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Grilled Pork Chop Over Rice excerpted from Madame Vo: Vietnamese Home Cooking from the New York Restaurant by Jimmy Ly, Dan Q. Dao, and Yen Vo. Photography by Andrew Bui.

Madame Vo: Vietnamese Home Cooking from the New York Restaurant by Jimmy Ly, Dan Q. Dao, and Yen Vo

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. (more…)

Nowadays, it seems that many chefs are full-fledged brands first, cooks second. Money-printing machines armed with theme restaurants, much hyped cookbooks and TV shows. IMHO, many of these “rock star chefs” are undeserving of the spotlight and often tarnished by too much celebrity, too many product endorsements and simply too much hype. The focus on cooking appears to have gotten lost somewhere along the way.

I wish I had the superpower to bestow some of the chefs in my own life with fame, fortune and a cookware line. Case in point, my buddy’s mom. Recently, my taste buds were taken to heaven by her deconstructed lasagna. The dish was pure, authentic and skillfully presented. A true culinary experience, yet one that goes unrecognized but for the acclaim from the lucky few in her entourage (count me in as one of her fans).

But not all celebrity chefs are publicity-seeking and image obsessed. I’ve always had much reverence for Chef David Chang and his ability to maintain a strong sense of self and emphasize food over fame. He grew up working in his father’s bistros in D.C. He trained at the French Culinary Institute before taking jobs at various prestigious establishments. Working at local ramen shops in Japan led to him eventually starting his own restaurant, Momofuku. He now presides over a culinary empire that has been the recipient of two Michelin stars and numerous James Beard awards. For months, I talked everyone’s ear off about my upcoming trip to Momofuku TO, his newest venture. And now, here I was. About to feast on the cuisine of an artist.

The restaurant is fascinating. An odd tree-like sculpture hovers near its street-level entrance. Once inside, the split-level space is extremely unpretentious and dominated by minimalist design in muted tones. Tables with backless stools, towering ceilings, stone and glass complete the look. It’s clear from the outset that this design was deliberate. The focus is on the food.

Ah, the food. We dined on heavenly pork buns. Juicy and tender meat wrapped in soft, pillowy dough garnished with a dollop of hoisin and topped with cucumbers and scallions. Next up, my friend had ginger scallion noodles with shiitake, cucumber and cabbage and I tried the dan dan mein, spicy pork, dry scallops, and peanuts over noodles. I was fascinated by the well-thought-out combinations of flavours and textures. I simply admire the way he creates dishes, building from tradition and adding a simple spin to create blissful works of food art. It’s hardly an overstatement to say that a meal at Momofuku was one of a higher order than any I’d ever had before and one the best I’ve had in my life.

Chef Chang and my buddy’s mom have much in common. They both have a passion and commitment to bring joy and comfort to their people through food. They both inadvertently inspire. And they both do it without a cookware line. That’s admirable.