Book Review: The Vietnamese Market Cookbook Recipe
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If the path from high finance executive to cookbook author isn’t a well-beaten one, then the path from stock-broker to market stall-holder is even more poorly trod. But, for Oxford-educated former bankers turned Banh Mi vendors-cum-restaurateurs, Van Tran and Anh Vu, that was their peregrination. They certainly don’t say so in the book, but it’s the kind of riches to rags to riches (kind of) story that I’m sure fills the day-dreams of many of us who feel trapped in the limits of our corporate lives, straining at the virtual leash as we break rocks for the man.
And, even if you are delightfully fulfilled in your work life, and don’t find yourself wistfully considering the merits of staying up all night after a hard week at the…
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%20story%20that%20I%E2%80%99m%20sure%20fills%20the%20day-dreams%20of%20many%20of%20us%20who%20feel%20trapped%20in%20the%20limits%20of%20our%20corporate%20lives,%20straining%20at%20the%20virtual%20leash%20as%20we%20break%20rocks%20for%20the%20man.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAnd,%20even%20if%20you%20are%20delightfully%20fulfilled%20in%20your%20work%20life,%20and%20don%E2%80%99t%20find%20yourself%20wistfully%20considering%20the%20merits%20of%20staying%20up%20all%20night%20after%20a%20hard%20week%20at%20the%20office,%20baking%20your%20own%20baguettes%20to%20be%20filled%20with%20roast%20pork%20and%20pat%C3%A9,%20and%20flogged%20to%20punters%20in%20the%20East%20End%20of%20London%20on%20a%20Saturday%20morning,%20there%20is%20plenty%20to%20enjoy%20in%20their%20tales%20of%20ferociously%20hard%20work%20and%20joy%20in%20the%20simple%20pleasures%20of%20traditional%20Vietnamese%20flavors%20of%20their%20upbringing.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EBoth%20born%20in%20Vietnam%20and%20raised%20in%20Hanoi,%20Tran%20and%20Vu%20have%20no%20professional%20culinary%20training%20but%20draw%20on%20their%20familial%20recipes%20and%20traditions.%20Their%20new%20book%20The%20Vietnamese%20Market%20Cookbook:%20Spicy%20Sour%20Sweet%20offers%20financiers%20and%20non-financiers%20alike%20a%20range%20of%20tantalizing%20recipes%20focused%20on%20fresh%20ingredients%20combined%20to%20produce%20these%20three%20signature%20flavors.%20Unlike%20most%20cookbooks%20which%20are%20organized%20by%20course,%20their%20book%20is%20arranged%20on%20these%20flavor%20profiles%20and%20each%20chapter%20pairs%20biographic%20tales%20with%20recipes,%20so%20that%20as%20you%20cook,%20you%20learn%20more%20about%20Tran%20and%20Vu%20as%20well%20as%20about%20the%20fine%20interplay%20of%20Vietnamese%20culture%20and%20cuisine.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EA%20perfect%20example%20of%20this%20is%20Chapter%205:%20Saltiness%20&%20Healing%20in%20which%20fish%20sauce,%20the%20dark,%20pungent%20brew%20made%20from%20fermented%20anchovies%20and%20salt,%20predominates.%20We%20learn%20not%20just%20that%20it%20is%20the%20single%20most%20important%20ingredient%20in%20Vietnamese%20cooking,%20but%20that%20Vietnamese%20airlines%20forbid%20passengers%20to%20carry%20it%20onboard%20for%20fear%20it%20will%20spill%20and%20stink%20up%20their%20aircraft%20forever.%20We%20also%20learn%20about%20salt,%20and%20that%20there%20are%20no%20fewer%20than%2020%20types%20of%20salt%20in%20the%20Vietnamese%20kitchen.%20This%20could%20be%20a%20dull%20factoid,%20but%20in%20Tran%20and%20Vu%E2%80%99s%20hands%20it%20becomes%20%20a%20way%20of%20elaborating%20on%20the%20fact%20that%20saltiness%20isn%E2%80%99t%20just%20salty.%20It%E2%80%99s%20far%20more%20than%20that.%20The%20subtle%20way%20in%20which%20salty%20can%20combine%20with%20other%20aromatics%20like%20galangal%20and%20lemongrass%20or%20dried%20shrimp%20to%20amplify%20their%20flavors%20is%20at%20the%20heart%20of%20much%20of%20Vietnamese%20food.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWesterners%20might%20raise%20their%20eyebrows%20here.%20For%20the%20all%20chile,%20the%20vinegar,%20and%20the%20bitterness%20that%20we%20immediately%20detect%20in%20Vietnamese%20food%20isn%E2%80%99t%20subtle%20at%20all.%20It%20is%20an%20assault%20on%20tastebuds%20accustomed%20to%20less%20highly%20perfumed%20provender,%20but%20within%20and%20beneath%20that%20is%20the%20enormous%20subtlety%20and%20complexity%20of%20thousands%20of%20years%20of%20practice%20and%20refinement.%20Something%20that%20Tran%20and%20Vu%20distill%20brilliantly%20for%20their%20UK%20audience.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThis%20side%20of%20the%20Atlantic,%20our%20relationships%20to%20Vietnam%20are%20different%20than%20the%20British.%20In%20large%20part%20because%20of%20the%20misadventures%20of%20the%20late%20sixties%20and%20seventies,%20but%20also%20because%20Vietnamese%20food,%20while%20still%20nowhere%20near%20the%20ubiquity%20of%20other%20Asian%20cuisines%20is%20not%20quite%20so%20unfamiliar%20to%20many%20of%20us.%20That%E2%80%99s%20not%20to%20underestimate%20how%20delicious%20it%20is,%20rather%20it%E2%80%99s%20to%20stress%20the%20impact%20that%20Tran%20and%20Vu%E2%80%99s%20banh%20mi%20had%20on%20London%E2%80%99s%20culinary%20scene.%20There%20was%20literally%20nothing%20like%20it%20beforehand%20and%20they%20have%20carved%20out%20their%20own%20niche.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAnd%20what%20of%20their%20recipes,%20you%20ask?%20Well,%20the%20only%20one%20we%20have%20tried%20so%20far%20was%20an%20outstanding%20success.%20It%20also%20happens%20to%20be%20their%20most%20popular%20banh%20mi%20filling:%20Imperial%20BBQ%20pork,%20marinaded%20in%20fish%20sauce,%20garlic,%20lemongrass,%20sugar%20and%20chile,%20before%20being%20grilled%20and%20served%20over%20rice%20vermicelli%20noodles.%20Deeply%20savory,%20crunchy%20on%20the%20outside%20giving%20way%20to%20a%20tender%20interior,%20the%20pork%20is%20wonderful,%20and%20is%20well-complemented%20when%20presented%20topped%20with%20freshly%20grated%20carrot,%20cilantro%20leaves%20and%20chopped%20radish.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAll%20in%20all,%20this%20is%20a%20delightful%20and%20approachable%20book,%20and%20one%20that%20once%20it%E2%80%99s%20on%20your%20shelves,%20you%E2%80%99ll%20find%20yourself%20picking%20it%20up%20and%20leafing%20through%20it%20during%20the%20week,%20and%20thinking%20that%20making%20Vietnamese%20at%20home%20on%20a%20Tuesday%20could%20be%20just%20the%20thing.%20Tran%20and%20Vu%20are%20also%20really,%20really%20nice.%20They%20even%20responded%20to%20our%20tweet.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3E@WeAreNeverFull%20thank%20you%20so%20much.%20We%20are%20so%20happy%20to%20spread%20the%20love%20of%20Vietnamese%20cooking%20to%20more.%20Keep%20us%20posted%20and%20enjoy%20cooking!%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3E%E2%80%94%20Banhmi11%20(@Banhmi11uk)%20October%208,%202014%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThe%20Vietnamese%20Market%20Cookbook:%20Spicy%20Salty%20Sweet%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3Eby%20Van%20Tran%20and%20Anh%20Vu%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EHardcover,%20250%20pages,%20$30.00%20US%20/%20$34.50%20Canada%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EReleased%20October%202014%20by%20Running%20Press,%20Philadelphia%20runningpress.com%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EBuy%20now%20at%20Amazon.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ERelated%3C/p%3E){kind=link}