Vietnamese Home Cooking

Description

When Charles Phan opened his now-legendary restaurant, The Slanted Door, in 1995, he introduced American food lovers to a new world of Vietamese food: robustly flavoured, subtly nuanced, authentic yet influenced by local ingredients and, ultimately, entirely approachable. Phan's recipes are based on the premise that with an understanding of its central techniques and fundamental ingredients, Vietnamese home cooking can be as attainable and understandable as French, Italian or American. With solid instruction and encouraging guidance, perfectly crisp imperial rolls, tender steamed dumplings, delicately flavoured whole fish and meaty lemongrass beef stew are all deliciously close at hand. Abundant photography detailing techniques and equipment, and vibrant shots of Vietnam itself, make for equal parts elucidation and inspiration. Infused with the author's stories and experiences, from his early days as a refugee to his current culinary success, Vietnamese Home Cooking is a personal and accessible guide to real Vietnamese cuisine.

Author description

CHARLES PHAN is the executive chef and owner of The Slanted Door family of restaurants. He received the James Beard Award for Best Chef California in 2004, and in 2011 was inducted into the James Beard Foundation's list of Who's Who of Food in America. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and their three children.