From Vietnam to the East Village, husband‑wife duo Jimmy Ly and Yen Vo, chef and owners of critically acclaimed restaurant Madame Vo, bring big, bold southern Vietnamese flavours to homestyle cooking in this cookbook

Madame Vo, which opened in New York City’s East Village in 2017, quickly became a destination, changing how the city enjoys Vietnamese food. This cookbook features the authentic, modern recipes that made Madame Vo famous, alongside Ly and Vo’s story of how their families fled war and built a life in the United States, how they met and fell in love, and how they launched and now run the restaurant together.

With more than eighty simple-to-follow recipes, Madame Vo will teach you everything you need to know to start cooking Vietnamese food at home.

This cookbook features the recipes that made Madame Vo a household name, including:

* Signatures dishes like Madame Wings (spicy chicken wings with fish sauce)
* Sườn Kho Pork Pibs
* The Perfect Phở
* Caramelized Pork Belly and Pineapples
* New innovations like Chè Bắp Sweet Corn Pudding
* Bánh Bò Nướng Honeycomb Cake

Madame Vo is a restaurant rooted in family recipes and Vietnamese history. Ly and Vo’s stories were shaped by their parents’ decision to gather their families and leave everything they knew for America—Vo was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and Ly was born in Queens after his parents fled their home during the Vietnam War.

Once they risked everything to bring quality Vietnamese food to East Village patrons, it didn’t take long for great reviews and press to roll in. After Ly’s cooking received rave reviews from both Ligaya Mishan and Pete Wells for the New York Times, Madame Vo quickly became a New York staple, frequented by notable fans such as Calvin Klein, Sarah Jessica Parker, Simu Liu, Bowen Yang, Alan Cumming, and others.

With the talents of award-winning writer Dan Q. Dao, this narrative-driven cookbook includes Ly and Vo’s stories, all the hits from the restaurant, and what you need to know to start cooking Vietnamese food at home. This book is a love letter from Madame Vo to the restaurant’s community and new readers alike, accessible and encouraging for any Vietnamese food enthusiast.

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Grilled Pork Chop Over Rice

Cơm Sườn Nướng

Serves 4 to 6

We love this pork and rice dish because it brings together so many of the building blocks found in this cookbook, including our grilling marinade, pickled vegetables, green onion oil, and Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nước Mắm Chấm). These are foundational ingredients we always keep in our kitchen, in case we need to throw together a fast but filling lunch like this. We prefer to use a thin pork chop as it absorbs our marinade better, and we want the flavours of the marinade to shine. However, you may use a thick-cut pork chop if you desire.

Ingredients

2 to 3 pounds (910 g to 1.5 kg) pork chops (6 to 8 chops), sliced 1/2-inch (1.25-cm) thick by your butcher

1 recipe Grilled Meats Marinade 

¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil, if not grilling, plus more for cooking the eggs

6 cups (1.2 kg) steamed white jasmine rice

½ cup (80 g) Pickled Vegetables

½ cup (120 ml) Green Onion Oil 

Handful fresh cilantro sprigs

6 to 8 large eggs

Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nước Mắm Chấm), for serving

Thai red chiles, sliced

Green onions, chopped Cucumbers

Method

Add the pork chops to a large bowl and add enough marinade until pork chops are submerged. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or, for best flavour, overnight. Extra marinade may be saved for other recipes or additional pork chops.

Grill the pork: Heat a gas-powered grill for 4 minutes on high. Add the marinated pork to the grill, lower the heat to medium, and cook for 10 minutes on each side. Alternatively, add the vegetable oil to a 12-inch (30-cm) frying pan and bring the oil to a medium heat. Sear the meat for about 5 minutes on each side, until cooked through and golden brown.

Assemble and serve: On each serving plate, arrange 1 cup (200 g) steamed rice, 1 or 2 pork chop, 1 tablespoon pickled veggies, and  a couple of sprigs cilantro. Spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of the green onion oil over the top.

In a medium saucepan over high heat, add a splash of oil and then crack 1 egg into pan, cook until egg whites turn opaque and edges start to brown and become crispy. Remove from pan with a spatula and repeat for each egg. Top each serving of rice with an egg. Garnish with red chiles, chopped green onions, and cucumbers. Serve the Vietnamese dipping sauce on the side in small bowls or ramekins.

Recipe published with permission from Abrams Books.