Lemongrass, Ginger and Mint Vietnamese Cookbook: Classic Vietnamese Street Food Made at Home Paperback – May 9, 2017

I loved reading this book. It taught me so much more than just great recipes. Linh starts off the book with a bit about her and the culture she grew up in, teaching some Vietnamese words as she tells her story. She talks about her life as well as the lives of her parents and grandparents, especially to demonstrate the importance of specific foods like rice. Then she shares something I greatly appreciate: lists and details about the common ingredients and tools you will need to cook the recipes in her book. Again, teaching but also laying the foundation for the reader. That's the part that hooked me.Each recipe section of the book comes with very easy to follow recipes, a brief history or personal stories about the dish, and some of the words also in Vietnamese (which helps when shopping Asian markets and ordering off a menu). The best part is that the extras do not distract from or clutter the recipe space. It's all separated and easy to read each part.I was looking for a good source for Vietnamese cuisine since I discovered my sensitive stomach tolerated it well and never caused a flare up (UC). I'd only eaten it at restaurants and wanted to try making some of the dishes at home with a plan to eventually try a month long challenge. My hope was that in changing my diet to 100% Vietnamese for at least 20 days (up to 6mo) it would help heal my gut so reactions to food are less often or, hopefully, the new cells would would be strong enough to tolerate healthy foods I used to eat like beans, kale, cauliflower, chocolate, etc. Other considerations were Mediterranean, Korean, vegan, and even just elemental as these have been proven to help heal the body as a whole. So, as you can see, I was very interested in finding a good source for the most tolerated food I've had.I am very thankful for this book and all its delicious recipes! Plenty of variety for summer and winter meal plans. You won't regret adding this to your collection.

I am loving this book! I’m Vietnamese, & this is definitely authentic recipes of Vietman. Of course- different regions of Vietnam will make it slightly different, but the basic is pretty much exactly the same.. I have made the banh mi (the meat, radishes, & the butter), & I have also made the banh xeo. If there is any fixing- it would be very minor depending on your taste buds..As I go through more dishes- I will update this review!There is only one main complaint I have, & that is there are NO PICTURES of any of the dishes except for the banh mi. So, if you’re not familiar with the names of dishes- you would be out of luck unless you can try to search the photo on the internet!Update 8/30/17: tried the Braised Baby Back Ribs (see photo). Was delicious! My husband killed it! I did down the black pepper to 1/2 tsp cause my kids can’t handle the spice. I also left it as a whole piece of ribs instead of chopping it into 1 1/2” pieces. But worked pratically the same & taste delicious!

I didn't know I was looking for this book until it popped up on my screen. The authentic Vietnamese recipes are wonderful, especially the fresh vegetable rolls. Very easy to make. I also like the stories about her growing up in the country and the street vendors she bought from.

While not the glossiest of cookbooks which seems to be just a modern trend anyway, this incredibly useful reference to completely authentic Vietnamese is a must have if you are interested in this cuisine, and even if you have no experience of Vietnamese cooking you will find that the style of the food is always healthy and nutritious. The recipes are easy to follow with tips on how to source ingredients if you are not living in Viet Nam, and the book has charming anecdotes of the author's life growing up with her extended family in rural Viet Nam. And it is extraordinary value for money. If you love Vietnamese food, or you're an avid cook, you must have it.

I really enjoyed reading the stories about each dish and the author's memories, however, sometimes she comes off a little snobby and arrogant. There are several places where this pops up, but the most annoying part is where she describes the differences between "classic" pho (from the north) vs southern pho (the kind that is typical in the US). One of the differences that she points out is that southern pho uses rock sugar. Then she highlights a whole section about a prominent author calling adding sugar to pho "a "clumsy act" that is a waste of money as well as time and effort spent on eating..."a true frustration."" And that "it has to be an honest umami broth, meaning no sugar added." So I guess the way the entire southern region of Vietnam eats pho is not up to par. Wow, Linh, tell us how you really feel. She has a recipe for "classic pho" but not for southern pho. If you're going to distinguish the different styles of pho, can you just include recipes for both and let the reader decide which one they want to make? It seems like she felt underrepresented after coming to the US and finding all the Vietnamese restaurants served southern pho, so she decided to introduce northern pho ("classic" pho) in her book, but couldn't help herself and had to take it one step farther to establish northern pho as the superior pho (by picking quotes that support her view from prominent authors to imply her intent so she doesn't have to directly say it and sound like a jerk) and exclude southern pho from her recipes. I LOVE southern pho, it's what drew me to Vietnamese food and cooking in the first place, and it's the only type of pho we can find in Vietnamese restaurants here anyway. I'm happy to try both and determine for myself which I like better, but it's disappointing that it's not included in this book. Also, other than on the intro page to each section, there are no pictures.