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Cookbook author Andrea Nguyen helped change the tone of Vietnamese cookbooks when she published her first in 2006. “They had these long, long ingredient lists that kind of exoticized the cuisine,” Andrea tells Dan. “But we're here in America. Why can't we talk about Vietnamese food in America?” Several cookbooks later, Andrea has continued to demystify Asian cooking without dumbing it down. Over lunch at Sidestreet Pho in Alameda, California, Andrea talks with Dan about her approach to writing recipes, including for her new vegetable-centric cookbook Ever-Green Vietnamese: Super-Fresh Recipes, Starring Plants from Land and Sea. They also meet Hanh Nguyen, owner of Sidestreet Pho and daughter of some of the first Vietnamese restaurant owners in the U.S.

To enter to win a copy of Ever-Green Vietnamese, subscribe to our newsletter by May 8. Open to US/Canada only.

Info and tickets available here for Dan’s appearance at Martha’s Vineyard Flavors.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.