Rating: 5/5
I love food. Particularly food from Southeast Asia. So it is no surprise to me that I loved this book. However, I think it is quite accessible to others that may not share my passion.
The book is laid out nicely. The introduction gives some background on Ms. Nguyen and her family, who moved to America from Vietnam when she was young. Her family's story gives some insight into the experience that the Vietnamese refugees encountered in their flight to this country. These types of tidbits appear throughout the book in the short blurbs that introduce each recipe.
Many of the typical dishes that one would think of for Vietnamese cuisine are present, though Ms. Nguyen does provide suggestions for different ways to prepare them. There were a lot of dishes, as well as occasions when they would be used, that I was unfamiliar with. The final section contains sauces and side dishes that can be used with many of the other recipes in the book.
While many of the dishes call for ingredients that aren't typical for Americans, there are suggestions on where to find them. When a specific ingredient isn't available, there are recommendations on alternatives or she suggests leaving it out altogether. There is flexibility within the recipes that should make them less intimidating for newcomers. I haven't had a chance to prepare any of the recipes from the book, but my experience with similar cuisines makes me think that these would be quite tasty. Definitely a win for anyone interested in Vietnamese or Southeast Asian cooking.
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