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daikon radish • chayote squash • jicama • pickled radishes • cilantro stems (about 10 grams) • leek • taro root • carrot • split mung beans, peeled (about 100 grams) • wonton or dumpling wrappers • Cilantro • Shiitake mushrooms •

rice vermicelli noodles (about 500 grams) • blended chili peppers, 1 blended garlic clove, 3 blended shallots • Perilla leaves, lettuce, spearmint, peppermint, cilantro, and other fresh herbs for serving • ground pork with some fat (about 200 grams) • pork belly, sliced (about 300 grams) • For marinating 1.1 lbs meat: 1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon honey, 1/3 tablespoon MSG, 1/3 tablespoon caramel sauce, ground pepper, 3 blended shallots • Dipping sauce ratio 3-3-1.5: fish sauce, sugar, vinegar • Pickled vegetables: 1 kohlrabi (or green papaya), 1 carrot, optional green mango, all thinly sliced, blended garlic and chili

Banh canh noodles (similar to thick rice noodles) • Mackerel fish cake • Quail eggs • Pork paste, ground pork, dried shrimp • Wood ear mushrooms, Vietnamese coriander (rau ram), chili peppers • Salt, sugar, fermented shrimp paste, fish sauce, seasoning powder, annatto oil, ground black pepper, MSG (optional)

Rice (about 1/2 cup or 100 grams) • Pumpkin (about 1 cup or 200 grams), peeled and sliced thin • Ground pork (about 1/3 cup or 80 grams) • Garlic and shallots, finely chopped • Seasonings: salt, MSG (optional) • Water (about 4 cups or 1 liter)

hard-boiled quail eggs, peeled • Dried banh canh noodles • pork paste (about 300 grams) • ground pork (about 200 grams) • Chopped green onions, minced garlic and shallots • onion • Fish sauce, salt, MSG, chicken bouillon powder, black pepper, annatto oil

minced thac lac fish (150 grams) • –14 oz minced basa fish (300–400 grams) • small amount of dill, finely chopped • seasoning powder • MSG • tapioca starch

pork bones (500 grams) • large shrimp, such as tiger or white shrimp (500 grams) • large eggs • Green onions • Black pepper, MSG (optional), green chili, lime • pork belly, preferably with extra fat (500 grams) • Annatto seeds • Cooking oil (peanut oil is especially fragrant)

Pork hock • Carrots • Potatoes • Cabbage (use as much or as little as you like) • Seasonings: MSG, bouillon powder, salt, fish sauce, sugar, black pepper, chili pepper, green onions, cilantro

rice flour (250 grams) • tapioca starch (10 grams) • to 1/3 cup boiling water (60–80 ml) • quail eggs • ground pork (300 grams) • fresh shrimp (250 grams) • Salt, cooking oil, MSG, chicken bouillon powder, fish sauce, black pepper, chili sate sauce • Minced onion and garlic, chopped green onions, annatto oil

fish paste (about 300 grams, preferably silver carp or similar white fish) • ground pork (about 100 grams) • Chopped fresh dill, to taste • diced carrot (about 30 grams), for color • Minced garlic, chopped green onion, ground black pepper, chicken bouillon powder, MSG (optional), fish sauce • Cooking oil

black carp, cut into pieces (about 1.5 kg) • pork belly, cut into cubes (about 300 g) • sugar • seasoning powder or salt • MSG (optional) • fish sauce • oyster sauce • Ground black pepper • ground galangal (about 100 g) • shallots • garlic • lemongrass •

Snakehead fish (or substitute with catfish or tilapia) • Shrimp • Fish cake • Quail eggs • Mushrooms (such as straw mushrooms or button mushrooms) • Daikon radish • Banh canh noodles (thick tapioca or rice noodles) • Rock sugar, black pepper, green onion, garlic, fish sauce, salt, MSG, chicken bouillon powder

whole chicken (about 2.2 lbs/1 kg) • Serves about 4 people as a main dish for the day • Finely chopped shallots and garlic, fresh lemongrass, fresh chili peppers, fish sauce, sugar, and MSG

ground crab (300 g) • pork rib cartilage (300 g) • beef brisket (300 g) • fermented rice vinegar (about 150 ml) • seasoning powder • MSG • fish sauce • seasoning salt • sugar • annatto oil (about 1 teaspoon or 5 ml) • shallots • pork bone broth (about 2 liters) •

good-quality fish sauce (45 ml) • cold water (45 ml) • sugar (25 grams) • minced garlic (5 grams) • MSG (optional) • lime, a few chili peppers

Mackerel, sliced • Minced shallots • Julienned ginger • Black pepper • Chili pepper • fish sauce (15 ml) • seasoning powder (or chicken bouillon) (15 ml) • sugar (13 grams) • MSG (optional) (6 grams) • Cooking oil • Green onions

snakehead fish fillets (about 1 kg) • rice flour (about 400 grams) • tapioca starch (about 80 grams) • Seasonings: fish sauce, salt, MSG, shallots, cooking oil, etc • Onion, cilantro, green onions, chili peppers

cleaned, skinned frogs (ask your butcher to prepare them) • lemongrass • green onions, 5 cloves garlic • Chili satay sauce • Oyster sauce • Fish sauce, sugar, MSG, chili sauce • Optional: serve with baguette

Fresh fish (carp, grass carp, black carp, etc.), firm flesh, over 6 1/2 lbs (over 3 kg) • pork belly (about 1 kg) • shallots • garlic • large pieces of old galangal (the older, the more fragrant) • large piece of ginger • White rice wine • Annatto oil • Homemade caramel sauce (do not use store-bought, as it’s too dark and lacks aroma; make it by caramelizing sugar) • Oyster sauce, fish sauce, seasoning powder, MSG, cooking oil, soy sauce

large, fresh piece of black carp (preferably the belly section) • pork belly (about 300 grams) • Galangal, ginger, 4 shallots, scallions • Sugar • Oyster sauce, annatto oil, fish sauce, seasoning powder, MSG

oxtail or beef marrow bones (1 kg) • pork belly (0.5 kg) • shrimp (300 g) • jicama • Rice paper • Herbs: carrot, Vietnamese coriander, etc. (use your favorite herbs) • Salt • Cornstarch • msg • Bouillon powder • Rock sugar • Annatto oil •

mustard greens (or Chinese mustard greens) • peeled shrimp (about 150 grams) • Seasonings: minced shallot, salt, MSG (optional)

fresh garlic scapes, a few slices of ginger • salt, 1 tablespoon MSG, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce

cobia fish • lemongrass • salt • MSG (optional) • chili powder • hot chili pepper

bone-in chicken (about 600 grams) • bánh canh noodles (about 500 grams) • daikon radish • carrot • Seasonings: salt, fish sauce, MSG, black pepper, shallots, green onions

Free-range chicken • White é leaves (Vietnamese basil) • Boiled bamboo shoots • Oyster mushrooms or king oyster mushrooms • Rice vermicelli noodles or egg noodles • Lemongrass • Bird’s eye chilies or green Thai chilies • Seasonings: salt, chicken bouillon powder, fish sauce, MSG, black pepper, onion, garlic

brown rice (about 300 grams) • carrots • green beans (about 200 grams) • pork belly (about 300 grams) • ground pork (about 50 grams) • bird’s eye chilies • fish sauce (45 ml) • sugar (about 36 grams) • MSG (optional, about 2 grams) • chili sauce (about 7 ml) • caramel sauce (about 15 ml) • ground black pepper (about 2 grams)

catfish (about 1.1 lbs/500 grams) • pork fat (about 100 grams, for rendering fat to braise the fish) • bird’s eye chilies • Chopped onion, chopped garlic, chopped scallion whites • Caramel sauce for braising fish • Seasonings: salt, black pepper, sugar, MSG, chicken bouillon powder, fish sauce

cleaned tilapia (about 500 grams) • fish sauce • sugar • minced garlic and shallots • whole black peppercorns • ground black pepper • pork fat or cooking oil • Caramel sauce, MSG (optional), green onions, chili peppers, ginger

beef sirloin, thinly sliced (200 grams) • medium yellow onion • lemongrass, use the tender white part • garlic • small shallot • Beef marinade: oyster sauce, black pepper, chicken bouillon powder or MSG • Thin rice vermicelli noodles, enough for serving • medium carrot • cucumber • little red radish and yellow radish (optional, I had extra so I added them) • Mung bean sprouts • Lettuce and fresh herbs (basil, fish mint, mint—use whatever you have) •