Customer Reviews

A Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Family Recipes (Hippocrene Cookbook Library)

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

 

 

"A Vietnamese Kitchen" is a tribute to the author's homeland and heritage.

Ha Roda, born in Saigon, authored this cookbook which features her native cuisine, Vietnamese. Her aunt was a chef and inspired her to cook. After living numerous years in the United States, Roda decided to pen this book and share with Americans her heritage and adapting recipes to meet the American palate!

Americans first became widely aware of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Afterwards, there was a surge of Vietnamese immigrants to our country. This cookbook demonstrates the food of these people and a celebration of a wonderful culture.

The recipes in this book are tasty and easy-to-follow. Unlike a lot of Hippocrene Books (the Publisher), this cookbook does contain photographs. They are black and white photos of each recipe.

The chapters in this book are: Sauces & Condiments; Appetizers; Soups & Salads; Rice & Noodles; Stir-Fries; Kho Dishes; Meat & Seafood; Desserts; and Meal Planning. Some of my favorite recipes are: Pepper Steak, Vietnamese Vanilla Yogurt, Tofu Curry and Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup.

I really enjoyed Ha Roda's "A Vietnamese Kitchen". It showed me the similarities with other Asian cultures, as well as Vietnam's unique differences.

When I got this book I knew nothing about Vietnamese food. I like to cook and try new things, I have other books on Thai, Japanese, Caribean food and unfortunately I have rarely tried the recipes because it always seems like a big production. With these book you get simple instructions from the food you need to buy or what you can replace it with, all the way to detailed directions on how to prepare the food. And the recipes are not complicated at all. The Vietnamese spring rolls have become one of our favorite weekly meals !!!!
I would recommend this book to anyone regardless of their level of expertise.

Ms. Roda's cookbook is a joy to use. Her recipes are easy to follow and her ingredients are not only inexpensive but provide healthy eating for all. I have sent this cookbook to family and friends and all have shared my enthusiasm for this culinary look into Vietnamese family traditions.
Three cheers, five stars, Ms. Roda!

This is a great book for a Native born Vietnamese who has been in the US for 30 years like me. I don't know how to cook Vietnamese food but love to eat Vietnamese food and this book helps my meal preparing task a lot easier. I love how the author puts in lots of research and insights on the Vietnamese cultures. It is fascinating, even for a Vietnamese like me. Great job, Mrs. Ha Roda!!!!

Hi Ha,

I purchased a lot of Vietnamese Cook Books through out my years but never found one that was great, until I bought your book. I thought this book was very well written and illistruated. I really use this book a lot. I do recommend this book to everyone that wants to learn how to cook Vietnamese food. Thanks for bring me back to my root in Vietnamese cooking Ha.

Below was an email from Karla Dummer, minneapolis , mn -- thank you Karla:

Hi Ha,

I have been looking for a vietnamese cookbook with authentic recipes for a few years now. Couldn't make a spring roll to save my soul. With your book, I got them done perfectly by the 10th try. I also thought the sweet and sour sauce was perfect. Thanks for your family's recipes, I am having so much fun making great tasting food!

Karla Dummer, minneapolis , mn.

A Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Family Recipes, is a great addition to my collection of cookbooks. The recipes are easy and fun to prepare as well as being authentic. We met Ha Roda at a few cooking demonstrations and found her to be quite charming and full of great stories and information. Check out her web site.

first of all, I am vietnamese. and yes we share boarders with china and have adapted thier culture to our food. however, I skimmed the book and I saw an overwhelming amount of recipes with soy sauce. fish sauce is primary seasoning in viet cooking. the author does not also even distinguish the use of light vs dark soy.

moreover, some recipes used shortcuts suchas the mainstream dish "pho". using these shortcuts are not only a cop out but also do not develop your skill for seasoning/tasting with REAL ingredients

this maybe a good intro for noobs but there are more authentic viet cookbooks out there( but then even those phave flaws)

Vietnamese foods are a rather recent development in the United States. The Viet Nam war introduced thousands to the food, and the Vietnamese people who came to America after the war brought their foods with them. It has taken some time for Vietnamese foods to have become established as one of the authentic ethnic foods available over most of the country.

In part this time delay was caused by the availability of authentic spices. Either American spices had to be substituted for the traditional spices or the Vietnamese spices had to be either imported or grown here.

In this book Ha Roda, born in Saigon, has had to adapt the Vietnamese recipies to the American kitchens and cooking styles. She started with the basic recipies of her aunt Bac Kit, a retired chef. This book is a tribute to her family and to the Vietnamese that have been a welcome asset to American life as well as foods.