Vietnamese Home Cooking by Charles Phan introduces us to the bold, spicy, and fresh flavors of traditional Vietnamese food. The book’s Pinterest board captures some of the energy and inspiration behind the book, but one ingredient that is essential to Vietnamese cuisine is lemongrass. In the Vietnamese Home Cooking book trailer (see above), Charles Phan, also the chef/owner of San Francisco’s Slanted Door restaurant, says lemongrass adds wonderful fragrance and texture to dishes like his Lemongrass Pork and Caramelized Lemongrass Shrimp.

Vietnamese Home Cooking Pinterest Board

When shopping for lemongrass, Charles explains:

“One of the defining flavors of Vietnamese cooking, lemongrass has an intense lemony smell and taste. The woody, fibrous brown stalks are sold fresh, in bundles, at Asian grocery stores and in many supermarkets. Choose stalks that are about ½ inch in diameter and bend easily; avoid those that seem dry, an indication that they are old. Avoid dried lemongrass, which is flavorless.”

Lemongrass Pork Banh Mi from Vietnamese Home Cooking

For tips on chopping lemongrass, the recipe for Lemongrass Pork, and suggestions for assembling the perfect Banh Mi sandwich (pictured above), see the excerpt below:

Vietnamese Home Cooking by Charles Phan – Recipes and Excerpt

The rain pours down in San Francisco as if the sky is slowly creeping towards the ground. It makes the bay look musty –lacking any recollection of colors that aren’t a shade of grey. There was a beacon of spirited joy, however, just feet from the water’s edge on this rainy Friday in January: through the infinitely tall glass windows of San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza, any soaked and unhappy passerby could see the jovial bustle of The Slanted Door.

Charles Phan’s renowned Vietnamese restaurant was packed with what I thought was a lunchtime rush, but Charles said it was a slow day. The calm choreography of the servers’ movements circling around the tables—not one of which was empty– coupled with the precise pitter-patter of the bartenders, busboys, and cooks made the milieu an amazing one to watch.

My colleague Jenny and I were here on this particular day because Diane and Todd of The White on Rice Couple were shooting a promotional video for Charles’s upcoming book, Vietnamese Home Cooking.

The book, which will hit stores September 2012, includes wholesome Vietnamese dishes Charles makes at home, so shots of him and his family in his home kitchen—and in Chinatown–will be added to the footage taken at The Slanted Door, where Charles fired up his famous Shaking Beef at the wok.

Observing Charles in the hot trenches of the kitchen and admiring the finished dishes savored by restaurant-goers, we couldn’t resist getting a bite of this authentic yet modern Vietnamese cooking as well. Our lunch from Out the Door, which is—quite literally—a to-go spot outside of The Slanted Door, was a delicious treat. Casual and quick, but every bit as satisfying.

We can’t wait to see the video the White on Rice Couple will create, and will be sure to post it when it’s ready. In the meantime, take a look at some more behind-the-scenes photos from the shoot. Click here to see Diane & Todd’s photos and musings about working with Chef Charles Phan–in addition to their video shoot with the owners of Bi-Rite Creamery for their upcoming Sweet Cream & Sugar Cones!