Here’s a guide to Vietnamese flavors and cooking. Andrea Nguyen, the author of this new cookbook, recalls that, in the 1970s, her mother, newly arrived from Vietnam, struggled to find the ingredients she needed for traditional home cooking. Today, that has changed as items like coconut milk and fish sauce have become available widely, even in supermarkets. Ms. Nguyen says that Vietnamese cooking can also be adapted using commonplace foods. Standout recipes include lettuce wraps, smashed cucumbers with shrimp, and oven-steamed egg custards similar to Japanese chawanmushi. Using coconut milk to make a corn bisque is particularly inspired. Ingredient guides are useful, though Ms. Nguyen writes more thoroughly about some (chicken) than others (shrimp).
“Vietnamese Food Any Day: Simple Recipes for True, Fresh Flavors” by Andrea Nguyen (Ten Speed Press, $24.99).
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