Thanks so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving me access to this book. Loved looking this cookbook over. I run a monthly cookbook group. I will be suggesting this book for our next discussion. Thanks for the opportunity to look it over.

We love pho at my house. As soon as I flipped thru the first few pages, I pre-ordered a copy of my own. This book breaks down pho creation so anyone can do it. I felt inspired to mix and match to create my own recipe. Love this one!

I have made several of these recipes all they are all very consistently reliable. There is good variety in this book and the dishes have a lot of vegetables, which I like, but can be easily adjusted if you like more or less. This was a great book for me to learn a new style of cooking!

Noodles. Noodles, noodles, noodles. If you have any fondness for noodles you'll want this book, which offers delicious recipes at a variety of difficulty levels. You can use it for occasional experiments or perfect your skills as you work your way through it.

I tried a few recipes for my friends and they loved them. To me the most important thing for a recipe book is for the instructions to be clear and concise. I believe this was done. I would definitely recommend this book.

I absolutely loved this cookbook. Pho is quickly becoming one of the staples of my weekly meals. This easy to follow set of menus and broths make this meal a favorite! A book I will be referring back to over and over again!

A great book for those who love Pho and want to get into making it themselves and not just buying it at a restaurant.
With this book, you don't need any other pho recipes.

In on word: ADORE
I love eating pho, so this was always going to be my kinda thing.
But I love the layout & the photography and the recipes work
A book I will definitely get a hardcopy of.

Wasn't a huge fan of this. Pho is nice, but the recipes were a little too involved. Some more meal prep/easy to make type stuff would have neen good

Pho (pronounced Fuh) is one of my favorite go-to options, but I don’t always want to search for it in restaurants. Years ago I lived close to a couple of Pho Houses, and we’d go to one or the other almost weekly. So when the opportunity to find a set of recipes (not the quick fly-by’s on television) opened up – I grabbed the book and started planning.

Aside from the lovely and detailed recipes and photographs, the book has options from easy to complex, perfect for cooks of any experience from beginners to advanced. Even more unique (and super helpful) is the ‘what not to do” set of options that help you to avoid some simple, yet common, mistakes.

Most of the ingredients are easy to find at an Asian market – bring the book if you have questions and ask someone to take you to the ingredient – more often than not, people are willing to help and share tips…. BUT – I have a handful of markets in this area – so most everything was easy to find, readily available and I’ve also found uses for many of the spices specific to the Pho to work in other dishes.

A favorite is the long-worked broth which also manages to work into other dishes, and the coffee (who doesn’t read and love coffee?) that is utterly addictive, as are some of the side dishes and accompaniments that have recipes provided. You won’t go wrong, and with a new, filling and tasty dinner (or lunch option) that is healthy and flavorful and just a touch exotic.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Do you like Pho? Having a hard time to find a restaurant creating this fragrant and delicious noodle soup? Then buy this book. I was pleasantly surprised to find this very easy to follow cook book. I always figured this would take days to make. It does not. Not only do we learn all the basic ingredients, Ms. Nguyen gives a good history about Pho.

For those who think this is just soup noodles, do not despair. There are more recipes of noodles prepared in other ways. What I also liked is the explanation of using an instant pot. For those who have never tried using one, this can definitely be one to try. What is also nice about this cook book are the nice pictures. I can still distinguish it in the ebook to match what I cooked to the expected results. Although my dishes were not as nicely put together.

As a beginning cook, I also appreciated the tips on what not to do. Many cook books list step by step what to do and tips on how to make a dish better. They do not list common mistakes. This is more helpful to me as a new cook. It helps me realize why not to do something. I cannot wait to try all the recipes in this book. I have only tried a couple and they were both tasty. This book is recommend for Pho lovers who like an easy to follow cookbook.

I remember when Pho houses started opening where I lived. My first visit was a dining experience never had before. with fresh herbs, appetizing sauces - eating Pho was a true diner's experience. with this fabulous cookbook, I now prepare Pho in my own home. I do have access to Asian markets so I can make these recipes with ease. I love reading the history of Pho - it only adds tot he experience!

Loved this book! Its became my " Pho Bible"! a guide to eveything Pho! explained in easy step by step instructions with great illustrations !

Love cookbooks, especially those that specialize in unique 'genres' of food. Great book!

Pho is the essence of Vietnam. It is a perfect marriage of flavorful broth and wide rice noodles. More than that, however, it has a history as rich and varied as the dish itself. Pho is an expression of individual uniqueness as well as cultural solidarity. The Pho Cookbook is more than a collection of recipes. It is a celebration of culture and cuisine.

The recipes vary in time required and complexity, but there are still many that will appeal to the beginner or time pressed chef. Nguyen’s book makes pho approachable, rather than intimidating. Even if you are simply wanting to learn more about Vietnam’s cuisine and culture (as opposed to cooking), The Pho Cookbook is a great choice with its array of beautiful photos and fascinating background information.

5 / 5

I received a copy of The Pho Cookbook from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom

This was a great book! It was a great eye opener to the culture and history of pho. It was especially great for beginners wanting to try making Pho at home. The pictures are so good, be careful not to drool on the book!

'Pho is so elemental to Vietnamese culture that people talk about it in terms of romantic relationships. Rice is the dutiful wife that you can rely on … Pho is the flirty mistress that you slip away to visit.'

… SO BEGINS ANDREA NGUYEN'S BRILLIANT INTRODUCTION TO ALL THINGS PHO. Now, I'm a huge cookbook fan – and as I type this, I am staring at shelves, simply heaving with recipes from fields afar – and soup, in all its various shapes and forms, is my go-to food, when I'm feeling happy, sad, hot, cold, ill or well. So, it's hardly surprising that this book ticks all my boxes in terms of what a good cookbook should be. My favourite kinds are those that are more than just a series of beautifully shot spreads, featuring recipes with carefully photographed ingredients. And The Pho Cookbook provides so much more than that, Nguyen thoughtfully revealing the history, culture and regional variations of this truly delicious Vietnamese dish. There are helpful explanations of how to cook key ingredients and more importantly, for those like me, who don’t eat meat, there’s a good range of delicious vegetarian/vegan recipes.

Nguyen weaves her recipe spells so beautifully that I defy anyone not to love this book and also not to come away from it an infinitely better cook. And, even if you've never eaten pho before, nor cooked it, this book is a revelation. Read it – and eat.

My expectations for this book might have been too high. Or maybe I'm just not as interested in pho as I thought I would be. Either way, I found myself a lot less engrossed in this book than Nguyen's previous one, Into the Vietnamese Kitchen.

The Pho Cookbook is great for enthusiasts though. Nguyen gives some history on the dish, taking time for both the North and South Vietnamese styles. She even gives an explanation on the history and pronunciation of the name. The section covering the different ingredients is particularly helpful. There were a couple that were unexpected, but that might just be my unfamiliarity with what goes into the dish.

Probably the best part about the book is that Nguyen offers recipes for varying amounts of time and difficulty in preparing the dish. There are shortcuts for preparing the dish quickly during the week without sacrificing a lot of flavor. This ramps up to a full on preparation that would need a day on the weekend to complete successfully. Nguyen covers chicken, beef, and vegetarian options, which rounds things out nicely. She also provides information and recipes for accompaniments, some traditional some not. The pictures are beautiful and present the dish wonderfully.

Anyone with an interest in pho should pick up this book.

I love pho and with a book dedicated to pho how can you go wrong. Andrea Nguyen is one of my favorite cookbook author. I have read and owned her other books and they are always well researched and gives great background of each subject.

I love the history of pho and it's importance to the Vietnamese culture.

Pho seems difficult to make at home but after reading this book, I'm ready to try to tack it at home.

Highly recommend this book

I would like to thank Ten Speed Press for provided me with a free electronic ARC of this book, via Netgalley, in exchange for an open and honest review.

You know, I thought I knew a bit about Pho… I did not. I now doubt if I even know how to say or eat it correctly. ;-)

Pho to me has always been a really yummy HOT broth with noodles, bits of meat and maybe some greens. And a meal you have when you missed breakfast and just can’t wait for lunch.

So I feel the ‘Pho Cook book’ has filled in a lot of the gaps missing in my education when it comes to this amazing nourishing food source!

I grew up in Darwin, Australia where – back then – Asian cuisine was one of the most common foods available when out and about. So I have been exposed to them from a young age. And I admit now that Pho in a Styrofoam cup with a fork as you walk around the markets is not the traditional way to eat it, but that’s what we did.

This book made me hungry too! How terrible. ;-) We got past the initial recipes, which I felt were at a level I could do (being a bone broth lover today) and the rest of the book became almost like a menu for me than a cook book. I wanted to order almost one of everything.

And, being a book produced by Ten Speed Press, the gloriously colourful pictures were to blame! They always seem to capture the spirit of a book in their tantalising images.

As for the formatting? Well, I will say here and now the recipes clearly show it was written for a North American audience (no surprise as they were!) as all the measurements are in imperial.

Also, the formatting used for the recipes was very typical of what I am used to in the older style Asian cook books. Very similar to authors like Charmaine Solomon where the ingredients and methods and blocked out page for page. Tightly squashed together, not a lot of white space.

Now, I am okay with this sort of formatting, as I am used to it. But I feel it sets the level of who the cook book is aimed for – middle to experts cooks. As your modern newbie cook - who is into a lot of white space, basic step by step instructions and hand holding - isn’t going to like the ‘Pho Cook book’. Sorry, but formatting will put people off. They pick up the book, the flick through it, see it looks so compact and will assume it is therefore too complicated and so put it down and buy a different book.

But what would I know? Just my opinion as part of my open and honest feedback. I loved the book, loved the recipes… would be challenged by some of them, but that just makes all the more fun and enjoyment of trying.

Would I recommend this book to others?

Yes I would. But only to those I feel could handle it. I now admin in a Facebook group where we are helping to teach the unexperienced how to cook real food on a budget. This isn’t a book I would suggest to the newbies. Though it is something I would suggest to the members who had had more experience and were willing to try something outside their comfort zone.

Would I buy this book for myself?

I think I would… but I would prefer it in paper format – as I do most of my cook books - and it would have to wait until I have more shelf space. ;-)

In summary: Not for the beginner, but a fantastic cookery book showing you how to make and enjoy Pho… and then some.