Customer Reviews

The Book of Vietnamese Cooking

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This book looks like one that would be reasonably straightforward and easy to use. Unfortunately, I found it to contain CHINESE recipes and it seemed rather unauthentic.

Deh-Ta Hsiung should stay with the Cantonese cooking instead venturing into unknown areas. A nice and colorful book does not make a cook book.

This book is decorative in a certain way -- in a kitchen that is not serious in its function nor pursuit of excellence.

There are much better books on the market for Vietnamese cuisine to be found on the American book market (Trang, Pham or Routhier). The steps illustrated are very short-cut in the way they are prepared and the final result is not Vietnamese food that is bold but something that hints at but does not accomplish authenticity.

On par with the Periplus series or even the <Insert name of nation> little cookbooks this is not a book for those building, or researching a library on the flavors of Viet Nam nor its more sublte flavor cultures. If you want a beautiful cookbook for your table try _Hot, Sour, Sweet and Salt_ . But if you want a cookbook that works than try Trang, Pham or Routhier.

Do not get this book unless it is on the remainder table and only on a lark.

In its almost 50 parts, all written by experienced cooks and cook book writers, HP Books' "The Book of ... Cooking" series takes you to the cuisines of various regions of the U.S. and around the world; all in easy to follow, well-explained recipes.

While the series' individual parts can generally be counted on to provide an excellent (even if not all-encompassing) introduction to the unique flavors of the respective cuisine they portray, this particular installment, the Book of Vietnamese Cooking, has been criticized for containing Chinese (or more specifically Cantonese) rather than Vietnamese recipes. And indeed, some of the dishes presented here seem to fit better onto the menu of a Chinese restaurant - or even a Thai or Indian eatery. (Satays, curries, hot and sour soup, Mongolian style lamb, sweet and sour recipes, spring rolls ... you get the picture.) Nevertheless, while I admit that I only know the Vietnamese cuisine from cook books and restaurants, not (yet!) from a visit to the country, there are enough recipes here which I do indeed associate with the notion of eating Vietnamese food; such as chicken, shrimp and pork with lemon grass, fish sauce, spicy chicken salad and to some extent, hot pots (not exclusive to the Vietnamese cuisine, but part of this as well as other Asian cuisines). The book also contains a brief introduction into the basics of the Vietnamese cuisine, the necessary equipment and utensils and a glossary of ingredients, and a number of unique dishes such as green papaya salad, papaya and pork soup, lychee sorbet, sesame shrimp toasts and shrimp paste on sugar cane.

From aromatic duck to zucchini with ginger, this collection of recipes, while not as representative of the cuisine portrayed as the series' other installments, still provides a decent introduction to Vietnamese cooking; even if you won't achieve mastery in the subtleties of this particular cuisine based on this book alone. Also recommended for fans of Asian cooking: this series' books on Thai, Japanese and Chinese Cooking, on Stir-Fries, and on Curries and Indian Foods.

Also recommended:
Around the World Cookbook
Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day
Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant: Ethnic and Regional Recipes from the Cooks at the Legendary Restaurant (Cookery)
Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian: More Than 650 Meatless Recipes from Around the World
On Cooking: A Textbook of Culinary Fundamentals (4th Edition) Textbook only
Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition - 2006

I can't wait to make dishes that I've eaten before but did not know how to make