Customer Reviews

The Classic Cuisine of Vietnam (Plume)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I left home for college, what I missed most was my mother's Vietnamese cuisine. This book was a lifesaver! The recipes are all familiar, from the fancier noodle soups, Pho and Bun Bo Hue, to the basics, such as omlettes and picked mustard greens. Each of the dishes come with an introduction accompanying their Vietnamese name. The region of the dish is sometimes discussed as well as when the dish is enjoyed and with what. The recipes are very easy to follow. I recommend this book for anyone who wants an AUTHENTIC Vietnamese cookbook. I am just sorry to see that it's out of print.

This book has the most authentic Vietnamese recipes, even pickled pig's ears! Whoa! I couldn't believe it when I saw it because I've eaten it before. I'm Vietnamese, after all. This book is a treasure because it authentically writes down many Vietnamese recipes for future Vietnamese generations to enjoy. With so many changes in the world, I'm afraid that future Vietnamese generations will not know how authentic Vietnamese foods are prepared. I had to buy a used copy from Amazon.com because this book is out of print. I hope this book will be re-printed one day. The author, Bach Ngo, does not try to show how creative and inventive she is, rather she simply writes down valuable authentic recipes. If you are Vietnamese and you want an authentic Vietnamese cookbook, this is the one you should buy. It's an heirloom, for sure. Personally, I do not buy Vietnamese cookbooks that do not have authentic Vietnamese recipes.

I am Vietnamese and have grown up in a home with authentic Vietnamese cooking. Most all of the recipes in this book are great and easy to follow. My only recommendation would be to add pictures. But it is a great book nonetheless. I especially like how it contains the Vietnamese name of each dish so I can better identify it (since I only know what the dishes are called in Vietnamese).

My mother bought this book as a first edition and cooked from it when I was a child so I am somewhat biased towards it. page 110 is favourite.. stir fried beef with french fries was one of my favourite one dish meals as a kid, and brings back lots of memories.
Compared to Nicole Routhiers book which is all flashy, this book is a lot more about home cooking (the food styling in the pictures is non existant.. which is cool and refreshing if a bit dated) it also has recipes for things like vietnamese pâtés, something rarely included nowdays because it is widely available in vietnamese stores ( not true when the book was written in the 70's). Some recipes need a bit of ajusting, but all in all this book is a real asset.. I still have my mum's original copy.. I had it rebound and recovered and I still cook from it.

This book has a wealth of good information on Vietnamese cooking. The recipies are relatively easy to follow. The one thing that I would criticize is that it lacks photographs.

This book contained some of the tastiest dishes I ever prepared. It has many good recipes with easy to found ingredients (such as chicken and ginger). Preparations are easy and fast (under 30 minutes).

Somebody recommended the book so I got hold of a second hand copy. The Vietnamese author fled to the US and teamed up with an American author. Their creation might have been a decent book back in 1978, but it is a very dated book. The selection of recipes is made for a Western audience so loads of beef recipes and hardly and fish recipes. What is also very striking is that this is Vietnamese food without any of their pungent dipping sauces and hardly any of their fragrant herbs. How can it be Vietnamese food without any dipping sauce? It is this kind of unacceptable adjustments to the recipes that makes the book very dated. Given the background, it is sad that the Vietnamese author didn't write down all her knowledge in a more serious book that would stand the test of time. Instead we get a list of pretty basic recipes (and an odd pig ear recipe thrown in) and none of the more sophisticated dishes. Sad.

If somebody recommends the current book, they probably don't know what they are talking about. Instead get Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors, which is the best Vietnamese cookbook that I have found (four stars). Much better, but another US-Vietnamese perspective.

We badly need a book that shows how marvellous and varied the Vietnamese cuisine can be. A Vietnamese version of Thai Food, but that is not available in 2011.

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