Now that I know how to make Nuoc Cham, a simple mix of fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, garlic, vinegar, and chiles, a whole new world of meal possibilities has opened up. This sauce is THE flavour of Vietnamese food to me — I adore it, and have used it to make cold noodle salads, as a dipping sauce for spring rolls, and as a vegetable marinade. The rest of the cookbook is good, too, with lots of excellent photos, but learning about this sauce (which I realize I could have learned about onl
Now that I know how to make Nuoc Cham, a simple mix of fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, garlic, vinegar, and chiles, a whole new world of meal possibilities has opened up. This sauce is THE flavour of Vietnamese food to me — I adore it, and have used it to make cold noodle salads, as a dipping sauce for spring rolls, and as a vegetable marinade. The rest of the cookbook is good, too, with lots of excellent photos, but learning about this sauce (which I realize I could have learned about online or in any other good cookbook) was a real revelation.
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I was initially wary of buying a book on an asian cuisine from someone named “Nicole Routhier”, but she was born to a french father in Saigon. The book is beautiful and contains a more comprehensive and clearly written set of recipes than any other vietnamese cookbook i’ve found. I only wish she included more cultural detail along with the recipes. Buy it along with Mai Pham’s Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table and you’re all set.