Customer Reviews

The Little Saigon Cookbook: Vietnamese Cuisine and Culture in Southern California's Little Saigon

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've always had a thing for vietnamese food. I love everything about it, only problem is, I've just never been able to cook any of it. Born into an Armenian kitchen, the flavors, spices, and methods of cooking I've learned do me no good. I had resigned myself to eating out for vietnamese the rest of my life.

Then I saw an article in the March issue of Sunset magazine. A girl with dimples promising to teach me how to make vietnamese food. On a rare impulse, I bought The Little Saigon Cookbook (I think it hit a chord of sentimentality since I live in LIttle Armenia). The recipes are simple, fast, and delicious! I've now been able to make new friends and influence people using my new found cullinary skills. Thank you Ann Le!

I bought this fabulous cookbook and immediately planned my first annual "Little Saigon Dinner Party" - the recipes are easy, fun, beautiful, and delicious - our guests could not believe that we made the food ourselves. The cookbook is beautifully illustrated and easy to follow in terms of the recipes themselves, and the author takes care to explain the ingredients and where to get them (nothing was too hard to find at all, once I knew what to look for!). Vietnamese cuisine demystified! This cookbook would be worth triple what I paid for it, and is a STEAL at this price. You'll amaze and delight your dinner guests or your family - delicious and simple and healthy too!

This was a fascinating book! I felt like I learned so much about the history of Little Saigon, the current and past culture, and the perk of having some fantastic recipes. The text is very well written and extremely informative. The recipes are inviting and, so far, delicious. Its opened up a new type of cuisine for me!

I was looking for some good Vietnamese food one day so I picked up The Little Saigon Cookbook because from the reviews it looked like a fair bet this it might be just what I needed. When it arrived the first thing I did was thumb through it, not only are the recipes great but the stories and the photos added to the ambiance and rounded out the whole dining experience. The next thing I did was show my wife the book; at first she scoffed at me for buying a cookbook rather than going out to a Vietnamese dinner, but then once she actually picked it up she saw what I was seeing she was as excited as I was. We've been using the book for about a month now and everything is so detailed that it's easy to follow. I can't recommend it more.

Finally we can make incredible Vietnamese food at home and its healthy delicious and fun.

Get ready for your taste buds to spark with these incredible recipes! I've already made two of the dishes, and my friends were shocked to hear how easy they were to make! Not to mention delicious! Le puts what can be an intimidating venture to embark on in simple but elegant terms, and a culinary novice like myself is always thankful for that! I loved the photos, but especially loved the explanation of important facets of the Vietnamese culture from which this amazing food was derived from. Bravo!!!

I absolutely love Vietnamese food and try to eat it as much as possible. This book has great authentic recipes that are not only easy to follow and prepare but are also filled with the history and culture behind the cuisine.

As a person who as never cooked Vietnamese food before, I found the recipes easy to complete and the book simple to use. I am far from a professional chef but was able to follow the directions and make a delicious meal. If you're a cooking novice, this book was made for you. The descriptions of life in Little Saigon are an added bonus and add context to the food that I am making.

I've been to some of the restaurants in Little Saigon and I can tell you that the only thing the recipies in this cookbook are missing is all the MSG. It's pretty easy to use and the dishes I've tried have worked out really well.

Having grown in Mexico, I was not exposed to any other cuisine until coming to California. I've eaten plenty of Vietnamese food, which I love, but have never tried making any kind of Asian cuisine. Mi hermana got me this book and I've already made a dozen recipes. Easy to find ingredients, thoughtful explanations; the Little Saigon Cookbook is a not only a fine book of recipes and but also gives a great look at the Vietnamese migration. Wonderful human interest stories. Muy bien!

I have been looking for a Vietnamese cookbook for quite some time. This book is the only one that has all my favorite Viet dishes. The best part is they even taste like the way my mom used to cook it. Its like Ms. Le took my mom's recipe!!!