The Red Boat fish sauce cookbook Beloved recipes from the family behind the purest fish sauce

When Pham arrived in the U.S. in 1975 from his home in Vietnam, he was homesick for his mother's cooking. Trying to replicate those flavors on his own, he ran into a problem: the commercial fish sauce sold in the U.S. The quest to find the elusive fish sauce of his childhood led Pham to start Red Boat Fish Sauce. In his first cookbook, Pham shares family recipes, stories, and his culinary entrepreneurial journey. Recipes reflect the Red Boat Fish Sauce story, with plenty of simple and fresh Vietnamese dishes peppered with American classics that are enhanced by the umami that fish sauce delivers.The books bright, vibrant design and layout reflect a Vietnamese street market, and luscious photography by Oriana Koren is as beautiful as it is appetizing. Readers will enjoy vignettes that detail the production of Red Boat Fish Sauce, stories about recipes, and even an eating itinerary for a visit to Saigon. This is a wonderful peek into Pham's palate, family, and business. With family-friendly weeknight recipes and complex Sunday suppers, there is plenty for cooks who want to infuse their kitchen with authentic flavor and readers who want to immerse themselves in the culture of Red Boat.

In this satisfying debut, Pham, founder of the Red Boat Fish Sauce brand, celebrates the versatility of this savory ingredient in a variety of Vietnamese dishes. He starts by sharing the product's fascinating history: after emigrating from Vietnam in 1979, it took him nine months, including a stint at a refugee camp in Malaysia, to arrive in the United States. Dissatisfied with the "one dimensional" American fish sauce he had to cook with for nearly three decades, he founded his own brand in 2011. Fish sauce appears in several recipes inspired by his mother's cooking, such as thit ba roi cuon (pork roast) and bò kho (beef stew), as well as in Vietnamese staples like bacon and egg breakfast bánh mì and rau muong xao (morning glory greens with garlic). Pham also demonstrates how fish sauce can work in Western cuisines, particularly in dishes like pasta marinara ("The fish sauce gives it that extra oomph of flavor") and chicken tinga. While some of these recipes require a considerable amount of time and ingredients not common to many American kitchens (lotus root, sawtooth herb), others can easily be prepared on weeknights, such as shrimp and green beans. This is excellent for umami-heads as well as home cooks looking for a gateway into Vietnamese cooking. Agent: Michele Crim, Miller Bowers Griffin Literary Management. (Oct.)