Corinne first came to visit me at my cooking school in northern California, and instantly I recognized a talented individual with a most unique approach to and outlook on food. Her multi-ethnic background has given her a unique perspective not only on French and Vietnamese cultures but also on Chinese and American. Corinne is most articulate in voicing the many international influences that Vietnamese cuisine has benefited from and the many contributions that Vietnamese cooking has made to the West as well as other Asian cuisines. Through Corinne, I have gained a whole new perspective on Vietnamese cuisine.
~ Martin Yan, host, Yan Can Cook
People who would this book include anyone curious about Vietnamese cuisine — whether the interest stems from a desire to cook or a need for a primer before dining out. Anyone with an appreciation for a cuisine that often broaches the realm of unusual. And anyone who enjoys a good cookbook with introductions to recipes that offer just enough information to inform and intrigue.
~ The Washington Post
Trang’s food can be chili hot, lettuce mild, caramel sweet, lime sour, crusty crisp, starchy mushy; an a cappella aria of a primary ingredient of a funky, mysterious pastiche. It may be several of these things at once. It is never timid. There’s much to learn, as Trang points out, from ‘the historical Vietnamese process of absorption, adaptation, refinement—of invention and discipline held in the mind simultaneously.
~ The New York Times, “Book Review” section
Vietnamese cooking profits from many salutary influences. In addition to its native Southeast Asian heritage, it has borrowed from the world’s two greatest culinary traditions, Chinese and French, whose armies have successively occupied its territory. Trang herself reflects Vietnam’s multiple cultures: her maternal ancestry from France’s Loire Valley and her father’s from admixtures of Chinese and Cambodian. Trang locates three distinct regions in Vietnamese cuisine: simple, hearty cooking from the north; sophisticated, refined cooking from the center; and spicy, exciting food from the south. Since so many Americans remain unused to Vietnamese cooking, Trang begins with an extensive glossary of staple foods, equipment, and techniques. Each recipe has a preface and many have an afterword, placing dishes in culinary and historical context. Trang also suggests variations, showing how basic techniques may yield different results. Trang’s directions are concise and her ingredient inventories simple, making this an outstanding introduction to a notable cuisine.
~ Booklist
Vietnamese cuisine, which fuses French and Chinese traditions, is no stranger to the American palate, and food writer Trang, raised by a French mother and Cambodian-born Chinese father, is ideally suited to become its latest proponent. Her inspired, often simple dishes will nicely stretch the boundaries of home kitchen fare.
~ Publishers Weekly
Vietnamese food is gaining popularity, though there aren’t very many books available on the subject. Corinne Trang is considered an expert in the field of regional Vietnamese food and cookery, and in this book brings its flavours and techniques to life. Her recipes are clearly written and on the whole quite simple.
~ Vogue Entertaining
Trang is no newcomer to the world of food styling and writing. Throughout her still young career, she has directed the test kitchen for Saveur magazine and been a food stylist, contributing editor and freelance writer for a number of publication and television shows. [her book] is elegant, straightforward, and simple.
~ Newsday
The story of Corinne Trang’s family personifies the story of Vietnam. And so her book, Authentic Vietnamese Cooking, not only serves as a good introduction to the cuisine, but also gives a sense of how the country’s history has shaped its food. Trang points out that Vietnam has long been a culinary crossroads, a cuisine influenced by French, Chinese, Indian…tastes. And yet, Vietnamese cooking is usually quite simple. What make the cuisine lively and appealing are the frequently appearing flavors of garlic, ginger, scallion, lemongrass, soy, fish sauce and a plethora of fresh herbs, especially mint, Thai basil and cilantro. Thanks at least in part to the French influence, Vietnamese cooking can also be quite subtle, and Trang’s recipes largely capture those subtleties. They call for small amounts of assertive flavors—and combine them to create synergies that are not only complex but even mysterious. The hundred or so recipes in Trang’s book feel unified.
~ The New York Times, “Dining Out” section
Corinne Trang, a former director of the test kitchen for Saveur magazine, has streamlined traditional recipes and gracefully holds the home cook’s hand in Authentic Vietnamese Cooking. Trang is thorough in explaining recipes in their historical and practical context even before listing the ingredients. Exotic ingredients and equipment needs are explained in full. Her seasonal menu suggestions are easy to incorporate.
~ CNN.com
Book Smart: the season’s best new books…if you’ve only had Vietnamese food in restaurants, you’ll enjoy these family recipes.
~ Food & Wine
Season’s Reading for the holidays…[one] of our favorites is Authentic Vietnamese Cooking written by our former test-kitchen director, Corinne Trang.
~ Saveur
Simply Rewarding Viet Cuisine: Spending several weeks with Corinne Trang’s Authentic Vietnamese Cooking: Food from a Family Table confirms that Vietnamese cooking is not only easily accomplished by the home cook, but offers the highest rewards for time spent. Anyone can do it. Trang intuitively understands both Eastern and Western cooking. May be that’s why her concise, easy-to-follow recipes work so well. But in addition to the nuts and bolts of each dish, she conveys the big picture by explaining Vietnamese culinary principles, regional differences between North, South and Central Vietnamese dishes, and influences on the cuisine from France, India and China. A graceful personal aesthetic infuses the writing, especially the notes at the beginning of each recipe that give the recipes a context. She tells you what you need to know, answering questions before you ask them. Trang’s recipe for nuoc cham, the indispensable Vietnamese dipping sauce that uses nuoc mam, fish sauce, is spot on, a perfect balance of sweet, tart, salty and aromatic. I put together a winter meal from Trang’s book—spring rolls, green papaya salad, beef and carrot stew, banana fritters, Vietnamese coffee—and was able to collect all the ingredients in one stop. I had the book in hand so I was able to use it to explain what I needed. The meal turned out to be astoundingly delicious and fairly simple to execute.
~ San Francisco Examiner
Gifts Guaranteed to Get You Invited to Dinner: Trang’s mouthwatering recipes are rich in cultural anecdotes and ritual. (For instance, did you know that guests in a Vietnamese home are expected to garnish their own soup?) The dishes are exotic and flavorful, and with recipes for everything from peanut, garlic and chili sate to pineapple and anchovy dipping sauce, this spice-laden cookbook is a must for the condiment lover.
~ Self
Top Choices: Finally, the appealing Authentic Vietnamese Cooking by Corinne Trang is a great introduction of this wholesome cuisine, complete with a comprehensive glossary.
~ Metropolitan Home
Vietnamese cooking is a richly varied, complex cuisine, and it’s thoroughly explained in Trang’s Authentic Vietnamese Cooking. Trang was raised in France but made frequent visits to Southeast Asia, where she and her family lived and visited for many years. She learned to cook from her grandmother and various aunts, and is knowledgeable about Vietnamese cooking methods, ingredients and classic dishes of the region. A detailed chapter on special ingredients precedes the recipe section of this book. There’s an excellent index of mail-order sources. And if you’re not sure how to coordinate some of these unfamiliar dishes, a spread on seasonal menus offers some suggested dinners for spring, summer, fall, and winter.
~ Daily News
Vietnamese cuisine is healthy alternative: Want to prepare Vietnamese food at home? It’s not difficult, thanks to the newly published Authentic Vietnamese Cooking, by Corinne Trang.
~ Boston Herald
Trang has used her family dinner table and travels to Vietnam as a launch pad for a unique perspective on the foods of Vietnam. This book, illustrated with artful photos, is much more than a bunch of recipes. Trang shares personal anecdotes and vignettes of her family life as well as the history and traditions behind the flavors of this light, healthful cuisine.
~ The Tennessean
Trang has used her family dinner table and travels to Vietnam as a launch pad for a unique perspective on the foods of Vietnam. This book, illustrated with artful photos, is much more than a bunch of recipes. Trang shares personal anecdotes and vignettes of her family life as well as the history and traditions behind the flavors of this light, healthful cuisine.
~ The Kansas City Star
Vietnamese cuisine is a melting pot of flavors. From the Khmers in Cambodia came their love for curries. Their Chinese neighbors to the North brought about their appreciation for soups. France, which long held Vietnam in its power, brought French flair to breads and other baked goods. With knowledge of all three cuisines, it is no wonder Ms. Trang is recognized as an expert of many cuisines. Authentic Vietnamese Cooking brings inspired dishes to an American palate just becoming familiar with this unique Asian cuisine.
~ Chattanooga Times
This is the kind of family table you dream of being invited to…the kind of table that is supported by what may best be described as an ‘aunty’ network stretching from Southeast Asia to the USA via France. Corinne Trang doesn’t let anyone down with this cookbook. She refers frequently to the fusion and crossroads aspect of Vietnamese cuisine; fortunately it in no way resembles the macaronic assemblages of culinary idioms that often go under that name. In fact, both the cuisine and the book are authentic.
~ The Asian Foodbookery
