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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must have book for Vietnamese cooking enthusiasts and collectors, April 20, 2009
This review is from: Secrets of the Red Lantern: Stories and Vietnamese Recipes from the Heart (Hardcover)
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This is one of the most beautifully crafted books I have seen with a fabric cover designed to resemble silk. The thick pages are very pale gray with a silhouette pattern of leaves and branches in a slightly darker gray with a thin border near the top of the cherry blossom pattern from the front cover. But still the text has good contrast and is very easy to read. There is also a ribbon page marker.
The book is part family memoir and part cookbook. The ten chapters are titled from the family stories with recipes contained within. The recipes are only loosely organized by type, though there is a recipe index in the back. Beautiful photographs throughout, family pictures and many but not all of the finished dishes.
There is a large variety of recipes, basic building blocks like stock, master sauce and scallion oil to an assortment of salads, soups, seafood, poultry, beef, pork, some goat and five desserts.
The recipes can contain unusual ingredients that are only available at a good Asian market. I enjoyed learning in particular about some of the fresh herbs I had seen in the markets but never knew how to use them because so many Asian cookbooks adapt the recipes to use more familiar ingredients. There is a limited glossary and suggested substitutions for some of the harder to find ingredients but no pictures of them so I did an internet search to learn what they look like and also other substitution ideas like using lemon basil for rice paddy herb.
There are also many recipes that require only basic ingredients available at any market like the sublime and comforting Caramelized Ginger Chicken that uses only fish sauce, ginger, garlic, red chile, sugar, onion, chicken stock, scallion and cilantro. Or the Soy and Honey Grilled Shrimp flavored with soy sauce, oyster sauce, honey, fish sauce, dried chile, salt and pepper. And there is a fabulous Vermicelli Salad with bean sprouts, cucumber, mint, lettuce, fish sauce dressing, scallion oil, fried shallots and roasted peanuts that is great with the grilled shrimp or the grilled, seasoned ground pork skewers.
There is a notice in the beginning of the book that states the recipes were created using Australian tablespoons that are four teaspoons rather than our three. For most recipes the difference will not be noticeable but you would need to adjust recipes using baking powder, gelatin, baking soda, small amounts of flour and cornstarch.
This cookbook may not be appropriate for those with a casual interest in Vietnamese cooking or someone who does not have access to even the most basic Asian ingredients.
But for collectors and cooking enthusiasts, those who want to expand their knowledge of Vietnamese culture, food and ingredients I highly recommend.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A rare privilege., April 14, 2009
This review is from: Secrets of the Red Lantern: Stories and Vietnamese Recipes from the Heart (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Before we get to the incredibly intimate biography of Ms. Ngyuen, bear in mind that as I write this, I'm sipping -- no, gulping -- my second batch in the last ten days of Pork and Watercress Soup (p.65). So simple, so good -- the first made with my own homemade chicken broth, the second with a supermarket broth. Of course, the homemade broth is the winner, but don't let that stop you from this incredibly easy, delicious soup. Two suggestions: First, do the skimming before adding any seasonings; second, grind your own pork if you have a food processor. I just realized that, in my long life, I have never bought supermarket ground pork -- those curlicues -- ugh!
And before I continue with the recipes, I must tell you that I found the autobiographical section remarkable, informative and, in the end, quite uplifting. The author's tale of her life's journey is almost embarrassing in its honesty. She relates a story of incredible hardship and sorrow that we here in America seldom, if ever, have experienced. I feel privileged that she shared her story with me. Here's looking at you, kid!
Okay; back to the recipes. The caramelized white perch (p.95) would have been delicious had I had decent fish. So should I recommend it as a way to dress up something basically awful? No; it's such an easy method and so good that one should honor it with a really fresh fish.
The third recipe I tried was the shrimp with tomato, fish sauce and black pepper (p.60). In spite of the frozen supermarket shrimp I used (I know -- and I agree) it was so good that I ate one and a half portions at dinner, and could hardly wait to eat the leftovers the next day for lunch.
I have marked eight recipes to try in the future. I know they will be good.
I must mention, despite the Australian vs. U.S. measurements hullabaloo in previous reviews, let's remember this is not rocket science. We're not talking about the precise measurements essential to baked goods. It was obvious when I looked at the amount of broth specified in the watercress soup that half of that large bunch I had purchased was an appropriate "handful."
Ms. Nguyen, once again, as an American reader, I thank you for sharing this remarkable book with us.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gorgeous, tasty, fascinating, December 30, 2008
This review is from: Secrets of the Red Lantern: Stories and Vietnamese Recipes from the Heart (Hardcover)
First off, this is one of the most beautiful cookbooks you will see. The artwork, photography, and layout are elegant and appealing. Fortunately, the contents live up to the presentation. The book is a combination biography of an immigrant family and cookbook and both sections are worthy. Nguyen tells the story of her family's journey from post-war Vietnam to Australia, with both the highs and the painful lows covered with grace and power. The recipes come from Nguyen's parents as well as her restaurant. So far, all of the recipes I have tried are excellent: clean, complex flavors and well-tested instructions. I wish I lived in a location more conducive to a cuisine based on fresh seafood, tropical herbs, and varied produce, but I have been able to achieve great results with substitutions from the local grocery store and a trip or two to the Asian market. I highly recommend this book.
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