• Eat Your Books

  Published in Australia as The Songs of Sapa: Stories and Recipes from Vietnam.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Stir-fried ginger chicken (Gà xào gùʼng)

  • Delys77 on October 16, 2011

    Pg 35 This is a great little stir fry. The relatively large amounts of fish sauce are very well balanced with the sweetness of the brown sugar. The ginger is mellowed by the cooking so don't worry about the amount. I did actually double the recipe to serve five as the amount he suggests would likely only serve 3.

  • Hellyloves2cook on April 15, 2012

    Made this prior to going to Vietnam. It was delicious! Doubled the amount to serve our family of 5. All the flavours were well balanced. Definitely one to do again!

• Hanoi chicken and vermicelli noodle soup (Bún thang Hà Nôi)

  • Delys77 on December 11, 2011

    This dish is savoury deliciousness. The shrimp paste and fish sauce give the broth a wonderful umami flavor that is not overpowering at all. I suggest you cut the herbs up in relatively small pieces and be careful to avoid the stems. Also the broth has to be piping hot as the rest of the ingredients are room temperature or cold. Served with a squeeze of lime as a final touch.

• Chargrilled lemongrass beef (Bò nuóʼng xa)

  • Delys77 on April 15, 2012

    Pg. 68 As is this recipe is good but it could do with some more instruction and slight tweaking. Instruction wise I would say you should broil closer to 7 minutes total and serve like a bahn mi with the meat in a baguette sandwich with the sauce and some pickled veggies. Tweaking wise I would cut the fish sauce or shrimp padre by half, go with lemongrass paste and some cilantro as well as chili to p the flavour of the beef and cut back the disproportionate umami.

• Wok-tossed bean sprouts and garlic chives (Giá he xào)

  • Delys77 on November 20, 2011

    Pg 121 I suggest going with a bit more garlic Chive than suggested. Overall the flavour is simple but not bad. Ok as a side for a busy and flavourful meal but definitely not an outstanding dish.

• Beef wok-tossed with betel leaves (Bò xào lá lôt)

  • Delys77 on November 08, 2011

    I must admit I tweaked this recipe a bit as I couldn't find betel. I used about 4 oz of Thai basil which is significantly less than the betel because the basil is more pungent. It was a great combo yielding great stir fry flavour. Unless you hve several other dishes this really just serves two but be careful about doubling though since your beef may boiled steam if it is too crowded. I would also suggest increasing the amount of sauce, but majored sure you retain the same alance as it is a nice little sauce.

• Wok-tossed asparagus in garlic (Măng tây xào toi)

  • Delys77 on October 16, 2011

    pg 219 Overall this is a nice dish but I would suggest upping all the seasonings. Also if you are going to et with chopsticks slice the spears on a diagonal to make smaller pieces.

• Chicken cooked in ginger (Gà nâu gùʼng)

  • Delys77 on June 10, 2012

    Pg 257 This is great Asian comfort food! Perfect for a blustery winter night (despite the fact that I had it on a summer evening), or maybe when you have a cold (loads of ginger). The chicken is moist with a delicious hint of ginger and a just a bit of heat. The recipe also yields a nice broth so serving in a bowl with a bit of rice is ideal. The only draw back is that the recipe seems to indicate that you should eat the sliced ginger, which was a bit much for my palate. I would suggest tweaking the recipe a bit in the following ways: 1) double the pickled radish 2) decrease the ginger that is added to the stock in the second stage by about half and cut it into large enough chunks that you can remove it easily at the end 3) very slightly increase the chili 4) add an additional green onion. Otherwise this is a very good recipe.

• Chargrilled chicken in shrimp paste (Gà nuóʼng măm ruôc)

  • Delys77 on November 01, 2011

    I broiled for about 9 minutes and it could have done with another minute to get a better crust. Also I would cut the shrimp paste to 2 tsp and maybe add a little sriracha. Overall a nice dish with good flavour that comes together quite easily. Make sure you allow the time to marinate for at least two hours.

• Sauteed king prawns in coconut milk (Tôm kho nuóc dùa)

  • Delys77 on August 28, 2012

    Pg 325 Simple but very flavourful. The coconut milk lends the familiar flavour and texture that is common to SE Asain curries but since the other components of the sauce are restricted to fish sauce and some aromatics the experience is quite different. Umami, sweet, and rich, wihthout the heat one seems to be waiting for. Different in a very good way. I woudl suggest drecreasing the coconut milk a little since you aren't reducing it and the suggested amount yileds a little too much sauce.

• Hoisin dipping sauce (Tuoʼng ngot)

  • Delys77 on April 15, 2012

    Pg. 330 I cut out the roasted nuts but added in a bit of crunchy peanut butter and it was fabulous.

• Tamarind beef and cucumber salad (Bò thâu me dua leo)

  • kmattingly on June 12, 2012

    Very easy to make, tasty and refreshing salad