There are cooking disasters and then there are kitchen disasters. My cooking disasters happen a few times a year when I make a bad pot of rice that's either mushy (too much water) or dry and hard (too little water...

The New York Times published a funny but spot-on article on how the Chinese are rethinking the ways they translate and present their dishes in English. For example, "ants climbing trees" -- for those in the know-- is a great...

Last week we had a discussion on "What is Modern Asian Cuisine" and in the past, we talked about authenticity in cooking. Today, I experienced and cooked 'modern' Asian cuisine. It was borne out of necessity. We had two friends...

I ponder this on a regular basis. Doesn't something become modern the moment you prepare it because you can't exactly replicate the experience of the past? Also, modern approaches for me mean using cooking implements like food processors and maybe...

We can name various kinds of pastas and breads but what about varieties of rice and tea? I surely don't have all the answers, and for years have been looking for ways to gather people to share information and learn...

There are about 450,000 Vietnamese people in California – the largest population of all the fifty states. Most people know of Little Saigon in Orange County and the maybe-soon-to-be Little Saigon in San Jose. Our eyes are drawn along the...

Summer will soon be upon us and that signals special celebrations like graduations and -- weddings! My wedding reception was a casual-but-elegant garden affair that initially horrified my mother when we announced the plans. Though she later told me that...

In Vietnam, fish simmered in caramel sauce is everyday soul food. The dark, bittersweet, savory fish is a great with rice. Depending on the cook and her/his resources, such a fish kho ("kaw") can be super intensely flavored and salty...

There are certain dishes that people ask me about and Vietnamese red rice is one of them. It's a dish that's become popular in a number of Vietnamese restaurants abroad -- a diaspora dish, if you will. It's not part...

April 30 marked the 33rd anniversary of the fall of Saigon, which sent hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese refugees abroad to create the kind of diaspora situation that this blog tries to capture. I marked the anniversary by cooking a...

Whenever I visit Vietnam, I start out light with just one slightly full suitcase and invariably, come home with an extra bag crammed with items that I figure are hard to find abroad. (Or maybe I was just impulse buying?!)...

When I was in Singapore last month, food expert Christopher Tan (foodfella.com) and I had a long conversation about different kinds of fish sauces. I'd tasted it in a number of dishes in Singapore and was surprised to see it...

Some Vietnamese foods have been poorly translated into English, and thit bo luc lac is one of them. Thit bo means beef and luc lac refers to how you have to shake the skillet or wok to cook the small...

Next time you throw away leftover rice, think twice. Rice prices have gone up all over the world and billions of people are looking at hoarding it. In North Carolina last week, some locals and I spent a good deal...

I'm in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for a few book-related events this week. Yesterday, I cooked with the folks at Lantern, a nationally acclaimed restaurant that's been featured in publications such as Gourmet and Saveur. Chef/owner Andrea Reusing's smart, local,...

Since we've been talking about what is authenticity in Asian food and mixing things up, it got me thinking about a great dish -- Hainan chicken and rice. The one dish wonder comes from the island of Hainan off the...

Binh and Robyn just brought up an important issue that plagues me -- keeps me worried and up at nights, frankly: What is authenticity in the realm of food? For example, every once in a while, I get an email...

I've been out of the country and upon my return, Simon Bao notified me that Top Chef contestants in season 4 are putting interesting twists on Vietnamese culinary concepts. Perhaps with Hung's win last season, the door is opening up...

Award-winning author and noted news commentator Andrew Lam just let me know of the release of his PBS program on journeying home to Vietnam in 2002. Many of us left in haste and going back is always difficult, sometimes shocking....

Here's a new one -- a pho kit sold at Tan Son Nhat airport. It all comes in a box and makes 2 bowls. The box contains: Dried noodles - rice, salt, sugar, MSG Stewed beef pack - pre-cooked beef...