Australian home cooks looking to expand their culinary horizons now have the ultimate resource for mastering Vietnamese cuisine. Vietnam: The Cookbook by Anais Ca Dao van Manen provides a comprehensive deep dive into this vibrant food culture, moving well beyond the familiar pho and banh mi to explore the rich tapestry of flavours, techniques, and customs that define Vietnamese cooking.
Essential Vietnamese Recipes for Australian Kitchens
The cookbook offers meticulously tested recipes that bring authentic Vietnamese flavours to Australian homes. From street food classics to complex family dishes, each recipe includes detailed instructions and accessible ingredients. The book demonstrates that Vietnamese cuisine encompasses far more than its most famous exports, featuring everything from simple snacks to elaborate celebratory meals.
Vietnamese Baguette with Tuna Fish Cake
This recipe transforms the classic banh mi with a homemade tuna fish cake component. The process begins with creating a flavourful fish paste using 440g tuna fillet blended with garlic, spring onions, chillies, and Vietnamese coriander. The mixture is either piped directly into hot oil or formed into patties before frying in lemongrass-infused oil.
For assembly, a crisp Vietnamese baguette is split and layered with sauces, the golden fish cake pieces, fresh cucumber slices, chilli, and aromatic Vietnamese coriander. The result is a substantial sandwich that balances textures and flavours characteristic of Vietnamese street food.
Tamarind Fried Crabs with Crispy Pork Fat
This showstopping dish requires live crabs and careful preparation. The recipe guides cooks through the humane dispatching process and proper cleaning technique to preserve the valuable crab tomalley. The crabs are stir-fried in a wok with garlic and shallots before being coated in a tangy tamarind sauce enhanced with the reserved crab juices.
The finished dish is garnished with crispy fried pork fat and served over Vietnamese coriander, reassembled to resemble whole crabs. This recipe serves two to three people as an impressive starter and demonstrates the sophisticated balance of sweet, sour, and savoury flavours in Vietnamese seafood preparation.
Complex Traditional Dishes Made Accessible
Sour Pho with Multiple Components
This elaborate recipe deconstructs and reimagines the familiar pho. It involves blanching and simmering pork, frying fresh pho noodles until crispy, preparing a rich sauce broth, and deep-frying boiled eggs until golden. The assembly requires careful layering of shredded cucumber, fresh noodles, pork, and egg quarters before being topped with herbs, crispy noodles, peanuts, and the signature sauce.
The multi-step process showcases the complexity of Vietnamese cooking techniques while providing clear instructions for home cooks. The recipe yields eight substantial servings, making it ideal for family meals or entertaining.
Braised Pork Ribs with Pineapple
This comforting dish combines 500g baby back ribs with fresh pineapple in a savoury-sweet braise. The ribs are first stir-fried with aromatics before being simmered with fish sauce, chilli and lemongrass oil, and seasonings. Pineapple slices are added partway through cooking to maintain their texture and bright flavour.
The finished dish is garnished with spring onions and black pepper, creating a family-friendly meal that serves three to four people. The recipe demonstrates how Vietnamese cuisine expertly balances fruit with savoury components.
Vietnam: The Cookbook, published by Phaidon and retailing for $74.95, represents a significant contribution to international cookbook collections. For Australian food enthusiasts seeking to explore Southeast Asian flavours, this comprehensive guide provides the techniques, recipes, and cultural context needed to successfully recreate authentic Vietnamese dishes at home.
