I was so excited to be able to interview Mai Pham. I am a big fan of her column in the food section of the San Francisco Chronicle. Having spent some time as a young boy in Bangkok, Thailand, her food stories and experiences always made me nostalgic for that time in my life. She writes of the street food vendors that I remember eating from. The open-air markets with their bustle and strong odors. It really takes me back.
For the interview, I went to her restaurant, Lemon Grass in Sacramento, California. She invited us to enjoy lunch first. We had wonderful Vietnamese Spring Rolls with all kinds of fresh herbs. Fresh herbs are one of the key ingredients in Vietnamese cooking. And here we enjoyed nothing but the finest, from Asian basil to red perilla.
Her book, The Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table (Harper Collins), is a testament to her vivid memory of the food and culture of her birth home. Mai Pham came to the United States in 1975 and finally made it back to Vietnam in 2000. Her grandmother, still alive at 102 remains in her ancestral home is still and influence on her life as well as her cooking. And Mai's book is like a love letter to her.
There is a lot of information on the traditional ingredients in Vietnamese cooking. Fish sauce, or Nouc Mam is discussed as well as the many condiments and dipping sauces one finds on the family table in Vietnam. Also, an extensive and well illustrated section on fresh herbs used in Vietnamese cooking that new cooks will find helpful in identifying ingredients at the market.
The national dish of Vietnam, Pho (pronounced "fuhh") has an entire chapter devoted to it. Pho is a noodle soup with a rich beef broth. The book contains many variations on the traditional shaved beef soup you'd find in Vietnam. Of interest to the beginner is a recipe for Quick Pho. Though not for the "purist", this soup is a great entry point for Vietnamese cooking. Mai also describes well the whole "pho experience" when ordering and eating this dish.
Mai is also a wonderful photographer and the book is full of photographs from her travels in Vietnam. You can see some of her work on her restaurants website.
Ever the gracious hostess, sent us on our way with a bag full of fresh herbs from her kitchen. And I am looking forward to my next visit to her restaurant, as well as cooking more dishes from her wonderful cookbook.
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