Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table: Recipes and Reminiscences from Vietnam's Best Market Kitchens, Street Cafes, and Home Cooks

by Mai Pham

Overview

A land of vibrant cultures and vivid contrasts, Vietnam is also home to some of the most delicious and intriguing food in the world. While its cooking traditions have been influenced by those of China, France, and even India, Vietnam has created a cuisine with a spirit and a flavor all its own.

Chef and restaurateur Mai Pham brings to life this diverse and exciting cooking in Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table. Born and raised in Saigon before emigrating to the United States, Mai has often returned to her native land to learn the secrets of authentic Vietnamese cooking, from family, friends, home cooks, street vendors, and master chefs. Traveling from region to region, she has gathered the simple, classic recipes that define Vietnamese food today: Green Mango Salad with Grilled Beef, Stir-Fried Chicken with Lemongrass and Chilies, Caramelized Garlic Shrimp, and especially pho, the country's beloved beef-and-noodle soup. With more than 100 recipes in all, Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table offers home cooks the chance to create and savor the traditional flavors of Vietnam in their own kitchen.

Filled with enchanting stories and stirring black-and-white photos of life in Vietnam, Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table provides a captivating taste of an enduring culture and its irresistible cuisine.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780060192587
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	07/31/2001
Edition description:	1ST
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	947,965
Product dimensions:	7.38(w) x 9.12(h) x 0.89(d)

About the Author

Mai Pham was born in Vietnam and raised in both Vietnam and Thailand. Now chef and owner of the acclaimed Lemon Grass Restaurant in Sacramento, California, Mai is a food columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times, and a regular guest chef instructor at the Culinary Institute of America. She is also an owner of the popular La Bou Bakery and Cafe group in Northern California. Her first book, The Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking, was published in 1996.

Read an Excerpt

Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table

Grilled LemonGrass Shirmp(tom nuong xa)

Serves 4 as an Appetizer

A land of vibrant cultures and vivid contrasts, Vietnam is also home to some of the most delicious and intriguing food in the world.Chef and restaurateur Mai Pham brings to life this diverse and exciting cusine.

Ingredients

1/4 cup minced lemongrass
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground chili paste
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound medium raw shrimp peeled and deveined
4 (10-inch) bamboo skewers, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes and drained.

What can be more enticing than the aroma of sweet, plump, shrimp with lemongrass on the grill?It's a fragrance I often encounter at the market stalls in Vietnam, and it's always hard to walk by without surrendering to a plateful.Fortunately, this delicious dish is easily prepared at home and gets rave reviews from everyone, including children.Just make sure that the shrimp is of high quality and the lemongrass is really fresh.Serve this as an appetizer or as a main dish with the shrimp as the topping for Rice Noodles with Fresh Herbs.

Instructions:

1. Combine the lemongrass, garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, chili paste, salt, sugar, and oil in a bowl.Add the shrimp and marinate for 15 minutes.Thread the shrimp on the skewers and set them aside.
2. Start a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill to moderate heat.Just before serving, grill the shrimp, turning the skewers, until just done,about 2 or 3 minutes total, depending on the size.If you don't have a grill, trim the skewers and cook in a pan with a little oil on the stovetop.

---

Beef Wrapped in Pepper Leaves
(bo nuong la lot)

Serves 4

La lot (pepper leaf) is used extensively in Vitetnam, as an aromatic leaf in stir-fries and soups and as a wrapper. A member of the wild betel family, it has shiny, dark green heart-shaped leaves. In the United States, these leaves have been showing up more frequently at Asian markets. If you can't find them, substitute red perilla or shiso or grape leaves.

This dish is part of bo bay mon (Beef in Seven Ways), a popular special meal, featuring multiple beef courses. To enjoy this dish, serve it as an appetizer or as a topping for Rice Noodles with Fresh Herbs.

These rolls are typically grilled over hot coals. However, I prefer to cook them in a pan because the la lot leaves available in the United States are too mature and burn more easily when cooked on a grill.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 yellow onion, chopped (about 2/3 cup)
2 tablespoons finely chopped lemongrass
3 tablespoons chopped Roasted Peanuts
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound coarsely ground beef
30 large la lot (pepper leaves) or red perilla or grape leaves
4 (6- or 8-inch) bamboo skewers
Table Salad for serving
Vietnamese Dipping Sauce for serving

Instructions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a pan over moderate heat. Add the garlic and onion and stir until softened, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Add the lemongrass, peanuts, turmeric, sugar, fish sauce, salt and ground beef. Mix with a fork until well blended and sticky, about 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside for 30 minutes.
2. To make the rolls, place 1 heaping tablespoon of the meat mixture in the center of a pepper leaf. Using your fingers, shape the meat into a cylinder about 2 inches long and 3/4 inch wide. Wrap the leaf around the meat but leave the sides open. (If necessary, use 2 leaves.) When done, place the roll seam side down. Make the remaining rolls in the same way.
3. Thread 5 rolls onto each bamboo skewer, positioning the rolls so they touch one another at the seams. Set aside until ready to cook.
4. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick frying pan over low heat. (Make sure the pan is large enough to accommodate the skewers. If not, shorten the skewers.) Add the beef rolls and cook until the meat is done, about 5 to 7 minutes total. Do not overcrowd the pan. Reduce the heat as necessary to keep the leaves from charring.
5. Transfer the skewers to a platter. Remove the skewers and serve the rolls with Table Salad and Vietnamese Dipping Sauce.

Recipe

Grilled LemonGrass Shrimp(tom nuong xa)

Serves 4 as an Appetizer

A land of vibrant cultures and vivid contrasts, Vietnam is also home to some of the most delicious and intriguing food in the world. Chef and restaurateur Mai Pham brings to life this diverse and exciting cusine.

Ingredients

1/4 cup minced lemongrass
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground chili paste
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound medium raw shrimp peeled and deveined
4 (10-inch) bamboo skewers, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes and drained.

What can be more enticing than the aroma of sweet, plump, shrimp with lemongrass on the grill? It's a fragrance I often encounter at the market stalls in Vietnam, and it's always hard to walk by without surrendering to a plateful. Fortunately, this delicious dish is easily prepared at home and gets rave reviews from everyone, including children. Just make sure that the shrimp is of high quality and the lemongrass is really fresh. Serve this as an appetizer or as a main dish with the shrimp as the topping for Rice Noodles with Fresh Herbs.

Instructions:

1. Combine the lemongrass, garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, chili paste, salt, sugar, and oil in a bowl. Add the shrimp and marinate for 15 minutes. Thread the shrimp on the skewers and set them aside.
2. Start a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill to moderate heat. Just before serving, grill the shrimp, turning the skewers, until just done, about 2 or 3 minutes total, depending on the size. If you don't have a grill, trim the skewers and cook in a pan with a little oil on the stovetop.

Beef Wrapped in Pepper Leaves
(bo nuong la lot)

Serves 4

La lot (pepper leaf) is used extensively in Vitetnam, as an aromatic leaf in stir-fries and soups and as a wrapper. A member of the wild betel family, it has shiny, dark green heart-shaped leaves. In the United States, these leaves have been showing up more frequently at Asian markets. If you can't find them, substitute red perilla or shiso or grape leaves.

This dish is part of bo bay mon (Beef in Seven Ways), a popular special meal, featuring multiple beef courses. To enjoy this dish, serve it as an appetizer or as a topping for Rice Noodles with Fresh Herbs.

These rolls are typically grilled over hot coals. However, I prefer to cook them in a pan because the la lot leaves available in the United States are too mature and burn more easily when cooked on a grill.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 yellow onion, chopped (about 2/3 cup)
2 tablespoons finely chopped lemongrass
3 tablespoons chopped Roasted Peanuts
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound coarsely ground beef
30 large la lot (pepper leaves) or red perilla or grape leaves
4 (6- or 8-inch) bamboo skewers
Table Salad for serving
Vietnamese Dipping Sauce for serving

Instructions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a pan over moderate heat. Add the garlic and onion and stir until softened, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Add the lemongrass, peanuts, turmeric, sugar, fish sauce, salt and ground beef. Mix with a fork until well blended and sticky, about 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside for 30 minutes.
2. To make the rolls, place 1 heaping tablespoon of the meat mixture in the center of a pepper leaf. Using your fingers, shape the meat into a cylinder about 2 inches long and 3/4 inch wide. Wrap the leaf around the meat but leave the sides open. (If necessary, use 2 leaves.) When done, place the roll seam side down. Make the remaining rolls in the same way.
3. Thread 5 rolls onto each bamboo skewer, positioning the rolls so they touch one another at the seams. Set aside until ready to cook.
4. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick frying pan over low heat. (Make sure the pan is large enough to accommodate the skewers. If not, shorten the skewers.) Add the beef rolls and cook until the meat is done, about 5 to 7 minutes total. Do not overcrowd the pan. Reduce the heat as necessary to keep the leaves from charring.
5. Transfer the skewers to a platter. Remove the skewers and serve the rolls with Table Salad and Vietnamese Dipping Sauce.

Editorial Reviews

The Barnes & Noble Review
Mai Pham left Vietnam in 1975 during the fall of Saigon. When she returned for a visit some 20 years later, there were two dreams she was most eager to fulfill: to reunite with her then-96-year-old grandmother and to have a dish of pho -- rice noodle soup with beef and aromatic herbs. She has visited Vietnam every year since.

Now chef and owner of the Lemon Grass Restaurant and Café in Sacramento, California, Pham has a wonderful way of writing about food and its connection to family, childhood, love, and life. This collection of authentic recipes, which she feels represents the best the country has to offer, comes from families, market cafés, and street vendors. (Street vendors in Vietnam are highly regarded as specialized cooks.) It provides an excellent introduction to a people, a cuisine, a country.

Pham clearly explains the distinctiveness of the Vietnamese cuisine, which relies on the layering of flavors, extensive use of aromatic herbs and nuoc mam (fish sauce), and the style of eating small pieces of meat or fish wrapped in lettuce or rice and dipped in sauces. The aim, always, is to keep the flavors separate. Take a dish of pho, for example: "The noodles and broth provide substance by themselves, the flavors are rather delicate by design. However, when eaten with fresh herbs, chilies, and limes, the flavors are immediately transformed, becoming spicy, aromatic and tangy all at the same time." With that description, I'm ready to try out some of the many noodle soups right away. Recipes for Hue Chicken Salad, Stir-Fried Chicken with Lemongrass and Chilies, and even Vietnamese Coffee have also jumped to the top of my Want to Cook list.

Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table includes chapters on dipping sauces and condiments, rice noodles, cake and rolls, rice dishes with poultry and meat, seafood dishes, vegetarian favorites, and sweets. (Ginger Curwen)

bn.com

Pham, who fled Vietnam with her family in 1975, is now co chef and owner of the Lemon Grass Restaurant in Sacramento, CA. She first returned to Vietnam six years ago and has been back every year since, visiting her feisty 101-year-old grandmother and traveling throughout the country. Pham's first cookbook was The Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking (1996). Here she focuses on the wonderful food sold at markets and street corner stalls in Vietnam, starting with Pho, the famous rice noodle and beef soup, and moving on to salads and savory snacks, rice and noodle dishes, seafood such as Salt-and-Pepper Crab, and vegetarian dishes. Pham points out that street food is highly regarded in Vietnam and that the cooks who offer these delicacies are regarded as master chefs, since many "have spent a lifetime perfecting one, or at most a few, specialty recipes dishes typically packed with flavors." She also provides an overview of Vietnamese food and includes a separate chapter on the sauces and other condiments ("Layer After Layer") that are essential to finishing and individualizing each dish. Readable, personal, and filled with delicious recipes, this is highly recommended. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal