Simply Vietnamese Cooking Review – Easy to Follow Gourmet Recipes

Simply Vietnamese Cooking, presents more than one hundred delicious recipes, by Vietnamese cooking expert Nancie McDermott, in an easy to read and follow soft bound cookbook, which is the number eleven for the former Peace Corp volunteer.

Nancie McDermott has taken the difficulty out of Vietnamese cooking and replaced it with easy to follow recipes that no matter your culinary level are straightforward and uncomplicated.


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McDermott, also an expert on the culture, offers simple tips to complement the 256 page cook book. Her top five tips:

  1. Stock up on Basic Pantry. So many ingredients can be found in grocery stores, If you love this food, try to find an Asians market you can visit now and then and look for Asian ingredients at farmer markets also. Here’s a list:  Fish sauce, soy sauce, rice, rice noodles, rice papers for spring rolls and wrapping at table, garlic lime cilantro mint shallots scallions, Asian sesame oil and freshly ground pepper.
  2. Get a Rice Cooker. This food goes with rice and it’s a great pleasure to cook traditional meals that way. It’s also wonderful without rice, so this isn’t a requirement. But if you do plan to eat Vietnamese food with rice, a rice cooker makes that easier and frees you up to focus on what goes with it.
  3. Embrace the Concept of Mis En Place. Preparation is key, from chopping ingredients and laying out the tools and condiments you need before cooking. Actual cooking times tend to be short and close to serving time. Being prepared and having ingredients measured out can make it all flow. Stopping to read the recipe and reach for a teaspoon when the dish needs the sauce ingredients added at that moment can make things seem harder. You can prep and then come back to it later but this difference between Asian and Western cooking is crucial and embracing it can make your cooking a pleasure.
  4. Become a Student of Vietnamese Culture and Food. Read widely, look up resources and videos. Becomes a regular at Vietnamese restaurants. The more you know about Vietnamese cuisine and traditions, the more meaningful and inspiring it will be to cook Vietnamese food.
  5. Enjoy it. Start anywhere and move forward letting the process unfold. You can add a Vietnamese dish or two to your standard menu and let it become part of your cooking life. You can plan a Vietnamese feast and invite friends to come early and help you cook, Let it be part of the pleasure of your kitchen and your table.

Simply Vietnamese Cooking provides so many recipes for delicious Vietnamese dishes, from soups and snacks to stir fries, noodles and sweets all home chef can prepare.


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Vietnamese cooking brings the Asian culinary experience, a healthy, traditional menu where presentation is as special as the meal. Cooked items can be arranged in order of consumption and combinations to enhance the flavors. Chops sticks are used and to the Asian very personal. Asking to borrow in the kitchen of the Asian cook is not recommended and considered bad form.

Bon appetite or Chúc ngon miệng!

Haute Tease