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If the path from high finance executive to cookbook author isn’t a well-beaten one, then the path from stock-broker to market stall-holder is even more poorly trod. But, for Oxford-educated former bankers turned Banh Mi vendors-cum-restaurateurs, Van Tran and Anh Vu, that was their peregrination. They certainly don’t say so in the book, but it’s the kind of riches to rags to riches (kind of) story that I’m sure fills the day-dreams of many of us who feel trapped in the limits of our corporate lives, straining at the virtual leash as we break rocks for the man.
And, even if you are delightfully fulfilled in your work life, and don’t find yourself wistfully considering the merits of staying up all night after a hard week at the…
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%20story%20that%20I%E2%80%99m%20sure%20fills%20the%20day-dreams%20of%20many%20of%20us%20who%20feel%20trapped%20in%20the%20limits%20of%20our%20corporate%20lives,%20straining%20at%20the%20virtual%20leash%20as%20we%20break%20rocks%20for%20the%20man.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAnd,%20even%20if%20you%20are%20delightfully%20fulfilled%20in%20your%20work%20life,%20and%20don%E2%80%99t%20find%20yourself%20wistfully%20considering%20the%20merits%20of%20staying%20up%20all%20night%20after%20a%20hard%20week%20at%20the%20office,%20baking%20your%20own%20baguettes%20to%20be%20filled%20with%20roast%20pork%20and%20pat%C3%A9,%20and%20flogged%20to%20punters%20in%20the%20East%20End%20of%20London%20on%20a%20Saturday%20morning,%20there%20is%20plenty%20to%20enjoy%20in%20their%20tales%20of%20ferociously%20hard%20work%20and%20joy%20in%20the%20simple%20pleasures%20of%20traditional%20Vietnamese%20flavors%20of%20their%20upbringing.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EBoth%20born%20in%20Vietnam%20and%20raised%20in%20Hanoi,%20Tran%20and%20Vu%20have%20no%20professional%20culinary%20training%20but%20draw%20on%20their%20familial%20recipes%20and%20traditions.%20Their%20new%20book%20The%20Vietnamese%20Market%20Cookbook:%20Spicy%20Sour%20Sweet%20offers%20financiers%20and%20non-financiers%20alike%20a%20range%20of%20tantalizing%20recipes%20focused%20on%20fresh%20ingredients%20combined%20to%20produce%20these%20three%20signature%20flavors.%20Unlike%20most%20cookbooks%20which%20are%20organized%20by%20course,%20their%20book%20is%20arranged%20on%20these%20flavor%20profiles%20and%20each%20chapter%20pairs%20biographic%20tales%20with%20recipes,%20so%20that%20as%20you%20cook,%20you%20learn%20more%20about%20Tran%20and%20Vu%20as%20well%20as%20about%20the%20fine%20interplay%20of%20Vietnamese%20culture%20and%20cuisine.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EA%20perfect%20example%20of%20this%20is%20Chapter%205:%20Saltiness%20&%20Healing%20in%20which%20fish%20sauce,%20the%20dark,%20pungent%20brew%20made%20from%20fermented%20anchovies%20and%20salt,%20predominates.%20We%20learn%20not%20just%20that%20it%20is%20the%20single%20most%20important%20ingredient%20in%20Vietnamese%20cooking,%20but%20that%20Vietnamese%20airlines%20forbid%20passengers%20to%20carry%20it%20onboard%20for%20fear%20it%20will%20spill%20and%20stink%20up%20their%20aircraft%20forever.%20We%20also%20learn%20about%20salt,%20and%20that%20there%20are%20no%20fewer%20than%2020%20types%20of%20salt%20in%20the%20Vietnamese%20kitchen.%20This%20could%20be%20a%20dull%20factoid,%20but%20in%20Tran%20and%20Vu%E2%80%99s%20hands%20it%20becomes%20%20a%20way%20of%20elaborating%20on%20the%20fact%20that%20saltiness%20isn%E2%80%99t%20just%20salty.%20It%E2%80%99s%20far%20more%20than%20that.%20The%20subtle%20way%20in%20which%20salty%20can%20combine%20with%20other%20aromatics%20like%20galangal%20and%20lemongrass%20or%20dried%20shrimp%20to%20amplify%20their%20flavors%20is%20at%20the%20heart%20of%20much%20of%20Vietnamese%20food.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWesterners%20might%20raise%20their%20eyebrows%20here.%20For%20the%20all%20chile,%20the%20vinegar,%20and%20the%20bitterness%20that%20we%20immediately%20detect%20in%20Vietnamese%20food%20isn%E2%80%99t%20subtle%20at%20all.%20It%20is%20an%20assault%20on%20tastebuds%20accustomed%20to%20less%20highly%20perfumed%20provender,%20but%20within%20and%20beneath%20that%20is%20the%20enormous%20subtlety%20and%20complexity%20of%20thousands%20of%20years%20of%20practice%20and%20refinement.%20Something%20that%20Tran%20and%20Vu%20distill%20brilliantly%20for%20their%20UK%20audience.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThis%20side%20of%20the%20Atlantic,%20our%20relationships%20to%20Vietnam%20are%20different%20than%20the%20British.%20In%20large%20part%20because%20of%20the%20misadventures%20of%20the%20late%20sixties%20and%20seventies,%20but%20also%20because%20Vietnamese%20food,%20while%20still%20nowhere%20near%20the%20ubiquity%20of%20other%20Asian%20cuisines%20is%20not%20quite%20so%20unfamiliar%20to%20many%20of%20us.%20That%E2%80%99s%20not%20to%20underestimate%20how%20delicious%20it%20is,%20rather%20it%E2%80%99s%20to%20stress%20the%20impact%20that%20Tran%20and%20Vu%E2%80%99s%20banh%20mi%20had%20on%20London%E2%80%99s%20culinary%20scene.%20There%20was%20literally%20nothing%20like%20it%20beforehand%20and%20they%20have%20carved%20out%20their%20own%20niche.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAnd%20what%20of%20their%20recipes,%20you%20ask?%20Well,%20the%20only%20one%20we%20have%20tried%20so%20far%20was%20an%20outstanding%20success.%20It%20also%20happens%20to%20be%20their%20most%20popular%20banh%20mi%20filling:%20Imperial%20BBQ%20pork,%20marinaded%20in%20fish%20sauce,%20garlic,%20lemongrass,%20sugar%20and%20chile,%20before%20being%20grilled%20and%20served%20over%20rice%20vermicelli%20noodles.%20Deeply%20savory,%20crunchy%20on%20the%20outside%20giving%20way%20to%20a%20tender%20interior,%20the%20pork%20is%20wonderful,%20and%20is%20well-complemented%20when%20presented%20topped%20with%20freshly%20grated%20carrot,%20cilantro%20leaves%20and%20chopped%20radish.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAll%20in%20all,%20this%20is%20a%20delightful%20and%20approachable%20book,%20and%20one%20that%20once%20it%E2%80%99s%20on%20your%20shelves,%20you%E2%80%99ll%20find%20yourself%20picking%20it%20up%20and%20leafing%20through%20it%20during%20the%20week,%20and%20thinking%20that%20making%20Vietnamese%20at%20home%20on%20a%20Tuesday%20could%20be%20just%20the%20thing.%20Tran%20and%20Vu%20are%20also%20really,%20really%20nice.%20They%20even%20responded%20to%20our%20tweet.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3E@WeAreNeverFull%20thank%20you%20so%20much.%20We%20are%20so%20happy%20to%20spread%20the%20love%20of%20Vietnamese%20cooking%20to%20more.%20Keep%20us%20posted%20and%20enjoy%20cooking!%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3E%E2%80%94%20Banhmi11%20(@Banhmi11uk)%20October%208,%202014%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThe%20Vietnamese%20Market%20Cookbook:%20Spicy%20Salty%20Sweet%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3Eby%20Van%20Tran%20and%20Anh%20Vu%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EHardcover,%20250%20pages,%20$30.00%20US%20/%20$34.50%20Canada%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EReleased%20October%202014%20by%20Running%20Press,%20Philadelphia%20runningpress.com%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EBuy%20now%20at%20Amazon.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ERelated%3C/p%3E){kind=link}