Didier Corlou’s Vietnamese Cuisine
The Frenchman living in Vietnam is a difficult concept for tourists to grapple with. The confused conclusions of western tourists are likewise hard to make sense of. Those who think the Frenchman is an outrageous example of imperialism whose very presence pollutes Vietnamese culture might as well pack their bags, go home, and give up. Those who think that the Frenchman’s European tastes and attitudes are their only salvation in Asia might as well unpack their bags, stay home, and give up. Didier Corlou, however, is a Frenchman in Vietnam whom few tourists take issue with.
Originally from Hennebont, France, Corlou has been the chef at Hanoi’s Sofitel Metropole hotel for over ten years. In his life and in his cooking style, the chef de cuisine is now equal parts French and Vietnamese. In the passionate narrative that weaves in and out of the recipes in Didier Corlou’s Vietnamese Cuisine, Corlou pays equal homage to the jams and cakes his French mother prepared during his childhood as he does to the banquet menus he learned about from his wife’s Vietnamese grandparents. He delightfully fuses classic French cooking techniques with a deep respect for the ingredients, recipes, and culinary traditions of Vietnam.
Corlou penned this lavishly-photographed cookbook for the students in the cooking course he developed at the Sofitel Metropole and for the patrons of the hotel’s simultaneously upscale and authentic Spices Garden restaurant. I recently enrolled in the course during a trip through Southeast Asia, and I received step-by-step instruction on how to prepare banana-flower salad and grilled chicken with citrus leaves. Corlou presents these recipes and numerous others (including traditional pho and smoked salmon spring rolls) in his book, writing not as a rambling kitchen egomaniac but rather as a generous food enthusiast. All the recipes are constructed simply, in bullet points, providing exact measures in an easy-to-read format.
Didier Corlou’s Vietnamese Cuisine is the ideal souvenir from a food-lover’s visit to Hanoi. Unfortunately, it’s only offered to those who are adventurous enough to make the trip–the hardcover book is privately published by the Sofitel and not sold in the United States. Luckily, Corlou’s more readily-available Vietnamese Home Cooking provides similar recipes, a similar style of instruction, and of course the exact same dedication to the culture of Vietnamese food.
