"Vietnam" news and stories

Just on the heels of the 35th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, here comes more evidence that the domino theory was bunk (or, at least, that the dominoes fall easier in the other direction): Carl's Jr. has just opened its first outpost in Vietnam -- in Ho Chi Minh City to boot.

Although KFC and Pizza Hut have already successfully invaded territory formerly held by the Vietcong, this marks the first arrival of a U.S.-based burger joint, according to Carl's Jr. parent company, CKE Restaurants.

"We are happy to introduce real American-style charbroiled burgers to the [Vietnamese] market," said CKE CEO Andrew Puzder.

Where once the image of the red star marching across southeast Asia had foreign policy strategists trembling, today there's another star on the march, only this one has a smiley face. Carl's Jr. says that it is "actively seeking new franchisees" throughout the region. It already has restaurants in China, Singapore, Malaysia, and American Samoa, and the company has a "strategic development plan" to double its international presence over the next five years, including at least 24 more restaurants in Vietnam and 25 restaurants in Indonesia, starting with its first in Jakarta later this year.

Take that, pinkos!

"The Little Saigon Cookbook: Vietnamese Cuisine and Culture in Southern California's Little Saigon"
By Ann Lee
Photography by Julie Fay
Insiders' Guide -- 2006
Buy it on Amazon

Though exotic cuisines may be daunting endeavors for many cooks due to foreign and sometimes costly ingredients, "The Little Saigon Cookbook" is a clear, straightforward cookbook that sheds light on the culture while making its cuisine approachable and delectable.

Interspersed with interesting stories about Vietnamese culture and traditions, the book is a well-thought out tribute to Vietnamese foodways -- with delicious recipes to boot, ranging from the obvious dishes to lesser-known exciting ones like the Shaking Beef Salad with Watercress and Tomatoes or Pork Braised in Caramel Sauce.

See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.

A look at the banh mi craze currently sweeping Gotham, with young Vietnamese chefs interpreting the classic sandwich in non-traditional ways.

Critic Frank Bruni visits Feast, a Houston restaurant whose British ex-pat chefs turn Texans on to the unexpected joys of offal.

Twenty-five percent of Newark, N.J.'s population is of Portuguese descent. Here's what they're eating.

Some bars and restaurants are storing their by-the-glass wines in kegs and serving them as though they're beer.

More about our beloved Momofuku Milk Bar; a writer weighs in on the tooth-bendingly sweet treats.

A few weeks ago a friend and I were at a Vietnamese market in the Bronx of all places when we came across the delicacy pictured here. Since the damn thing was so cute she purchased two for herself. I only bought one, largely because cuteness doesn't score quite as many points with me. Looking around the store, I noticed several moon cakes and it soon dawned on me that this little piggy is meant to celebrate the Vietnamese version of the Chinese Moon Festival, which took place yesterday.

The other day I decided to eat the little guy. Like many moon cakes, he was packed with a sweet filling, in this case lotus seed paste. For some reason I started with the head. I soon made short work of the dense cake, which served as breakfast along with a cup of green tea.

Since you can't read the little tag, here's the gist of it. The English name of this confection is "The gold pig with riches and honor." The Vietnamese text reads, "Bánh Heo Phú Qui Bánh Con Heo Trung Thu." My curiosity about exotic foods runs pretty much neck and neck with my obsession with foreignlanguages. Thanks to the wonders of VDict, I was able to translate the Vietnamese. VDict stumbled over the word "qui," but here's its translation "pig pie endow mid-autumn pig pie qui." All of which seems to make sense since Trung Thu is the Vietnamese name for the Moon Festival.
Now that I ate the little guy, I'm waiting for the riches and honor to start rolling in. Still, I can't help think that I should have eaten it by the light of last night's full moon to seal the deal.

Fans of Vietnamese cooking will find a wealth of wonderful recipes to choose from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors. The book is written, with an obvious amount of enthusiasm and knowledge of the topic, by Andrea Nguyen, who was born in Vietnam and opens the book with a touching story of leaving Saigon with little but family, memories and recipes. Many of those recipes are included in the book or were the inspiration for dishes. Along with the recipes, Nguyen includes some background on Vietnamese culture, particularly as it pertains to food, eating and cooking.

There are more than 175 recipes in the book, as well as a number of tempting photographs of the dishes. All are easy to follow and, with the exception of a few long ingredient lists, they are not very intimidating anyway. The book is divided into chapters by categories, such as meats, vegetables, noodles, soups, sauces and sweets, along with several others. Pho and bánh mì recipes are included as some of the more familiar Vietnamese dishes, while others range from Garlicky oven-roasted chicken (which seems to know few cultural bounds) to the more exotic Chicken Dumpling and Chrysanthemum Leaf Soup, Beef Flank and Ginger Simmered in Caramel Sauce.

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