Woohoo! The Wall Street Journal included the banh mi book in its “Off Duty” round up of 50 reasons to love the road trip. The Banh Mi Handbook was listed as number 17 with this short-and-sweet review:
The banh mi sandwich is itself the product of many miles traveled: the crusty bread brought to Vietnam by French colonists, filled with all the bright, hot, fresh, meaty, intensely tasty elements of the local cuisine. This delicious cultural collision is the subject of "The Banh Mi Handbook: Recipes for Crazy-Delicious Vietnamese Sandwiches" by Andrea Nguyen. Out July 8 from Ten Speed Press, it's a master course in banh mi construction, from the bread to the pickles and condiments to every imaginable filling, whether it's pork meatballs or fried oysters or a lipsmacking citrus-marinated grilled chicken you're hankering for. Wrap up a few for the road and declare independence from insipid rest-stop subs.
I love the last sentence. The book was the only cookbook included and I’m utterly jazzed – especially by the amount of space they gave to the book. (Yowza.) They featured the recipe for the cover, which is of banh mi filled with Hanoi grilled chicken. Head over to WSJ for the recipe.
If you’d like a close up view of the book and a couple more recipes (I posted this on VWK’s Facebook page so you may have seen this already), my publisher Ten Speed Press (Random House) released a few things for you to try.
The table of contents will tell you about how the book is organized, the range of topics, essentially what's covered. The two recipes offer a sense of how the book functions as a 'handbook.' That's to say, along with recipes and photos, it's loaded with tips and tweaks to guide and inspire.
Dive in below for the daikon and carrot pickle (note the handy substitutes) and chicken sate (thanks chef/restaurateur Bryant Ng for the idea).
The Banh Mi Handbook by Andrea Nguyen - Recipes by The Recipe Club
Remember that if you purchase the book before its July 8 release date, there’s a nice thank you gift waiting. For details or to claim one, check the pre-order giveaway sponsored by Ten Speed Press and Red Boat fish sauce.
As the Pointer Sisters sang, "I'm so excited!" Thanks in advance for your support.
