Viet World Kitchen - Dive in to explore Asian cooking and traditions

Vietnamese Food Any Day Cookbook Preview!

November 8, 2018 By Andrea Nguyen

Update 12/13/2019: WOW, Vietnamese Food Any Day had an incredible year. Thank you for all the enthusiastic support, pictures, and fun! Closing things out, the Christian Science Monitor, Eater, Washington Post, Library Journal, Here and Now (WBUR), Food52 and NPR spotlighted the book as one of the Best 2019 Cookbooks!!! Earlier this year, the New York Times, and Bon Appetit hailed the book as one of the best books of spring and summer. I'm over the moon happy. I hope you get a copy of the book, ...

Dream Kitchen Cabinets for a Cookbook Author

October 10, 2021 By Andrea Nguyen 2 Comments

One of my recipe testers stopped by last week and I ended up showing her my new kitchen. Within seconds, we started talking about the cabinets. Cathy had a lot of questions and I started opening drawers and cabinets to show her what the cabinets held, their capacities and function. She peppered me with questions about how I chose the cabinets and designed the layout. Cathy was not about to launch into a kitchen renovation but she was curious. She and her husband had built their own home so she ...

Chicken Stuffed Cucumber Cups Recipe

September 30, 2021 By Andrea Nguyen Leave a Comment

Cucumbers aren't just for raw eating. I'm learning to treat it like its cousin, the zucchini. Looking through books in my library, I found an illuminating pork stuffed cucumber recipe tucked into the pages of a 1975 publication by Florence Lin. I own all of her books. My husband refers to her as "Flo". She was modern and practical in how she interpreted classic Chinese techniques. She's a trusted person in my home. She teaches me something every time I cook one of her recipes. Lin came out ...

Stir-Fried Cucumber, Pork and Golden Garlic Recipe

September 24, 2021 By Andrea Nguyen 4 Comments

As an in between season time of year, the end of September means there are pears and hard squash as well as beautiful ripe tomatoes and cucumbers. I planted two cucumbers this summer and they keep producing -- like zucchinis but with some restraint. Every few days, I check on the plants and there seems to be hidden cucumbers growing below the shade of the plants' broad leaves. Unlike zucchinis, cucumbers are extra stealthy hanging on their vines and getting bigger by the hour, it seems. The ...

Ginger Chicken Salad Recipe and Wine Pairing Tips

September 9, 2021 By Andrea Nguyen 2 Comments

My father introduced me to drinking wine at a young age. Like my friend and cookbook author Kate Leahy, I started my wine appreciate before I was ten years old. Her parents took her to Napa. My dad mined the offerings at supermarkets and Trader Joe's. I drank lots of watered down red wine from cordial glasses. Kate started with slightly fermented grape juice at a winery. Over time, we both graduated to more complex wine offerings, with Kate developing an incredibly deep knowledge of wine and ...

15 Low Lift Asian Recipes for Your Labor Day Menu

August 26, 2021 By Andrea Nguyen 4 Comments

"Always eyeing her next meal" -- that may be what’s on my headstone. Cooking is about planning and along with that, the anticipation of the next chance to eat something delicious. Or, the next occasion to treat someone to a favorite dish. But let’s face it, 2021 will continue to be low-key in terms of Labor Day festivities. We have plenty of future Labor Day weekends to celebrate with friends. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t cook something wonderful. I plan to keep things simple. We all ...