Wild Salmon with Mango Ginger Topping

As I read through Secrets from My Vietnamese Kitchen by Kim Thuy, I was struck most by her storytelling. Photos and compelling anecdotes about her mother and many aunts anchor the recipes in this beautifully photographed cookbook. Kim is a novelist first; although she ran a successful Vietnamese restaurant, the first highlight of the book is the story – and I wanted to know more. It’s no wonder the book’s subtitle is “Simple Recipes from My Many Mothers.”

As a straight cookbook, it’s not as quite strong. If you are familiar with this type of cuisine and you looking for simple, lip-smacking, authentic Vietnamese recipes, this book is a winner. The recipes I tried (five in total) were absolutely delicious, straightforward to make, and got rave reviews from both my teenage sons and my 70-year-old mother. BUT, if I hadn’t first read the book from front to back, and already known quite a bit about Vietnamese cooking, I would likely have been very confused trying to cook some of the recipes.

Much like a novel, the cookbook’s arc builds from front to back, with pantry staples and basic recipes, such as Steamed Jasmine Rice and Fish Sauce Dressing coming first, and building through soups, vegetables, grilled and fried food, slow cooking, and desserts, among other things. This is pretty standard for a cookbook; the difference here is that there is no repeated internal guide for cooks who might jump right to the middle, picking a recipe that looks great, as many are likely to do.

For example, there are no head notes to any of the recipes. For a cookbook steeped in story, it’s disconcerting to have no mini-story attached to any recipe. I would have loved to know more about the origins of each recipe, how they fit into the Vietnamese culinary canon, and into her fascinating family story in particular.

Head notes are also very useful as a navigational guide to the cook using the recipes. A lack can leave big gaps in understanding, especially for someone new to Vietnamese cooking. This was most noticeable in the Fundamentals chapter. The three main pantry sauces give no indication what they might be used for, or which recipes in her book they might enhance. Only as you read through the book do you see the three (Dipping Fish Sauce, Fish Sauce Dressing, and Green Onion Sauce) called for in many of the recipes. The photos in this chapter are great, but there is very little in the way of explanation of ingredients and techniques for someone who wants to build a basic Vietnamese pantry.

As frustrating as this was for me initially, once I had read through the (very engaging) book and oriented myself to her style, and settled into the rhythm and beauty of the writing and food, I was drawn in and excited to try as many recipes as I reasonably could.

I chose Salmon Steaks with Mango & Ginger Topping, Fish Sauce Dressing, Green Onion Sauce,  Vietnamese Pickled Vegetables and Dressed Vermicelli Bowls. Every single one was easy to make, tasted fantastic, and loved by everyone who ate them. My 17-year-old son took seconds of the salmon – I’m sure I was slack-jawed because he looked at me and said “This is the first salmon I have ever had that I have actually liked.” (His dislike of salmon is an ongoing thing in our house).

If you are looking for simple and delicious recipes filled with fresh, mouth-tingling Vietnamese flavours, Secrets from My Vietnamese Kitchen definitely fits the bill. If the fantastic recipes I tried are any indication, you will be thrilled. Just make sure your read it like a novel first, and familiarize yourself with her fundamentals.

If you have never tried or cooked Vietnamese food before, this book will not hold your hand through the process. Although the recipes are very simple, they provide no preamble or explanation for someone not already familiar with the ingredients and techniques from this part of the world.

That said, I am thrilled to add Secrets from My Vietnamese Kitchen to my permanent cookbook collection.