You published your first cookbook in 2006, and your seventh cookbook most recently in 2023. How did you choose your niche in writing cookbooks – because before that, you were in banking, and your first book published in 1997 was not a cookbook but your personal family story as refugees coming to America (Trip to Freedom)?
I’ve wanted to write cookbooks since I was ten years old. I read them like novels. I collected them, works covering East and West. Then I noticed that there wasn’t a Vietnamese cookbook that reflected the experiences and food of Vietnamese Americans. There was no cookbook that mentioned Little Saigon communities, for instance. I was commissioned to write Trip to Freedom, an elementary school book for third graders, and I felt even more strongly that the Vietnamese American community and diaspora deserved to be more fully represented in cookbooks. So I wrote and shopped a cookbook proposals for a work titled, “Pass the Fish Sauce”. It took about ten years before my first book got into print. We changed the name to “Into the Vietnamese Kitchen” which was more palatable to readers back then. So I saved PTFS for my Substack newsletter!
Did you get your start in writing about cooking when you pitched an article on your mother’s mooncakes to Saveur? What motivated you to submit this, and were you and your mother surprised when it was accepted?
Not really. Before that, when I was working full-time at the University of Southern California in Asian American student services, I was moonlighting as a restaurant reviewer for a Korean American weekly free newspaper. The Saveur article was the first Vietnamese food article I got published. The magazine was new back then and open to new voices and new stories, I noticed. My mother’s obsession with making moon cakes was unusual. In the late 1990s, moon cakes were totally under the radar. I wrote a pitch letter with a bunch of ideas and sent it through the post office mail and soon was talking to their editor in chief, Colman Andrews, who is a legend in the food publishing and writing. My first assignment was about banh Trung Thu!
I read that you had led a tour of Orange County’s Little Saigon on Epicurious TV that aired on the Travel Channel back in the 2000s. I wish I was able to watch that today, a footage preserving the food scene two decades ago. Was this an idea that you pitched for Epicurious? What was the experience like to bring the TV crew to Orange County? I can imagine that since then, social media has also changed a lot about the awareness of Asian and Vietnamese food. If you were asked to lead a tour of Little Saigon today, what do you think would be different – anything from what you would highlight, to your approaches, to your audience’s reception?
They found me through my website, Viet World Kitchen, and emailed me. The experience was challenging and fun. I’d never done anything like it before so I just kinda did it. I had to location scout, storyboard the segment, be the fixer for the camera crew, and look and sound composed and enthusiastic in front of the camera. Today’s Little Saigon businesses are much more receptive and savvy about cameras coming into businesses to film. People are less shy about being on camera nowadays because on social media, everyone can be a star! Also, today, my work would reach more Viet people because second and third generation Vietnamese Americans would know about it and be interested. My work centers heritage and personal stories and that has greater appeal to American born or 1.5 generation folks. There are lots more of us nowadays!
As a cooking teacher, what has been your favorite Vietnamese dish to teach? Does being in the room with students influence your cookbook writing? Do you have a favorite memory with your students in the classroom (whether in-person or Zoom)?
I learn from whomever I cook with so I definitely learn from teaching. The “a-ha” moments when someone tastes something that they’ve made is always my favorite. It happens in in-person classes as well as on Zoomers. I relish those moments.
Andrea Nguyen is a culinary bridge builder, leading authority on Asian cuisines, and award-winning author. She has written seven acclaimed cookbooks, including The Pho Cookbook and Ever-Green Vietnamese, which won awards from the James Beard Foundation and International Association of Culinary Professionals. Releasing in August 2026, her eight cookbook is Cooking Thai, a collaboration project with multi-Michelin starred chef Pim Techamuanvivit.
While studying at the University of Southern California and working as a bank auditor and then communication consultant, Andrea always found time to cook. She luckily was able to make a career of it. A former Saveur contributing editor and Cooking Light columnist, she has also contributed articles and developed recipes for Food & Wine, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. She resides in Santa Cruz, California, where she also publishes the Pass the Fish Sauce newsletter and Viet World Kitchen blog.
A curious cook and cookbook lover since the age of ten, Andrea is living a dream life that she could have never imagined when she and her family fled Vietnam in 1975.
This interview was conducted by Cathy Duong as part of the Author Spotlight series. All featured authors participated in Viet Book Fest 2026, a literary event presented by the Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association (VAALA).
Join us on Sunday, April 12, 2026, from 10 AM to 5 PM at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California for a full day honoring Vietnamese storytelling and culture in literature.
Viet Book Fest 2026 offers a full day of programming focused on Vietnamese literature, storytelling, and culture. Attendees can participate in five panel discussions, enjoy interactive activities for children, and experience youth performances that showcase Vietnamese traditions and creativity. The festival also provides a space for community collaborations, where participants can create their own art and engage in hands-on projects.