The Classic Cuisine of Vietnam cookbook samples one of the most outstanding food cultures on Earth
- First published in English in 1979, the book quickly dispelled contemporary assumptions that Vietnamese food was like Chinese
- As well as recipes for pho and summer rolls, the book celebrates the wealth and diversity of flavours in traditional dishes
The Classic Cuisine of Vietnam was first published in English in 1979 (the French edition came out a year earlier), and it’s interesting to see how, apparently, the food was perceived by outsiders back then.
In the introduction, Bach Ngo and Gloria Zimmerman write, “Anyone under the illusion that Vietnamese cookery is a mere variation of Chinese cuisine will discover what a fundamentally different style it has – and unforgettably different delight it is.
“A similar comparison could be made between French and Italian cuisine, each using many of the same raw materials with sharply varying techniques and, just as important, different flavourings and spices, with infinitely different results.
“As the four-thousand-year-old Chinese culture produced a cuisine world renowned for its exquisite sophistication, Vietnamese culture, zealously guarded and nurtured over the same time span, has given birth to a cuisine no less sophisticated. Craig Claiborne, eminent food critic of The New York Times, hails the Vietnamese kitchen as ‘among the most outstanding on Earth’.
“In France, the temple of haute cuisine, Vietnamese restaurants now far outnumber Chinese, not only in Paris but throughout the rest of the country, and the tide of discovery has moved across the Atlantic. Food-conscious Americans, both young and old, are now joyously discovering Vietnam’s delicate and beguiling food-making art.”