Pass the Fish Sauce

If you live in California, this week was a corker. We nearly melted when temps hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Santa Cruz. As we chugged iced water, Rory and I laughed at how he grew up in the blazing hot San Fernando Valley and I was born in tropical Saigon. After living in the Monterey Bay area for nearly thirty years, we’ve become hot weather wimps! In our town, going out mostly means heavy food options — pizza, burritos, pasta, and burgers. We wanted light fare to keep us cool and refreshed.

Hey there! A balanced lifestyle combines a little naughty with lots of nice and healthy. With that in mind this week, I have three (3!) recipes for you. The first is a delicate, fluffy vegan whipped cream topping that’s remarkably sturdy. It keeps for days, if not for a good week in the fridge. It’s texturally lighter than the vegan frosting I developed for the vegan strawberry and cream cake because you want something ethereal when you’re aiming for a whipped cream topping.

Hello there, I have a knack for saying things that many people think and few dare to voice openly. Airing dirty laundry has gotten me in trouble a few times with my family but in the past week, in talking to people about Cooking Thai, I’ve had private conversations with folks who quietly say, “You know, such and such Thai restaurant is not very good.” My sister Linh and I have the same conversation about Vietnamese restaurants.

First up — I realized that a correction needed to be made for last weekend’s vegan strawberry and cream cake recipe. You don’t want to use vanilla paste. I tried and the vegan whipped cream was no bueno because of the xanthan gum involved. Grab the updated the vegan recipe and PDF.

Last weekend, soon after the Strawberry and Cream Dream Cake recipe published, Anh emailed asking if I thought a vegan version was possible. I know little about vegan baking. What to do about eggs for the batter? What about the whipped cream frosting? Those are are all ingredients that brilliantly and naturally function to make baking’s chemistry work. Could I come up with a version that would fool even non vegans?

When Asian people celebrate — birthdays, graduations, retirement, whatever — there’s likely to be a layer cake featuring fresh strawberries and light, fluffy whipped cream. Such cakes are stalwarts at Asian bakeries, which churn them out daily. But truth be told, the cakes are rather tasteless because they are mass produced with unripe, sturdy fruit. The whipped cream doesn’t taste like much and neither does the cake itself. I’ve been disappointed too many times by these perfect looking cakes.

Hello friends! Rob from Asheville, NC, emailed earlier this week asking about Thai cooking classes and I pointed him to Cooking Thai, which releases on August 25. I wish I had had this video to share with him. It’s the playback of our IACP Culinary cookbook preview talk last Wednesday, August 12. In the Zoom session, you’ll learn how we structured the book, worked together, and how much we love Cooking Thai. We hope you do too! We appreciate IACP giving us the space to share our new book baby.

Well hello there! Oh boy — I’m late with this dispatch because our water heater pooped out yesterday. It was basically on its 10th birthday. We tried trouble shooting it and eventually called the plumber, who labeled it planned obsolescence. We’re switching to a top-of-the-line tankless Navein unit which he says is energy efficient and lasts a very long time so long as we do regular maintenance and repairs.

Here we are in August already. The July 19 banh xeo sizzling crepe class sold out (hard to believe!!!) and the fun 2-hour session flew by. There was clean up afterwards (of course) and exhaustion but I had dinner made already! Banh xeo class one day. A few days later, it was time for chillaxing on the island. The next day, we packed for a week-long trip to Kauai. It’s our second time there this year to hang out with our dear friend, the fashion and jewelry designer Chan Luu.

Hello there! I hope the heat dome has not been too unkind to you. This week’s Sunday Special arrives early because on Sunday, I’ll be readying for the cooking class. I’m so excited and looking forward to seeing all of you. Gadzooks! So many people are interested in mastering crispy banh xeo rice crepes. The class is packed. And there I was worried that no one would sign up! Thank you for your enthusiasm.