Andrea Nguyen - Vietnamese Food Any Day: Simple Recipes for True, Fresh Flavors

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Years of monitoring grocery-store inventories and interest in Asian cooking led to me writing this book. Its an expression of my love of Vietnamese food, cross-cultural cooking, and supermarket shopping. My parents, Hoang and Tuyet Nguyen, taught me how to shop wisely and cook thoughtfully. Along with my husband, Rory, they indulged and supported my long-term efforts to move Viet foodways from the margins into the mainstream.

This book idea was a no-brainer to my family, just as it was to my enthusiastic group of volunteer recipe testers, many of whom have worked with me on most of my cookbooks. A big thanks to these folks for following my recipes, trying them out on others, and providing honest feedback:

Linh Bui

Diane Carlson

Alex Ciepley

Jay Dietrich

Alyce Gershenson

Candy Grover

Doug Grover

Paulina Haduong

Colin Hart

Cary Hart

Kate Leahy

Laura McCarthy

Hugh McElroy

Cate McGuire

Rosemary Metzger

Josie Nevitt

Daniel Nguyen

Jenny Sager

Karen Shinto

Terri Tanaka

Catherine Thome

Maki Tsuzuki

Tina Ujlaki

Dave Weinstein

Ditto to the community at Vietworldkitchen.com and on social media. Your comments, likes, and loves added extra wind to my sails!

At Ten Speed Press, Aaron Wehner, editor Kelly Snowden, designer Betsy Stromberg, production designer Mari Gill, production manager Jane Chinn, and publicity pros Windy Dorresteyn, David Hawk, and Allison Renzulli championed this project from beginning to end. To make a visually compelling book, they brought together a dream team comprising photographer Aubrie Pick, assisted by Bessma Khalaf; food stylist Karen Shinto, assisted by Kate Leahy; and prop stylist Claire Mack.

Vietnamese food has come a long way since my family came to America in 1975. Thanks to all whove joined me on this journey.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A bank examiner gone astray, Andrea Nguyen is living out her childhood dream of being an award-winning writer, editor, teacher, and consultant. Her impactful booksInto the Vietnamese Kitchen, Asian Dumplings, Asian Tofu, The Banh Mi Handbook, and The Pho Cookbookhave been recognized by the James Beard Foundation, International Association of Culinary Professionals, and National Public Radio for their excellence. She edited Unforgettable, a biography cookbook about culinary icon Paula Wolfert.

Andrea has contributed to many publications, including the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Lucky Peach, Saveur, and Cooking Light, where she is a monthly columnist. She earned bachelors and masters degrees in finance and communication management from the University of Southern California, and studied at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Keep up with Andrea at Vietworldkitchen.com.

BASIC RECIPES
and know-how

Build your foundation for making great Vietnamese food with this collection of fundamental recipes. The blueprints for serving lettuce and fresh herbs and for making rice paper rolls will further enhance your Viet food adventure.

PERFECT rice

MAKES ABOUT 4 CUPS, TO SERVE 4

TAKES 40 MINUTES

Fluffy grains of rice are essential to everyday Vietnamese eating, which is why rice was the first thing I learned to cook. You can prepare it in an electric rice cooker, a pressure cooker, or a multicooker, but youre not going to get consistently good results or be able to troubleshoot unless youve practiced cooking rice in a pot on the stove top. Some people boil and drain rice like pasta, but to best express the grains flavor and texture, I stick with an easy, old-fashioned approach that involves a heavy saucepan and a gradual lowering of the heat. Make rice in the same pan on a regular basis, and soon, youll be eyeballing the level of the water instead of measuring it.

Long-grain rice is the default for most Vietnamese meals, and white jasmine rice is the go-to, but people are increasingly choosing healthier, fast-cooking brown jasmine rice (see for a buying guide). For tender-chewy long-grain rice, I rebel against package directions suggesting 1 to 2 cups of water for 1 cup of rice. The mushy results dont work with Viet food. Instead, I opt for 1 cups of water per 1 cup of rice (a 5:4 ratio). Its easier to add water to the pot than to remove it. To get a clean, fresh flavor, wash and rinse the rice before cooking.

1 cups long-grain rice, preferably white jasmine

1 cups plus 2 tablespoons water

Put the rice in a medium saucepan and add water to cover by about 1 inch. Swish with your fingers to loosen surface starch. Pour off the water and repeat two or three times, or until the water is nearly clear (it will never be crystal clear). Dump the rice into a mesh strainer, shake to expel excess water, and return the rice to the pan.

Add the 1 cups plus 2 tablespoons water to the pan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent clumping. Lower the heat slightly and let simmer briskly for 1 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until glossy on top. A few craters may form, which is fine. Turn the heat to low, cover the pan, and cook for 10 minutes.

Turn off the heat and let the rice sit for 10 minutes. Uncover, fluff with chopsticks or a fork to circulate the grains, re-cover, and let rest again for 10 minutes to complete cooking. The rice will stay warm, covered, for 30 minutes. Fluff once more before serving.

NOTES

Rice triples in volume during cooking, so adjust the pan size when scaling this recipe up or down. Use the examples in the following chart.

If your cooked rice is too dry, sprinkle on some water, cover, and warm on low heat for 10 minutes to hydrate; then fluff. If the rice is mushy, when you make your next batch, decrease the water by 1 tablespoon per 1 cup of rice. Tinker to find the best ratio of water to rice for you.

Leftover rice keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days. Make a large batch and reheat in the microwave, sprinkled with a little water and covered with parchment or wax paper.

To prepare Thai-grown brown jasmine rice, use a 3:4 ratio of rice to water. Wash and rinse 1 cups brown jasmine rice and return the rice to the pan. (The bran is intact, so one rinse will do; dont expect any starch to be released.) Add 2 cups water, bring to a boil, and then lower the heat to medium. Simmer briskly, partially covered, for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is opaque light beige and slightly thick. Turn the heat to low, cover completely, and cook for 20 minutes. The rest remains the same. Let sit, fluff, and let rest as directed.

When making rice for fried rice, turn the cooked rice onto a rimmed baking sheet, spreading it out to allow the grains to dry quickly so they will fry up nicely. Let cool completely, uncovered, 1 to 2 hours, before frying. Or, cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

ANY DAY viet pickle