Vietnamese Market Cookbook: Spicy Sour Sweet

This book deserves much better reviews than it currently has. Its quality goes beyond the appetizing pictures, the beautifully written stories and the delectable recipes.My wife is from Hanoi and we spend a lot of time with her family who still lives there. We find a taste of Hanoi in this book, something most celebrated cookbooks sold in the West are lack of. Oftentimes, Vietnamese cookbooks are written by people who are not from Vietnam or who spend most of their lives away from the country and thus, their interpretation of Vietnamese culture, philosophy, cuisine and way of life can be distant from what's really going on there. The authors of this book are much more rooted with their Hanoian origin; their recipes as well as philosophy and point of view when it comes to cooking Vietnamese food are much closer to what I find with my in-laws in Hanoi.Perhaps the biggest question in bringing a cuisine outside of its country of origin is how to balance authenticity, adaptability and creativity. In this book, authenticity comes from the philosophy and tastebuds that the authors/chefs developed through their Vietnamese upbringing. Adaptability comes naturally from the fact that they spent their adulthood in some of the most diverse metropolitans in the world - New York and London - and the authors are open-minded enough to tweak their recipes to include ingredients and way of cooking to a lifestyle that most of us can identify with. Creativity shows through the recipes and the story-telling - in this book, the stories are as tasteful as the recipes themselves. What I appreciate the most is how they understand, respect and give credits to the way the locals have been doing and tell readers when they bring in some change.After all, Vietnamese women never consult a cookbook when they cook. Vietnamese food is about sensibility and balance. Each family, each street vendor can offer you a different version of the same classic dish, all of which are balanced, fresh and tasteful. The approach to cooking Vietnamese food in this book, which is all about reaching the subtle balance of the five tastes (add a dash of fish sauce to find the sixth taste - umami - as the authors suggest), is what my wife, my mother-in-law, and the best Vietnamese unnamed chefs I know have been doing instinctively.Good luck in your culinary adventure and I hope you find wonder like I did.

Stumbled upon this in the CRW library, a good, easy book, definitely glad I was able to find my own copy.

Excellent book, easy to follow clear instructions, can't wait to make some of the dishes for my very picky foodie family.

Good recipes, --easy to follow and make at home. If you enjoy making the foods of other cultures or are looking to replicate a dish you discovered on your travels, this book is for you. For many years I lived in a city-- a great melting pot. I had the great please of tasting many of these dishes offered at little restaurants right around the corner from my home. Then I moved away. Now I find myself longing for tastes that are no longer easily available. This book has all the recipes I needed and longed for. And-- I can find the more exotic ingredients online.Thank goodness for the internet and Amazon!

if i could have the cook with it it would be 5 stars!

Not much picture but it have lots of recipes compare to the Vietnamese cookbook

The recipes are tasty and they seems really authentic. Been having a lot of fun cooking through the book.

If you want a modern Vietnamese cook book, this is it. Good selection of recipes, background and pictures. A good introduction to Vietnamese cuisine.

Some really good recipes, but unfortunately some also quite bland - not what one would expect from this part of the world!

Bought this for my daughter in law she loves to cook and found this cook book very helpful.

Really lovely book. Made Chicken Pho the day it arrived and was relieved at how easy it was to follow. Brought back lots of memories of Vietnam, and I can't wait to try out the other recipes.

This is a seriously lovely book, beautifully presented with easy-to-follow recipes. Most importantly the results are stupidly delicious!

This is a beautiful book with easy to follow recipes. I ordered it as soon as we got home from a holiday in Vietnam because I loved the food so much. I'm not disappointed! It's got mouthwatering photos too.