i was eating a bowl of foodhall pho bo tai the other day. nothing spesh, but at that moment, sitting at the counter overlooking the theatre that is sussex street traffic, i thought it was the best thing ever to be eaten. oh, how i love the heady herby beefy broth, the slurpy noodles, the bouquet of basil and sprouts that wilts in the hot soup. now you want one too, don’t you? i ♥ vietnamese food.
so despite the vow i’d taken to not buy another cookbook ever, i found myself standing in line at borders* a few weeks ago, with this handsome tome in the crook of my arm: “secrets of the red lantern: stories and vietnamese recipes from the heart“, written by the clever kids who run that surry hills restaurant.
i used to live a few blocks away from red lantern, would walk past it pretty much every day, and i never went. so silly. just look at the book, full of evocative photographs of delicious food. (the feelings they evoke are hunger, i think, and regret.)
but here’s the thing: a lot of the ingredients in these recipes are things i have sitting in my kitchen, or are, at least, familiar things i grew up with. most of these look to be comforting and achievable recipes. i could make this stuff at home. i think.
if i really felt like it, i could even make the pork terrine, the pork pate, the pork belly, the garlic mayonnaise and the pickled carrots required for a banh mi sandwich. there you are: the recipes for each component are helpfully compiled on consecutive pages, with a persuasive picture coming up the end for encouragement. for now, though, i’m happy to pay three dollars to the chatty girl in the tucked-away shop in the other chinatown foodhall. well, maybe i’ll give the pickled carrots a go.
i’d also like to make canh chua ca, the tamarind fish soup of which i ate great tureens as i moseyed through vietnam in the time of SARS. and i will make banh xeo, of course. and the avocado ice cream? mmmmaybe.
but it’s not just a cookbook; alongside the pretty pictures, and the compelling recipes, are chapters of a family history woven through: a story of a childhood in saigon, an exodus aboard a boatload of refugees, a life rebuilt in cabramatta. there is a dictatorial asian father, an estranged daughter — the storyteller, plain and true –, a time in the desert (figurative), and finally, redemption. it’s more than you could ask for, really. i expect it will be on my bedside table for quite a while yet.
* are you signed up to the borders mailing list? they send you a better than average discount coupon or two every week, perfect for when you need that 35%-off nudge to buy yet another cookbook.
9 Comments
’tis the season for gifting but zog, i want to buy that beautiful cookbook for myself!
no more cookbooks – was this before or after the frankie afternoon tea book?? red lantern were part of this restaurant doco series that was on tv a couple years ago.. with restaurant balzac and aria.
santos! yes, buy it! i am sure there will be no regrets. anyway, who says you can’t buy yourself a gift amidst all the festive craziness?
sonya: oh, this was weeks ago. and i didn’t end up buying the frankie book. i LOVE the styling, but i don’t think i’d actually bake any of those things. i remember that tv series — but i missed it. 🙁
hey, what’s that prosperous-looking, dong-dong-chiang cloth in the back?
i remember reading the cookbook at borders (hey i registered ages ago but i never got any 35% off voucher : ( )
i like her story, and i like that the pages are thick and the pictures almost perfect.
but with such a solid cookbook like that, u get hesistant bout placing it in the kitchen while u try out the recipes, coz u dont want it to get dirty or any oil splatter on it.. and i think that kinda sucks
Look what you have done. Making me add another book to my wishlist. Tee hee.
The cover of the book and the pictures are so gorgeous! Mmmm, am so going to get it. 😀
nellicent: quilt cover lah. always socurious about the soft furnishings. as of yesterday, i have put mr quilt into summer hibernation. in its place is a waffle-weave blanket, which seemed like a good idea when i bought it, but becomes increasingly nubbly and annoying as time goes by.
tian: i don’t think it sucks at all; i have a spot on the counter where a cookbook can be safely propped, even in my crappy hole of a kitchen. but perhaps i have a different kind of relationship with my cookbooks than you have with yours. ;P
lisa Y: yay, just in time for xmas! 🙂
That cookbook is on my wishlist as well but purchase will have to wait…
I went from not buying cookings for a while to buying 2 within the same week – the evilness that is book clubs 😉
You make me so jealous. There are no Vietnamese restaurants in Spain that I know of, and I´ve never been to one, even abroad. But everything I hear about it is so delicious, I keep trying out pale home made versions whenever I can.