Charles Phan

What is it like to read a book of recipes as any other kind of book? In this case, it’s fun to try! I deviated from this approach, however, reading the first few essays, then the ingredients, then the other essays, and only skimming the numbered instructions. The succinct descriptions at the top of each page provide very helpful tips, and give a good sense of the amount of effort required. The author tells bits of Vietnamese and San Franciscan histories that reveal some of the personal and culinary heritage in both places. The book tracks the development of the restaurant as a whole, through its three locations since 1995.

As I made a glossary for the novel set in India “Three Bargains”, so I made my own list of the ingredients from these pages. Most are easy enough to find, but there is usually at least one key ingredient to make the dish special (e.g. Thai chiles, banana leaves for wrapping, fish sauce, jicama, lemongrass, shallot oil, various mushrooms, etc. – but even those shouldn’t be too hard to find) so you might want to stock up ahead of time. You want to make sure you have the necessary kitchenware, too, or usable substitutes. The cocktail section, for example, has a suggested list of “tools of the trade.” I personally have little interest in cocktails, but I can appreciate their dedication to quality, the same attention they pay to their wine, tea, and of course food, and it is nice to see these colorful photos.

The pictures are on one page (I feel hungry every time I see them), and the complementing backgrounds behind the plates are really nice, too: well-worn but clean and appealing surfaces. The full recipe is on the other side; that is, everything you need is visible at once. For any of the compound ingredients included in the preparation, the page number is right there for reference. The section on basics (sauces, etc.) that you can prepare in advance and store until needed is a great, helpful feature.

One recipe I want to try making is the sticky rice with sweet potato, a breakfast dish that sounds like it could also make a nice dessert, and seems relatively easy for someone like me with little cooking experience. The desserts, more colonial French-inspired than Asian, are especially involved – I don’t think I’ll try making any of those, except maybe the cheesecake. The methods are explained well enough that with patience and the right materials, these can be made as by following any other kind of protocol. If you really want to make one of these dishes, and are new to cooking, you will need lots of patience; but if it comes out looking like the pictures in this book, it will be worth it.

I visited San Francisco in May, and though I didn’t make it to the Slanted Door (next time, I hope!), I did at least have a very nice lunch from Out the Door, one of their express locations, also in the Ferry Building. I was interested in this book not so much because I wanted to try cooking Vietnamese food, but because I wanted to keep a part of the city with me somehow. The photography of the neighborhoods and familiar scenes adds another special touch.

Phan does give a fair warning about dishes that might not be for everyone, but almost everything in here looks delicious. He gives credit to everyone else involved – where he got ideas, who came up with the recipe if not him – and he is a generous person in other ways as well. I recently watched “The Hundred-Foot Journey,” and Phan’s story is even more interesting, and his food innovations are more appetizing.

Note: I received a free copy of this title through BloggingForBooks in exchange for an honest review. For more reviews, follow my blog at http://matt-stats.blogspot.com/… (mere)