James Beard Award–winning author, culinary superstar teacher, and longtime friend Andrea Nguyen's newest cookbook, Ever-Green Vietnamese, boasts 125+ recipes, cultural context, brilliant instruction, and practical cooking tips for anyone looking to incorporate plant-based Vietnamese cooking into their busy lives. She shows how cooks in her home country draw on their natural resourcefulness and Buddhist traditions to showcase a wide array of herbs and vegetables in flavorful, comforting recipes.
Spices feature heavily in the book, and Andrea prefers ours. She says, "I love using Burlap & Barrel’s suite of Vietnamese spices because not only do they add extra provenance to my food, they’re pivotal flavor game changers. My cooking sparkles and shines extra with these spices."
Recipes include DIY vegan fish sauce, dozens of vegetable-driven sides and mains, Smoky Tofu-Nori Wontons, Steamed Veggie Bao, Fast Vegetarian Pho, Banh Mi with Vegan Mayonnaise and Bologna, Nuoc Cham Cabbage Stir-Fry, Sweet Potato and Shrimp Fritters, and Oven-Fried Crispy Shiitake Imperial Rolls, just to name a few!
The 6-spice Andrea Nguyen collection includes:
Purple Stripe Garlic (3.0 oz glass jar) "I never thought I’d advocate for garlic powder until I met this one, and I’m not saying that simply because we are both Vietnamese. It provides pungent depth."
Smoked Star Anise (0.5 oz glass jar) "This star anise lends a deep pungent note that faintly echoes smoked cardamom, and it's incredibly beautiful too."
Buffalo Ginger (1.8 oz glass jar) "The best ground ginger available. Its sweet heat is incomparable."
Five Spice (1.8 oz glass jar) "Sweet, savory and not medicinal like many similar blends, this plays well with other ingredients to create synergy."
Red River Coriander (Ground) (2.0 oz glass jar) "This coriander has a a sweet, citrusy complexity that helps me hit all the right notes."
Robusta Black Peppercorns (2.2 oz glass jar) "This is a robust pepper but it’s not hit-you-over-the-head hot. It’s complex and nuanced. It’s been my house peppercorn for years."
Author photo: © Rory O’Brien
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ABOUT ANDREA NGUYEN
Andrea Nguyen is one of the country’s leading voices on Asian cuisine and is living out her childhood dream of being an award-winning writer, editor, teacher, and consultant. Her impactful books — Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, Asian Dumplings, Asian Tofu, The Banh Mi Handbook, The Pho Cookbook and Vietnamese Food Any Day — have been recognized by the James Beard Foundation, International Association of Culinary Professionals, and National Public Radio for their excellence. Andrea is also the winner of the 2020 International Association of Culinary Professionals Member of the Year award.
She edited Unforgettable, a biography cookbook about culinary icon Paula Wolfert. Andrea has contributed to many publications, including The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Lucky Peach, Saveur, and Cooking Light. Her engaging and knowledgeable writing on cuisine and culture has attracted a loyal and well-deserved readership that actively follows her blog, www.vietworldkitchen.com. Andrea lives in Santa Cruz, California.
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