Secrets of the Red Lantern: Stories and Vietnamese Recipes from the Heart

A family's journey told through food

Fruit and vegetables have been the livelihood of my mother's family for generations.

Secrets of the
Red Lantern

Dua 23 Choi Cau Ong Lanh (market stall number 23 near Mr. Lanh's Bridge) is where my brother Lewis and I were born—the same place my mother and her siblings were born. For as long as anyone can remember, Choi Cau Ong Lanh stood as the largest fruit and vegetable market in Saigon. The family business survived there for over fifty years before tragically burning to the ground in 1999. It was unfortunate that the source of the fire came from number 54, the stall belonging to my father's family. The blaze was rumored to be the consequence of some electrical thievery. Today, both sides of the family still sell fruit and vegetables, though at different markets. Auntie Nine also runs a busy street stand selling handmade noodles and sweets. Auntie Eight, a notoriously masculine woman who has never worn a dress or used a women's restroom, has a wholesale business selling fresh corn.

My parents' fastidious obsession with all things fresh started back in Vietnam, a long time before they discovered cooking. With two family businesses in Saigon dependent on fresh product for their success, they were obsessed because they had to be. When the restaurant in Cabramatta grew hectic, my mother sent us kids out to buy emergency supplies. I lost count of the number of times we returned to proudly present our mother with the fresh produce we bought, only to be berated by a click of the tongue and a shake of the head. "Where on earth did you buy this?" With our reply, she would march back to the vendor shouting them a piece of her mind, "How dare you sell this crap to my children!"

Contents
ONE	skin, bones, and the basics	10
TWO	my mother and her mother	42
THREE	the oceans of uncertainty	70
FOUR	the three big mistakes	100
FIVE	the chinks in his armor	130
SIX	pho cay du	176
SEVEN	the missing years	218
EIGHT	red is for reconciliation	244
NINE	red is for renewal	282
TEN	red is for life	310
FURTHER READING		338
RECIPE INDEX		340

Contact: Tammie Barker, (800) 851-8923, tbarker@amuniversal.com