Vietnamese Food Any Day

The author of six cookbooks over the past 12 years (most recently, the Pho Cookbook), Nguyen presents 80 excellent, simple Vietnamese recipes. Her “any day” preparation means that the microwave oven and the Instant Pot are in, and deep fryers are out. In terms of ingredients, Nguyen surveyed all the large grocery chains to ensure that the components of her dishes can be easily found without a trip to a specialty store. She uses a simply mixed pomegranate molasses to add tang to pomegranate sriracha shrimp, as well as to her spicy sweet pomegranate tofu. There are numerous chicken and pork entrees (chicken, lemongrass, and sweet potato curry; pork and eggs in caramel coconut sauce), as well as options that show an international flair, such as smoked turkey pho, which employs turkey thighs that come fully cooked, and mushroom pâté puffs that call for ordinary frozen puff pastry sheets. Green vegetables get a makeover in sides like charred brussels sprouts with coconut, and easy soy sauce-glazed zucchini. Use-it-up fried rice combines any and all leftovers with a beaten egg and some fish sauce for a dinner. Nguyen’s newest is as utilitarian as it is innovative. (Feb.)