Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table: Recipes and Reminiscences from Vietnam's Best Market Kitchens, Street Cafes, and Home Cooks

This book works best for those who have access to very good asian markets and previous experience with Asian cooking otherwise, some of the recipes may be difficult to carry out since substitution of ingredients is not a very good option.Layout --the layout is done on a matte textured paper. The ingredient list is done in an orange-brown ink while instructions and other text is done in black ink. There are informational inset boxes such as, "cooking with claypots" and "how to enjoy pho at a restaurant". Pictures are more decorative and done in a sepia kind of black and white . There are brushstroke paintings of certain ingredients.I think it would have been better with color photos of ingredients and of the country but that is just my personal preference.Information --More detailed in its information of ingredients and it does a great service in that category. Now, if one is shopping for the various sald herbs listed in the book it may prove difficult since there are only brushstroke painting of said plants. A marked improvement is listing some brands of ingredients which makes shopping a whole lot easier. For even more detailed information on ingredients I highly recommendBruce Costs's book on Asian ingredients.Recipes --These recipes cannot be done without access to a good asian market and also a devotion of time. Pham has tried to provide recipes that will work in less time and with less fat but if you are going to do "down home" recipes you might as well devote the true amount of time needed otherwise it will taste not quite right. The recipes are in some instances more aggressive with the spicing than her previous book (5 spice chicken) and sometimes not (dipping sauces) . If you have her first book compare the recipes and see which one appeals to you more e.g., pho though there are many recipes that are not in her book it still behooves you to compare if possible.Style --The book is both a personal memoir and cookbook of recipes. It tries to provide both a pesonal and cultural context for the recipes. She did this previously in her last book but she goes to greater lengths in this one. For those who are not into personal information this is an annoying feature but for others it provides interesting reading.Caution --Many of the recipes listed are those found in markets and cafes and home so the quantity can be large or the amount of labor involved is more geared to a larger payoff of people helping and eating with you. Some recipes quite frankly, do not taste good unless cooked in quantity e.g., pho broth. If you live near good Vietnamese restauarants it might be better to buy the certain dishes than make them at home because of the time constraints. Also, if you are near Vietnamese stores you might have more convenience making some dishes with prepared items instead of making from scratch all the time.Overall, I liked the book and thought it a good addition to my collection. My main fear was that the recipes would be recycled from her earlier book but that was not the case.Get her first book if you are just starting on Vietnamese food and do not want too much robust or aggressive flavors and take this book for more background and experience.

I returned from my second trip to Vietnam with a hankering for pho that the local restaurant could not satisfy. After several hours of online research, I purchased this book, along with a pound of star anise and pho noodles at a local Asian grocery store. I made the quick chicken pho (someday I will have time for the traditional beef pho) and was really impressed with the delicate and balanced stock for a relatively easy and quick version of pho. Toasting the star anise and cloves, as well as charring onion and ginger, contribute beautifully to the flavor.I moved on to a few other soups - a beef noodle soup similar to pho, but with 5 spice powder. Really good. Then, the ramen noodle soup with crispy skin duck. I got 1/2 of a Pekin duck delivered from a local restaurant for this one, and it was SO good. I will make all of these again, but the quick chicken pho is my favorite so far.I've also tried the sweet potato curry, which is homey and nice for cold weather. I couldn't find Thai curry powder.The lemongrass tofu is excellent and now one of my favorite tofu recipes. Also, it looks beautiful.I am looking forward to making the street crepes and some of the salads.It's been a joy to peruse this book and it has inspired me to spend more time creating in the kitchen. Thank you.

I found this book to be an excellent introduction to Vietnamese cooking.I enjoy the author's vignettes about the history of and ways of enjoying the food / recipes, her family and the country. The recipes are accessible, clear and easy to create, especially for those without a lot of time and this also makes them easier to remember, freeing one from over reliance on the book when making the dishes later.Although there are no pictures of finished dishes, nor am I very familiar with how the finished dishes 'should' appear, I do not find this to be a detriment as it seems to be fitting for the particular style of cooking to allow one to add their own interpretation of the dishes. Also, one can always Google photos on the web for dishes, if desired. It seems too many modern cookbooks are chock full of full page pictures that have absolutely nothing to do with the recipes. Thankfully, Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table is not one of them.

great cookbook for those of us not too familiar with vietnamese cooking (though we all know we love to eat it!!!). lots of personal information makes this cookbook feel like a couple of old friends sitting down to tea and cooking together. Two things stand out for me in this book: first, she has a great selection from easy to more involved recipes so you can use this as a weeknight cookbook as well as a special occasion cookbook. secondly, there is a wonderful section in the front which has drawings of the different vietnamese greens. I have been frustrated on so many occasions shopping in asian markets and not knowing how to use the greens! this is the first time i have seen them explained in english. so, thank you mai pham!

I found that most of the recipes were easy to follow. The only drawback was that if you don’t have all of the ingredients in the house, which most people don’t, you are always going to the store. However, it’s a small price to pay for worthy dishes!

I have impressed my Vietnamese and non Vietnamese relatives with many recipes in this book! I reach for it regularly. I have even adapted some of them to Instant Pot with great finger licking success! Thank you for making Vietnamese cuisine accessible and so delicious!

This is my absolute favorite cookbook. I’ve made almost every recipe from it, and almost every one is good. There were a couple I could not get to work( Vietnamese pancake and shrimp sweet potato fritters) but I may just not have the required patience. Great cookbook. Just a note. Don’t attempt to double or cut recipes in half. It really throws the balance of the flavors off. These are more or less “perfected” recipes

Other than echoing the other reviews this book is simply fantastic. I travelled Vietnam for 3 weeks in 2008 and missed the food, with its strong flavours and wonderful use of fresh herbs, so i was dead pleased when i first tried the results of these recipes!I have made about 6 different meals and several sauces from this and have yet to try the Pho but i look forward to making something from this every time as the flavours taste so authentic. Yes, the recipes will probably require a trip to your local asian food store and the prep time can be lengthy but then i doubt you will be cooking it every night! But make no mistake it is always worth it.Basically it's a must for anyone looking to cook decent Vietnamese meals in a Western kitchen.

Very good beginner's book for vietnamese cuisine. While not as 'literary' as for instance Alford & Duguid, the author nevertheless lets her emotions flow and the accompanying text makes this more than a dry set of recipes.The recipes are quite easy to make and still not dumbed down, I think the mix of practicality vs. authenticity is quite OK. If you're a beginner in vietnamese cuisine this will be a good, useful start-up book; if you're more experienced you will enjoy the little variations (everybody has their own recipe for pho or nuoc cham :-)

Great book to help bring the taste of Vietnam to your table.It's only just a smidgen away from 5 stars, but that's only because I'm biased towards my mother-in-laws cooking!!Good book, well written, easy to follow recipes, informative and a joy to add to my collection.

Lovely recipe book.

This was rather a disappointment after her first book