Book Review: The Pho Cookbook by Andrea Nguyen

The Pho Cookbook by Andrea Nguyen

First line:  “Pho is so elemental to Vietnamese culture that people talk about it in terms of romantic relationships.”

Summary: Vietnam’s most beloved culinary export pho is now within the reach of any home cook.
Andrea Nguyen first tasted pho in Saigon as a child, sitting at a street stall with her parents. That experience sparked a lifelong love of the iconic noodle soup, and here she dives deep into pho’s lively past, visiting its birthplace and then teaching how to successfully make it. Options range from quick weeknight cheats to 5-hour weekend feasts with broth and condiments from scratch, as well as other pho rice noodle favorites. Over fifty versatile recipes, including snacks, salads, companion dishes, and vegetarian and gluten-free options, welcome everyone to the pho table. With a thoughtful guide on ingredients and techniques, plus evocative location photography and deep historical knowledge, “The Pho Cookbook “enables anyone to cook this comforting classic.

Highlights: I LOVE PHO, and this beautiful book gave me so many new ideas to try. If you are a Pho lover like I am it will inspire you to get in the kitchen and prepare one of the amazing recipes ASAP!

Lowlights (or what could have been better): I think in an effort to make this book pop out from the others of its kind, the author put more of the same recipes (with little tweaks)  in than were actually needed and they became a bit redundant.

FYI: Since this book features several exotic ingredients it probably isn’t for the shy, first-time cook.

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