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Vietnam: Morning to Midnight: A cookbook by Jerry Mai
From dawn to dusk, enjoy Vietnamese cuisine at its best.
Join chef and author Jerry Mai as she shares the iconic dishes and street-food eats that are enjoyed throughout Vietnam, from morning to midnight.
As the sun rises, mornings start early in locals perch on plastic stools, slurping large bowls of beef pho, while others grab a crispy pork banh mi for breakfast on the go. Lunch might include delicious grilled meats piled high onto rice, or a cold noodle salad to help stay cool in the midday heat.
Weaving through the bustling streets, snacks are all rice paper rolls, savoury pancakes, sweet treats, drinks and more. At the end of the day, grilled or barbecued savoury snacks are the perfect foil for freshly brewed beer and are the best prelude to dinner – a communal feast of shared dishes.
This is how Vietnam eats, and you’ll find it all here in Jerry Mai's Morning to Midnight .
Join chef and author Jerry Mai as she shares the iconic dishes and street-food eats that are enjoyed throughout Vietnam, from morning to midnight.
As the sun rises, mornings start early in locals perch on plastic stools, slurping large bowls of beef pho, while others grab a crispy pork banh mi for breakfast on the go. Lunch might include delicious grilled meats piled high onto rice, or a cold noodle salad to help stay cool in the midday heat.
Weaving through the bustling streets, snacks are all rice paper rolls, savoury pancakes, sweet treats, drinks and more. At the end of the day, grilled or barbecued savoury snacks are the perfect foil for freshly brewed beer and are the best prelude to dinner – a communal feast of shared dishes.
This is how Vietnam eats, and you’ll find it all here in Jerry Mai's Morning to Midnight .
192 pages, Hardcover
Published February 28, 2023
43 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 3, 2023
This cookbook from Vietnamese-Australian chef Jerry Mai offers up authentic Vietnamese recipes along with colorful photos of each finished dish. Inclusion of candid pictures of food-related scenes in Vietnam was a very nice added touch.
Recipes are well written but geared towards cooks with some experience. Headnotes generally provide some historical or sentimental insights into the recipe. The book would be well suited for anyone interested in learning more about Vietnamese cuisine and it did a great job of introducing ingredients I was not familiar with (one of the reason I love to read cookbooks!).
Recipes are well written but geared towards cooks with some experience. Headnotes generally provide some historical or sentimental insights into the recipe. The book would be well suited for anyone interested in learning more about Vietnamese cuisine and it did a great job of introducing ingredients I was not familiar with (one of the reason I love to read cookbooks!).
September 19, 2023
I appreciated Jerry Mai’s first cookbook “Street Food Vietnam”, but this new collection of recipes is even better!
“Vietnam Morning to Midnight” is an absolutely gorgeous presentation of meals broken up into chapters on Breakfast, On the Streets, Lunch, Bia Hoi (which I’ll translate as Happy Hour), and Dinner. Each page is vibrant in design, and each recipe is vividly pictured with a well-laid-out accessible recipe. I found old Vietnamese favorites of mine and countless more choices to explore.
In Southern California, I have encountered every ingredient listed at my local stores. If the home cook has access to an H Mart, 99 Ranch Market, or local Vietnamese/Asian market, then every ingredient is easily obtainable thereby making each recipe attainable. Even if a specialty Asian market is not nearby, I would guesstimate that 75% of the recipes could be made with little-to-no changes. Thankfully Jerry Mai isn’t as precious as - say - Andy Ricker of Thai “Pok Pok” fame in forcing/admonishing the reader to use nearly impossible to source ingredients.
In short, I feel that “Vietnamese Morning to Midnight” is one of the most accessible and well presented Vietnamese cookbooks I have encountered. Absolutely earning an extra star over the chef/authors previous cookbook.
“Vietnam Morning to Midnight” is an absolutely gorgeous presentation of meals broken up into chapters on Breakfast, On the Streets, Lunch, Bia Hoi (which I’ll translate as Happy Hour), and Dinner. Each page is vibrant in design, and each recipe is vividly pictured with a well-laid-out accessible recipe. I found old Vietnamese favorites of mine and countless more choices to explore.
In Southern California, I have encountered every ingredient listed at my local stores. If the home cook has access to an H Mart, 99 Ranch Market, or local Vietnamese/Asian market, then every ingredient is easily obtainable thereby making each recipe attainable. Even if a specialty Asian market is not nearby, I would guesstimate that 75% of the recipes could be made with little-to-no changes. Thankfully Jerry Mai isn’t as precious as - say - Andy Ricker of Thai “Pok Pok” fame in forcing/admonishing the reader to use nearly impossible to source ingredients.
In short, I feel that “Vietnamese Morning to Midnight” is one of the most accessible and well presented Vietnamese cookbooks I have encountered. Absolutely earning an extra star over the chef/authors previous cookbook.
May 18, 2024
This was a great book, not only for recipes, but was so detailed in its explanation of different meals eaten in Vietnam, from different regions, different taste profiles, with history and anecdotes intertwined. Great book for someone who is interested in vietnamese cuisine, or is planning a trip to Vietnam and wants to begin diving in to their options.
May 18, 2025
not bad for a short and simple book
it's a little bit different too
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews