The Best of Vietnamese & Thai Cooking: Favorite Recipes from Lemon Grass Restaurant and Cafes

by Mai Pham

Light, Fresh, Exotic, and Delicious!
Tangy, sweet, and savory traditional dipping sauces. Mouthwatering soups. Innovative stir-fries. The Best of Vietnamese & Thai Cooking offers just that—the very best! Weaving a fascinating memoir amidst her splendid recipes, Mai Pham recreates the almost magical reverence with which food was prepared and enjoyed in the Vietnam and Thailand of her childhood. Inside she discloses the secrets to preparing her personal favorites—delicious dishes such
Firecracker Prawns • Minty Thai Chicken Salad
Hot and Spicy Chicken with Lemon Grass • Spicy Red Beef Curry
Crispy Spring Rolls • Eggplant and Broccoli in Ginger
Spicy Thai Cucumber Salad • Rice Paper-Wrapped Salad Rolls
Bangkok Beef with Basil • Lemon Grass Stir-Fried Jasmine Rice
Vegetarian Pad Thai • Perfectly Roasted Peanuts • Thai Tea
Evocative, lyrical, and eloquent, The Best of Vietnamese & Thai Cooking is more than a collection of great recipes—it’s a pleasure to read.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 11, 1995

Reviews

[Left Coast Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, what tangled webs we weave. One of my San Jose Vietnamese friends upbraided me when she saw this book in my kitchen one day. "Sacramento Vietnamese," she sniffed, "Almost as bad as Orange County. All they care about is making money and they are completely uncultured. And anyway, the restaurant that woman runs," she continued, poking a finger at the author photo, "makes watered-down Americanized food." So of course the next time we were in Sacramento together, we paid the restaurant a visit. My calibration was too coarse to detect any difference in Bay Area vs. Sacramento Vietnamese food -- I just shoveled it away as usual, humming happily all the while.

You can classify me as highly enthusiastic about watered-down Americanized food. Everything I've cooked from this book (and watered down even further, by cutting the amounts of fishsauce by 50% - 100%) is freakin' delicious. And I like the little stories woven into each chapter heading.

A nice intro-level book for idiots who want to try cooking Vietnamese, or Vietnamese-ish food.

[Torjie sweeten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is excellent. Her seasonings are perfect , I like that she tells you specifically what brands of product to buy. It is my go-to fav Vietnamese cookbook.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Along with the basics from the great Southeast Asian cuisines -- recipes, that is-- Mai Pham presents a really personal narrative that encompasses both the food and the culture.

The striking colors and aromas of Thai & Vietnamese dishes are only the prelude to the bright-but-softly-sweet, citrus and tamarind accented, full-throttle flavor explosion that takes place when prepared with style. Here we get a tour of the possibilities.

Great chapter on Viet classic Pho Ba, nice curry recipes, and all the fundamental faves like pad thai, satay, lemongrass soups, noodles, salads & entrees. Big recommendation for solid introductory look into SE Asia's flavor world.

[Jen Shapiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've loved this cookbook for years, but it took a snow day to make me sit down and read it cover to cover. I learned so much about Thai and Vietnamese cooking and Mai Pham makes the ingredients and cooking methods so accessible.