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 Vietnamese
Home
Cooking

Contents
Charles Phan
Chef-Owner, The Slanted Door
with Jessica Battilana

Photography by Eric Wolfinger

TEN SPEED PRESS

Berkeley

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 For Dad and Ah Neng

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 xxvi Preface
xxviii Introduction
Soup
5 Pork Stock
6 Chicken Stock
7 Beef Stock
8 Pho Gá: Chicken Noodle Soup
10 Pho Bò: Beef Noodle Soup
14 Wonton Noodle Soup
16 Bún Bò Hue
18 Bánh Canh: Pig's Knuckle Soup
20 Cháo: Chicken Rice Porridge
22 Simple Fish Soup
25 Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup
26 Crab and Corn Soup
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34 Green Papaya Salad with Rau Ram, Peanuts,
and Crispy Shallots
37 Beef Jerky
44 Pork and Shrimp Spring Rolls
48 Chinese Doughnuts
51 Bánh Mì
52 Mama’s Meatballs
55 Lemongrass Pork
56 Halibut Vermicelli with Dill and
Pineapple-Anchovy Sauce
58 Bánh Xèo: Crepe with Pork and Shrimp
60 Bánh Bèo: Steamed Rice Cakes with Mung Beans
and Shrimp
62 Bánh Cuón: Rice Crepes with Pork
and Mushrooms
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 Steaming Braising
70 Daikon Rice Cake with Spicy Soy 100 Chicken with Lily Buds and Dried
72 Black Bean–Glazed Pork Spareribs Shiitake Mushrooms
74 Bánh Nam: Banana Leaf–Wrapped Rice Dumplings 102 Chicken Curry
76 Black Cod with Lily Buds and Dried 104 Duck Legs with Bamboo, Virginia Ham, and
Shiitake Mushrooms Shiitake Mushrooms
78 Chicken Steamed Buns 106 Soy-Braised Pork Belly with Ginger
82 Vegetarian Steamed Buns and Star Anise
83 Pork Steamed Buns 108 Catfish Clay Pot
84 Ground Pork with Salted Fish 110 Pork Clay Pot with Young Coconut Juice
86 Hue Rice Dumplings 113 Lo Soi Braised Pork
90 Lotus Leaf–Wrapped Sticky Rice 115 Lemongrass Beef Stew
92 Steamed Whole Fish with Ginger, Scallions, 116 Caramelized Lemongrass Shrimp
and Soy 118 Braised Branzino with Tomatoes and
Pickled Mustard Greens
120 Yuba Dumplings with Miso Broth

Contents

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Stir-Frying
128 Broccoli with Beech Mushrooms
and Roasted Chile Paste
129 Bok Choy with Baby Shiitake Mushrooms
129 Spinach with Caramelized Shallots
131 Gulf Shrimp and Sing Qua Stir-Fry
132 Squid with Tomato and Pickled Mustard Greens
134 Black Bass with Yellow Chives and Bean Sprouts
136 Scrambled Eggs and Pork
137 Water Spinach with Shrimp Paste
138 Lemongrass Chicken
140 Bo Luc Lac: Shaking Beef
143 Beef Bavette with Tomatoes and
Thick-Cut Potatoes
144 Fried Rice
146 Wok-Fried Noodles with Beef and Bok Choy
147 Crispy Egg Noodles with Seafood
148 Mix-and-Match Wok-Fried Noodles
Grilling
154 Grilled Pork Chops with Sweet
Lemongrass Marinade
156 Pork-Stuffed Squid with Spicy Tomato Sauce
158 Clams with Crispy Pork Belly and Thai Basil
161 Grilled Whole Fish
162 Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
164 Grilled Five-Spice Chicken with Tamarind Sauce
165 Spicy Mango Salad
165 Pomelo Salad
166 Rice Clay Pot with Chicken and Chinese Sausage
168 Roasted Eggplant and Leek Salad
170 Vermicelli (Bun) Bowls
171 Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Cilantro,
Scallions, and Lime
171 Simple Grilled Shrimp

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 Frying
178 Imperial Rolls
182 Sweet Potato and Shrimp Fritters
185 Squid with Pineapple and Toasted Garlic
186 Fragrant Crispy Duck with Watercress
188 Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings
191 Lacquered Quail with Sichuan Cucumber Pickles
194 Hoi An Wontons with Spicy Tomato Sauce
196 Sweet and Sour Fish
199 Turmeric-and-Beer-Battered Soft-Shell Crab

Glossary
202 Ingredients
214 Condiments

216 Acknowledgements

217 Conversion Chart

218 Index

Contents

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 54

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 Lemongrass Pork
—
This cheater’s version of porchetta makes a
great filling for bánh mì (page 51), though it’s
also good on its own, with rice and a vegetable
side dish.

• ¾ cup finely chopped lemongrass (see page 207)

• ¼ cup chopped garlic
• 3 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1½ tablespoons coriander seeds, toasted in a dry
pan until fragrant, cooled, and ground
• 1½ tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup canola oil
• 4 pounds boneless pork loin
Serves 6 as a main course or makes enough meat for
8 to 10 sandwiches

1.
In a bowl, combine the
lemongrass, garlic, salt,
coriander, and pepper
and stir to mix. Add the
oil and stir until a thick
paste forms. Set aside.
4.
When you are ready to
cook the meat, remove it
from the refrigerator and
bring it to room tempera-
ture. Preheat the oven
to 325°F.

2.
Place the pork loin on a
cutting board. Beginning
at one end of the loin,
make a horizontal cut
about 1-inch deep. Con-
tinue cutting the length
of the loin. Then, return
to the start of the cut and
deepen the cut, pulling
back the meat as you go,
until the pork loin opens
like a magazine. Do not cut
all the way through.
3.
Spread three-quarters
of the spice mixture on
the top of the pork and
then roll the pork into a
tight cylinder, securing
it at 3-inch intervals with
butcher’s twine. Rub the
remaining mixture on the
outside of the meat. Place
the meat on a rimmed bak-
ing sheet, cover loosely
with plastic wrap, and
refrigerate for at least
8 hours.
Street Food
5.
Roast the pork for
about 1¼ hours, until
an instant-read ther-
mometer inserted into
the thickest part of the
shoulder registers 140°F.
Transfer the shoulder to
a platter and tent with
aluminum foil.
6.
If serving the pork hot
as a main course, let rest
for about 30 minutes
then slice the shoulder
and serve. If you’re plan-
ning to use the pork for
sandwiches, let cool com-
pletely before slicing.

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 50

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 Bánh Mì
—
In the last couple of years, bánh mì, a baguette
sandwich that has been a favorite snack
in Vietnam since French colonial days, has
become popular in the States. The sandwiches
are sold almost everywhere in Vietnam, filled
with almost anything. Although I’ve tried many,
many versions of bánh mì in the States, none
has been quite as good as what I can get back
in Vietnam. Happily, a very good version can be
made at home.

Best bread: Filling: Toppings:

This might be the most
important element of a
bánh mì. In Vietnam, the
baguettes are made with a
combination of rice flour
and wheat flour. They have
a crackly exterior and a
fluffy interior. The crust
shouldn't be too robust,
though, or the sandwich
Dozens of different A bánh mì needs pickled
fillings for these sand- carrots (page 35), thin
wiches are possible: slices of jalapeño chile,
headcheese, Vietnamese cucumber, and lots of
bologna, grilled meat fresh cilantro. These
(chicken, pork, or beef), toppings give the sand-
or even vegetarian ver- wich flavor and offset the
sions with tofu or mush- fattiness of the fillings.
rooms. My favorite fill- Without these additions,
ings are Lemongrass Pork you’ll still have a tasty

Street Food
will be difficult to chew (page 55) and Mama’s sandwich, but it won’t be
and you’ll tear up the Meatballs (page 52), which a bánh mì. Two more tips:
roof of your mouth. This makes a saucy, messy, spread both cut sides of
is a case when you don’t Sloppy Joe–like sandwich. each roll with a little
want to use the fanciest mayonnaise to ensure the
artisanal country loaf or sandwich isn’t dry, and
the crustiest baguette. finish it with a drizzle of
A toasted supermarket Golden Mountain or Maggi
baguette, a bolillo (a tor- seasoning sauce (page 214).
pedo-shaped Mexican roll),
or a roll that you find in
an Asian market is your
best best. Split the roll
lengthwise and pull out
most of the bread guts.
This will ensure that your
sandwich isn’t too doughy
and that you can get your
mouth around it.

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 Roasted Chile Paste • 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns (see page 211)
— • 1 tablespoon annatto seeds (see page 202)
Our roasted chile paste runs circles around • ½ cup finely chopped shallots
store-bought versions. The Sichuan pepper- • ½ cup canola oil
corns give it an almost floral, complicated heat,
• ¼ cup finely minced garlic (about 8 cloves)
punched up by red pepper flakes and mellowed
• ¼ cup red pepper flakes
out by the ground bean paste. It’s used as a con-
diment, added to dipping sauces, and used as an • � cup ground bean paste (see page 214)
ingredient in cooked dishes. If you are opting for • 2 tablespoons rice wine (see page 215)
store-bought, you’ll find it in glass or plastic • 2 tablespoons sugar
jars, often labeled chile-bean or saté paste (see • 2 tablespoons light soy sauce (see page 215)
bean paste page 214). Look for a brand made with-
Makes about 1½ cups
out preservatives.

1. 2. 3.
Combine the pepper- In a small saucepan, Stir in the red pep-
corns and annatto seeds combine the shallots per flakes and the
in a spice grinder (or and oil over medium peppercorn-annatto
use a mortar and pestle) heat and cook, stirring mixture, mixing well.
and grind coarsely. Set frequently, for about Add the wine, sugar,
aside. 6 minutes, until the and soy sauce and con-
shallots are light gold. tinue cooking, stirring,
Add the garlic and cook, for 1 minute longer.
stirring frequently, Remove from the heat
for about 4 minutes and let cool completely.
longer, until the garlic Use immediately, or
and shallot are lightly transfer to an airtight
browned. container and refriger-

Braising
ate for up to 3 months.

How to Chop Lemongrass

The texture of chopped
lemongrass is important.
We go through cases and
cases of lemongrass each
week for the restaurants,
so hand-chopping is not
possible. But at home it’s
always my first choice.
First, cut the bottom
½-inch off each lemongrass
stalk and trim the green-
ish, woody top portion and
discard. Peel the outer
layers from the stalk
until you arrive at the
firm, tender center. With
a sharp knife, thinly slice
the stalk into coins, then
run your knife through
the pile of coins until
you have reduced them to
nubby bits. You want to
detect the bits of lemon-
grass in a finished dish:
they should register on
your tongue, then dis-
solve, leaving only the
bright aroma behind.
To preserve the
aromatic quality of fresh
lemongrass, chop it just
before using. If you live
in a place where lemon-
grass is hard to come by,
buy extra: whole stalks
can be frozen for future
use.

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 Copyright © 2012 by Charles Phan
Photographs copyright © 2012 by Eric Wolfinger

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press,
an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division
of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.tenspeed.com

Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon

are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publicaion Data

Phan, Charles.
Vietnamese home cooking / Charles Phan, Chef-
Owner of The Slanted Door.
p. cm.
1. Cooking, Vietnamese. I. Slanted Door (Restaurant)
II. Title.
TX724.5.V5P54 2012
641.59’295922—dc23
2012014119

ISBN: 978-1-60774-053-7
eISBN: 978-1-60774-385-9

Book design by Manual

Printed in China

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