Vietnamese Cookbooks

[kanzis_slave]

I'm looking for sort of an entry-level cookbook, but something that kind of covers all the bases as far as general street food. I'm looking for tried and true--nothing fancy or innovative. Any suggestions?

[HKDave]

Andrea Nguyen's 'Into the Vietnamese Kitchen'

Ann Le's 'The Little Saigon Cookbook'

[C. sapidus]

I'm looking for sort of an entry-level cookbook, but something that kind of covers all the bases as far as general street food. I'm looking for tried and true--nothing fancy or innovative. Any suggestions?

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Are you looking for a Vietnamese-language or English-language cookbook? If English, Mai Pham’s Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table should meet your criteria. It covers the basics nicely and includes many recipes for street foods adapted to the home kitchen.

I will second HKDave’s recommendation of Andrea Nguyen’s Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, but I have not seen The Little Saigon Cookbook. From several thousand miles away, my impression is that Andrea Nguyen's recipes lean more towards northern Vietnam, whereas Mai Pham's recipes lean more towards southern Vietnam. Since you are in Vietnam, I would be interested to hear your perspective on that.

[jmolinari]

A guy on another food board mentioned "The Little Saigon Cookbook' and said he really liked it.

I think that one is on my list to get.

"Into the viet. kitchen" is very good as well, but doesn't really focus on street foods.

[kanzis_slave]

Thanks all, for the suggestions. Keep em coming.

English Language is good but I can settle for Vietnamese language.

I've spent most of my time in S. Vietnam, so I gravitate towards S. Vietnamese cooking, but I like what I eat from the North.

I worked in a local restaurant in the S. but the chef and all the cooks were from the north. The staff always complained that the food was terrible and they hated even the smell (the rest of the staff were from the S.). Funny to hear them complain. I thought the food was fine.

After you've been in one city for a while and get to know the cuisine styles of you "home base" it's fun to go to another city and see just how different EVERYTHING is, even though you're just a couple of hours away. Even the most basic street food is quite unique.

Sadly, I've not done much cooking. My kitchen in the past was a traditional one--meaning no refrigerator, no stoves, no running water. Everything had to be done on a clay oven with coal, all preparation by hand. It was rather discouraging. Now that I have some modern conveniences, it's time to learn!

[kanzis_slave]

Funny, I just noticed I the photographer of The Little Saigon Cookbook is a relative of the editor to a book I'm contributing too. Small world! She'll be pleased to hear it gets high marks.

[Peter Green]

I've worked from Binh Duong's Simple Art of Vietnamese Cooking, and it's okay for seafood, but I find when I try, the recipes don't quite work for the street eats that I prefer.

(edited) I should add that I really like his papaya salad, with the green papaya shredded in like cut noodles, crisp and dripping, rather than pounded in the Thai/Lao style. Every time I make it I think of that old film The Scent of Green Papaya.

Edited August 16, 2007 by Peter Green (log)