We loved Andrea Nguyen’s first book, “Vietnamese Food Any Day.” How does her new release stack up for us? Renee and Sara talk about building block recipes, too-long-descriptions, eating cake until our stomachs hurt and more.

Recipes mentioned in this episode:

• 10-10-10 Perfect Rice (page 65)
• Umami tofu crumbles (page 50)
• Nuoc Cham dipping sauce (page 32)
• Fast-fried shallots (page 46)
• Chicken-vegetable pho (page 161)
• Pressure cooker beef pho (NYT)
• Char siu pulled jackfruit (page 229)
• Baked char siu pulled-jackfruit bao (page 121)
• Gingery vegetable and beef stir fry (page 254)
• Char siu roasted cauliflower (page 227)
• Greens with magical sesame salt (page 201)
• Vietnamese mocha cake (page 266)
• Spice-citrus marble cake (page 269)
• Egg coffee (page 287)

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• David Chang on MSG & umami (YouTube)
• MSG as a misunderstood ingredient (CNN)
• MSG’s bad rap (Five Thirty Eight)

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