One page of deliciousness after another is what you'll find once you crack the cover of Diana My Tran's The Vietnamese Cookbook. Tran has a couple of qualifications above and beyond her Vietnamese heritage as underpinnings to this book: She has two impatient children and a very busy career. Time, then, is of the essence. And yet, she wants to pass on to her children the food of their culture--while living in the U.S.

So from the many dishes of her own childhood in Saigon Diana My Tran has simplified technique while making use of the available foods in an American supermarket. The results are quickly prepared, flavorful renditions of Vietnamese classics that give the cook the sense of what Vietnamese cooking is all about. As Tran points out, part of what it's all about is low-fat cooking with lots of vegetables--a veritable diet book.

Tran divides her book by rice, sauces, appetizers and salads, soups, main dishes, and desserts and beverages. She mixes lemon juice and lemon zest to create the Lemon Rice she serves with chicken and seafood. There's also a recipe for sticky rice with peanuts. Her sauces include such standards as Sweet and Sour Fish Sauce and Sweet and Sour Soy Sauce. Among the appetizers you will find spring rolls, both fried and fresh. Also, Shrimp Mung Bean Rice Cakes. There's a Papaya Shrimp Salad as well as a Lime Steak Salad. The wonderful Beef Noodle Soup (Pho Bo) is represented. Main dishes include Ginger Chicken, Honey Roasted Quail, Sesame Spareribs, Caramel Shrimp, Lemongrass Fish, and Vietnamese Crab Cakes.

The Vietnamese Cookbook is an easy way in to this wonderful culinary world. Let your palate be your guide. --Schuyler Ingle


From Library Journal
For fans of Southeast Asian cuisine, here are two excellent cookbooks. An immigrant from Vietnam to the United States, My Tran has developed her own simplified versions of favorite childhood dishes, many of which now appear in The Vietnamese Cookbook. Her excellent introduction to one of Southeast Asia's most colorful cuisines provides more than 100 recipes for such tempting treats as Spring Rolls and Lemon Rice mixed in with a few pinches of personal recollections and some outstanding color photographs. Novice cooks will especially appreciate the clear, easy-to-understand layout of each recipe, which takes the intimidation out of preparing these dishes. My Tran's book will serve as a good complement to other, more classic Vietnamese cookbooks, such as Nicole Routhier's The Foods of Vietnam (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1989), and is recommended for most public libraries. Rather than simplifying or adapting recipes for American tastes and markets, chef and restaurant owner Su-Mei Yu instead serves up a cookbook that pays homage to the cuisine of her homeland while offering detailed instructions on preparing Thai dishes in the old manner. Cracking the Coconut covers everything from the equipment and ingredients needed to traditional preparation methods such as the use of a mortar and pestle. The text not only gives readers 175 delicious recipes but also provides a fascinating look at the history of Thai cooking as well as a few glimpses at the people and forces that have helped shape it. For the most part, the author forgoes the traditional cookbook arrangement by type of dish (i.e., appetizers, salads, desserts, etc.) and instead devotes chapters to a specific ingredient such as rice or a signature dish such as Thai salads. A sumptuous feast for both serious and armchair cooks, this lavishly detailed cookbook is highly recommended for all public libraries.DJohn Charles, Scottsdale P.L., AZ Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


The Washington Post, February 2, 2000
"She's a good Vietnamese cook--and a realist... she's included... her clients' favorite low-calore recipes but also more substantial ones . . ."

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The beautiful, authentic guide to Vietnamese cuisine and culture. Tran has transformed many of the most complex traditional dishes into new, simpler versions￯﾿ﾽtailored to the fast pace of America and the freshest ingredients from our local supermarkets. Vietnamese cuisine blends the visual excitement of the Japanese, the quick cooking techniques of the Chinese, the spiciness of the Thai, and the complexity and sophistication of seasonings and flavors of the French.

About the Authors:

Born and raised in Vietnam, Diana My Tran, her husband, and parents-in-law immigrated to Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1975, days before her first child was born. Today, My Tran is a busy and successful designer and dressmaker in Washington, DC. She has continued in her love of cooking and experiments and adapts her traditional recipes to the faster pace of American life. This is her first book.

Steve Raymer is a National Geographic photographer for more than two decades and teaches photojournalism, international news gathering at Indiana University.

FROM THE CRITICS

KLIATT - Shirley Reis

Vietnamese cuisine, which combines elements from Chinese, Japanese and French cooking, is becoming increasingly popular. My Tran has developed simplified versions of classic recipes that are practical and utilize modern conveniences without sacrificing quality. Vietnamese cuisine is all about low-fat cooking based on lots of vegetables—which is extremely healthy. The book is divided into categories with introductory information prefacing each section. Gorgeous full-color photography is featured throughout. Each of the recipes has been reworked to allow for the faster pace of American life and the kind of ingredients that are available in American supermarkets. A sampling of the recipes: Peanut Sticky Rice, Peanut Hoisin Sauce, Spring Rolls, Asparagus Salad, Papaya Shrimp Salad, Shrimp Pineapple Soup, Sesame Chicken in Orange Sauce, Caramel Shrimp, Lemon Chicken, Sesame Spareribs, Beef Stew Vietnamese Style, Baked Salmon with Ginger and Scallion, and Five Spice Rice Cake. My Tran is also the author of another book, The Asian Diet, and she is a successful designer and dressmaker in Washington, D.C., as well. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2000, Capital Books (22841 Quicksilver Dr, Sterling, VA 20166), 119p. illus. index., Ages 15 to adult.

Library Journal