Andrea Nguyen

Andrea Nguyen
Born	1969 Hải Dương, Vietnam
Nationality	American
Other names	Andrea Quynhgiao Nguyen
Occupation(s)	food writer and cookbook author
Years active	1997-present
Known for	Vietnamese cuisine
Website	vietworldkitchen.com

Andrea Nguyen (born 1969) is a Vietnamese-born, American teacher, food writer, cookbook author and chef living in the San Francisco area. An expert on Asian cuisine and cooking methods, Nguyen has written numerous cookbooks on the food of her native Vietnam, as well as an account of her family's escape during the Fall of Saigon. She writes an active blog, as well as articles for newspapers and food magazines and teaches cooking classes throughout the country.

Early life

Andrea Quynhgiao Nguyen was born in 1969 in Vietnam and fled with her family of seven when Saigon fell in 1975. Fleeing the communist regime, her family emigrated with only enough belongings for a vacation, but brought with them a notebook filled with her mother's recipes. ^[1] They settled in Southern California and attempted to buy foods they were familiar with, but the dishes were mass-produced and not very tasty. Nguyen's mother suggested they replicate foods from their homeland, by making the dishes themselves. ^[2] After a childhood spent in San Clemente, Nguyen attended the University of Southern California and graduated with a B.S. in banking and finance and M.A. in communication management. ^{[3] [4]}

Career

Upon completing her schooling, Nguyen first worked as a bank auditor and then a university administrator, while she and husband, Rory O'Brien, were living in Santa Monica, before she began writing restaurant reviews. ^{[3] [4]} In 1997, she wrote her first book, an autobiographical tale, Trip to Freedom (1997) which was written to explain her family's migration and the events surrounding the decision to children. ^[5] Nguyen wrote a letter to pitch an article on her mother's mooncakes to Saveur and they accepted it. She then developed her website and worked on a proposal for her first cookbook. ^[4] She continued writing articles about the food of Vietnam in various newspapers and magazines, like the Los Angeles Times , ^[6] Saveur, The Wall Street Journal , and Rodale's Organic Life. ^[5] Starting fall 2017, she has had a monthly column in Cooking Light called "The Teacher."

Nguyen's first cookbook Into the Vietnamese Kitchen (2006) has been called "indispensable" for those wanting to cook Vietnamese foods, as Nguyen sees culinary history as integrally entwined with culture. ^[7] Her detailed instructions were clear and precise with photographs and explanatory techniques provided in sidebar. ^[8] It was a finalist in the 2007 James Beard Foundation Award, as best Asian cookbook and was nominated for best first book and best international cookbook by the International Association of Culinary Professionals that same year. ^{[5] [9]} In March 2012, both Into the Vietnamese Kitchen and Nguyen's second cookbook, Asian Dumplings were selected as two of seven cookbooks honored in the Asian section of Cooking Light ′s Best 100 Cookbooks of the Past 25 Years Award. ^[5] Asian Dumplings covered a wide array of dumplings from throughout Asia, dividing the recipes by dough and wrapping type. The detailed instructions included line drawings to demonstrate how to form the dough into traditional shapes, as well as sections on sauces, stocks, seasonings and ingredients and various cooking equipment needed to make the dishes. ^[10]

Asian Tofu (2012) was more than a guide to making tofu, as Nguyen included buying guides, as well as tips on selecting ready-made tofu. Her recipes featured both vegetarian and meat dishes, which could use either homemade or store-bought tofu and was noted as an "essential" guide. ^[11] With The Banh Mi Handbook (2014), Nguyen added another layer to her history of cooking in Vietnam, showing how the marriage of French colonial staples, such as the baguette were combined with Asian pâtés, barbecue and pickles to create a "delightful balance of tastes and textures". ^[12] Her 2017 book The Pho Cookbook explores variants in the dish, noting that traditionally pho was a simple, rustic soup, which mirrored the sensibility of Hanoi. As it made its way southward toward Saigon, the dish became sweeter and spicier and more cosmopolitan, with custom additions of sauces and herbs, representing the more capitalist influences of the commercialized south. ^[7] In 2018, Nguyen won a James Beard Award for Best Cookbook for The Pho Cookbook. ^{[13] [14]}

Nguyen is a recognized authority on Asian cuisines and has taught cooking classes throughout the United States. ^{[3] [5]}

References

Citations

1. Kierzek 2014.
2. Bates 2014.
3. Duggan 2014.
4. SpiceLines 2008.
5. Ngo 2016.
6. Nguyen 2016.
7. McKeever 2016.
8. Sutton 2006, p. 90.
9. Fresh Fiction 2010.
10. Publishers Weekly 2009, p. 136.
11. Campbell 2011, p. 145.
12. Knoblauch 2014, p. 12.
13. "The 2018 James Beard Media Award Winners | James Beard Foundation". www.jamesbeard.org. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
14. Fort, Ellen (April 28, 2018). "Here Are the Bay Area Winners of the 2018 James Beard Foundation Media Awards". Eater.

Bibliography

• Bates, Karen Grigsby (November 29, 2014). "'The Banh Mi Handbook': A Guide To A Viet-French Sandwich". Washington, D.C.: NPR. Archived from the original on 15 May 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
• Campbell, Lisa (December 1, 2011). "Review: Nguyen, Andrea (text) & Maren Caruso (photogs.) "Asian Tofu: Discover the Best, Make Your Own, and Cook It at Home"" . Library Journal . Plain City, Ohio: Media Source Inc. 136 (20). ISSN   0363-0277 . Retrieved 7 November 2016– via EBSCOHost.
• Duggan, Tara (November 17, 2014). "Andrea Nguyen adapts Asian recipes to Santa Cruz availability". SF Gate . San Francisco, California. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
• Kierzek, Kristine M. (July 29, 2014). "Andrea Nguyen shares secret to sublime banh mi sandwiches in fourth cookbook". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
• Knoblauch, Mark (July 1, 2014). "Review: "The Banh Mi Handbook: Recipes for Crazy-Delicious Vietnamese Sandwiches" by Andrea Nguyen" . Booklist . Chicago, Illinois: American Library Association. 110 (21). ISSN   0006-7385 . Retrieved 7 November 2016– via EBSCOHost.
• McKeever, Amy (February 16, 2016). "In Vietnam, Pho Is a Breakfast Tradition Changing With the Times". Eater. Washington, D.C.: Vox Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 27 May 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
• Ngo, Quyen (July 4, 2016). "The Bánh Mì Handbook by Andrea Nguyen". Chopsticks Alley. San Jose, California. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
• Nguyen, Andrea (25 October 2016). "How to make a great bowl of pho at home". Los Angeles Times . Los Angeles, California. Archived from the original on 27 October 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
• Sutton, Judith (November 15, 2006). "Review: Nguyen, Andrea (text) & Leigh Beisch (photogs.) "Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors"" . Library Journal . London, England: Reed Business Information. 131 (19). ISSN   0363-0277 . Retrieved 7 November 2016– via EBSCOHost.
• "Andrea Nguyen". Fresh Fiction. 2010. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
• "Andrea Nguyen Talks Vietnamese: Fish Sauce, Lemongrass and the Best Pho in San Francisco". SpiceLines. Los Angeles, California. May 14, 2008. Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
• "Review of "Asian Dumplings: Mastering Gyoza, Spring Rolls, Samosas, and More," by Andrea Nguyen" . Publishers Weekly . New York City, New York: PWxyz LLC. 256 (29). July 20, 2009. ISSN   0000-0019 . Retrieved 7 November 2016– via EBSCOHost.