Product Description

"In my family, food is our language. Food enables us to communicate the things we find so hard to say." --Pauline Nguyen

Overflowing with sumptuous but simply prepared dishes that have been passed down through generations of the Nguyen family, Secrets of the Red Lantern is part Vietnamese cookbook and part family memoir.

More than 275 traditional Vietnamese recipes are presented alongside a visual narrative of food and family photographs that follows the family's escape from war-torn Vietnam to the successful founding of the Red Lantern restaurant.

At the heart of each recipe is the power of food to elevate and transform. From a recipe of cari de that sparks a memory to the distinctly bitter melon soup that says, "I'm sorry," Secrets of the Red Lantern shares the rich culinary heritage of the Nguyen family and their personal story of reconciliation and success.

Recipes like Bun Rieu (Crab and Tomato Soup with Vermicelli Noodles), Goi Du Du (Green Papaya Salad with Prawns and Pork), and Che Khoai Mon (Black Sticky Rice with Taro), unlock the family's secrets and see the family persevere through homesickness, heartache, and the upheavals of change to finally experience growth and celebration. The result is a beautiful journey through Vietnamese history, culture, and tradition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #72472 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 344 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In this moving culinary account of her family's immigration from their native Vietnam, restaurateur Nguyen of Sydney, Australia begins: "In my family, food is our language...when we cannot speak the words "I am sorry"-we give this bittersweet soup instead." Luckily, Nguyen is also skilled in written language; her moving, honest and painful story follows her family's dramatic exodus from their war-ravaged homeland to the safety of Australia. There, Nguyen's parents opened the restaurant that would give Pauline and her brother Luke the foundation for their current enterprise, The Red Lantern, one of Sydney's most popular dining destinations. Worth the price alone is Nguyen's masterful storytelling, including a warts-and-all look at her family and the immigrant experience. The book's arc is entirely film-ready; indeed, color images of people, places and dishes are striking. And then there's the recipes: more than 275 traditional Vietnamese dishes, all relatively simple to prepare (though some might require some tenacious shopping). Nguyen's wide net catches classic comfort food like Pho Bo Tai Nam, the traditional beef noodle soup, and slow-cooked pork shoulder; fish dishes like Crispy-Skin Snapper with Ginger and Lime Fish Sauce; easy appetizers like Tom Nuong (Soy and Honey Grilled Shrimp); and exotic fare like Durian Ice Cream. Whether you buy it for the story, recipes or both, this is an essential volume for those interested in Vietnamese cooking and culture.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
275 traditional recipes...are almost a sidebar to the compelling story of escape, refugee camps and reconciliation. --Atlanta Journal Constitution

A beautiful journey through Vietnamese history, culture, and tradition that cooks everywhere will embrace. --Globalgourmet.com

A beautiful, poignant book. Through memoir and with stunning recipes, Nguyen details her path from Vietnam to...her restaurant in Australia. --Minneapolis Star Tribune

Pauline Nguyen translates the pure, clean, exotic flavors of her native food into simple recipes for the Western kitchen. --Hartford Courant

Pho-nomenal...astonishing. Pauline Nguyen has combined a book full of classic, meticulous Vietnamese recipes with a powerful personal memoir. --National Public Radio

Secrets of the Red Lantern by Pauline Nguyen has been chosen by NPR food writer Susie Chang as one of the Best Cookbooks of 2008 --NPR.org

Whether you want amazingly accessible Vietnamese recipes or just a good, honest family story with food, this Sydney restaurateur delivers. --Epicurious.com

About the Author
Pauline Nguyen and recipe writers Luke Nguyen and Mark Jensen are the proprietors of the respected Red Lantern restaurant. They live in Sydney, Australia.

Customer Reviews

A Book Full of Heart
This is a heavy book, heavy like in "that's heavy man" and heavy like it in four pounds heavy. It's beautifully done and the recipes, at least the ones I've tried, are very good. In fact, just after getting the book I decided to have sort of a dinner party. I had six people over, two who had served in Vietnam in the early Seventies. Both are dear friends and love the people and the country. No matter what side you were on during the bad time, it's possible to appreciate the culture and cuisine.

I made several dishes that night, three of them from this book. It was a long evening and we all looked over this book and talked a bit about the Nguyen family. What it must have been like for them leaving their homeland the way they did, living in a refugee camp, then starting a new life in strange Australia. This book is more than just a cookbook, it is their story. It'll take awhile to get through, but the journey is worth it.

Reviewed by Stephanie Sane

Gorgeous, tasty, fascinating
First off, this is one of the most beautiful cookbooks you will see. The artwork, photography, and layout are elegant and appealing. Fortunately, the contents live up to the presentation. The book is a combination biography of an immigrant family and cookbook and both sections are worthy. Nguyen tells the story of her family's journey from post-war Vietnam to Australia, with both the highs and the painful lows covered with grace and power. The recipes come from Nguyen's parents as well as her restaurant. So far, all of the recipes I have tried are excellent: clean, complex flavors and well-tested instructions. I wish I lived in a location more conducive to a cuisine based on fresh seafood, tropical herbs, and varied produce, but I have been able to achieve great results with substitutions from the local grocery store and a trip or two to the Asian market. I highly recommend this book.

A rare privilege.
Before we get to the incredibly intimate biography of Ms. Ngyuen, bear in mind that as I write this, I'm sipping -- no, gulping -- my second batch in the last ten days of Pork and Watercress Soup (p.65). So simple, so good -- the first made with my own homemade chicken broth, the second with a supermarket broth. Of course, the homemade broth is the winner, but don't let that stop you from this incredibly easy, delicious soup. Two suggestions: First, do the skimming before adding any seasonings; second, grind your own pork if you have a food processor. I just realized that, in my long life, I have never bought supermarket ground pork -- those curlicues -- ugh!

And before I continue with the recipes, I must tell you that I found the autobiographical section remarkable, informative and, in the end, quite uplifting. The author's tale of her life's journey is almost embarrassing in its honesty. She relates a story of incredible hardship and sorrow that we here in America seldom, if ever, have experienced. I feel privileged that she shared her story with me. Here's looking at you, kid!

Okay; back to the recipes. The caramelized white perch (p.95) would have been delicious had I had decent fish. So should I recommend it as a way to dress up something basically awful? No; it's such an easy method and so good that one should honor it with a really fresh fish.

The third recipe I tried was the shrimp with tomato, fish sauce and black pepper (p.60). In spite of the frozen supermarket shrimp I used (I know -- and I agree) it was so good that I ate one and a half portions at dinner, and could hardly wait to eat the leftovers the next day for lunch.

I have marked eight recipes to try in the future. I know they will be good.

I must mention, despite the Australian vs. U.S. measurements hullabaloo in previous reviews, let's remember this is not rocket science. We're not talking about the precise measurements essential to baked goods. It was obvious when I looked at the amount of broth specified in the watercress soup that half of that large bunch I had purchased was an appropriate "handful."

Ms. Nguyen, once again, as an American reader, I thank you for sharing this remarkable book with us.