intersection of French and Oriental culinary traditions. The most important aspect of the recipes is that the primary starch is rice rather than wheat flour.The fifth good thing is the charcuterie recipes. Amazingly, this is not all transplanted French technique. These few recipes may be a bit much unless you are familiar with charcuterie techniques (see `Charcuterie’ by leading culinary journalist Michael Ruhlman and Charcuterie expert and chef, Brian Poleyn for the skinny on this technique), but if you are willing, this is a whole new dimension to the technique.The sixth good thing is the uniquely Asian chicken stock that includes ginger and little else aside from the chicken and onions. Every time I get tired of seeing yet another recipe for chicken stock, I’ll remember this one as an exemplar of a simple recipe that makes a difference.The last `good thing’ I will note is the recipe for Mood Cakes (Banh Nuong) which seem to have a strong family resemblance to German Springerle cookies, for which you need a special mold to impress a design on the surface of the cake. Hidden in this really long recipe is the fact that these are very special kinds of savoury filled pastry like the Chinese steamed buns cited above. This is one of those recipes you want when you want to impress even the most jaded foodie. Just be sure to realize that this may end up being a two or three day project.This is the first Viet cuisine cookbook I have reviewed, but I can see it is superior to most cookbooks I’ve seen on other `minor’ cuisines. It’s just that after reading this book, I’m not sure the Viet cuisine is `minor’, as it seems to have as many distinctive features as it’s neighboring Thai cuisine.If you want or `need’ to cook Viet, this book is a must. If like me you just happen to omnivorously lap up any and all unusual cooking styles, this book is a great addition to your collection.

⭐I have a lot of vietnamese cookbooks, most of the ones printed in english that are worth buying, and a few in vietnamese to cover regional foods that none of the western books cover (please somebody write a good book on Hue or Qui Nhon cuisine), but they are difficult for me to use, as the subtleties of the language are often hard to follow for a westerner.Having picked many recipes from Andreas website over the years, looking for new ideas and subtle techniques my extended family seem to not be able to tell me about, i finally decided to buy a copy of her book.Unlike most western books of this subject, which cover the obvious recipes (pho bo, goi cuon, etc) and often not that well, Andreas book covers a wide range of regional cuisines and spends a lot of space and effort explaining the fundamentals of the cooking techniques, how to make the various ingredients needed (instead of expecting you to go out and chemically ridden versions of them at the stores), and what everything is.I particularly like that she uses the Vietnamese names for everything in addition to English, not only does this create a more comprehensive and respectful book, but it is also helpful to be able to get the exact herb required for a meal. So many other Vietnamese cookbooks for the western market put some generic name for a herb in the ingredients (such as Vietnamese Balm, yeh right, try and find that in the grocery store), and without actually knowing which one is supposed to be there from experience the recipe is hopeless. Andrea does not do any of this, and uses the real name for everything. She also includes everything that is supposed to go in a meal, not some generic item such as mixed Vietnamese herbs.Some of the older books published in Europe did these things because the ingredients were just not available locally. But that is a poor excuse, as other regions have them available, and people usually want to learn how to do things right in the kitchen, not “sort of close”. Even in France one could grow your own Tia To or Rau Ram in a window box, and the cookbooks of the day should have been more helpful in this area.For established cooks who already know how to cook Vietnamese foods, this book is still very helpful to extend ones’ repertoire, and for people wishing to learn the basics and produce their first meals on the their own, this is probably the best book i have ever seen on the subject. Even someone who was raised Vietnamese overseas, would find this book very educational and useful.There are a couple of recipes that are not so great, for example the Cha Ca Thang Long (which she calls Cha Ca) misses the mark, and there are some basic common southern family recipes missing from the book, such as Cha Ca Thac Lac, and the book could do with more basic soup recipes (bitter mellon, purple yam, kabucha etc) as soup is so important to the basic meal structure; but it is still one of the best cookbooks on Vietnamese food i have seen.So my short summary is – I wish i had this book when i was first learning to cook Vietnamese food. It would have been so useful. thank you Andrea.

⭐Not only the best Vietnamese cookbook I own but certainly one of the best cookbooks full stop. Beautifully presented hardcover, packed full of recipes that are detailed and authentic whilst the prologue is insightful with its detailed commentary of Vietnamese ingredients. The Beef pho listed in this book is superior to many I have eat in Vietnamese restaurants and using beef knuckle bone to make the stock. Basically this book is the first and final word on traditional Vietnamese cooking, what a Tome! My only criticism would be that it doesn’t contain enough pictures, but the photography for those included is excellent and at 343 pages you can rest ensured content has not been spared meaning the choice to limit photo was out of necessity more than anything. Highly recommended!

⭐Very useful book I bought as a gift and we love it. Interesting recipes with clear steps. It would improve with more photos.

⭐Ok

⭐Non sono obiettivo nei confronti di Andrea Nguyen, perché per me ogni suo libro è un piccolo capolavoro; chiunque abbia intenzione di conoscere la cucina vietnamita e, in generale, la cucina asiatica, deve possedere almeno uno dei suoi libri.Questo è il suo primo, già finalista del prestigioso premio della James Beard Foundation nel 2007: semplici ricette, pochi ingredienti e procedimenti alla portata di tutti.Grande successo sia presso il pubblico statunitense sia presso gli chef di grosso calibro (David Chang).

⭐Not found.

⭐this is more for the modern cook who just wants to cook something different without too much hassle. It is a fine book with some adaptations for western taste. The introduction to each recipe is slightly detached and the style throughout the book leaves you with a real lack of enthusiasm for the food. It feels like a series of recipes rather than a celebration of one of the most exciting food in Asia

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