What were your favorite foods growing up? Why?

I love food and don't really have a favorite. It's really, what ever I'm in the mood for and I've always been like that. That said, I have always loved soups no matter what temperature it is outside. It could be summer and I would be sipping and slurping pho, wonton soup, or congee, for example. Soups are my comfort food, often times.

What are your least favorite foods? Why?
Junk food I mean why bother? I always say, if I'm going to get fat, it'll be on foie gras or some other flavorful food like octopus, Vietnamese sandwich, pasta, something worth eating, but definitely not potato chips!

What is your beverage of choice?
It depends on what I'm eating.

When did you get interested in writing about food?
It sort of fell on my lap when I was hired as the producing editor and test kitchen director at Saveur magazine back in 1996. I quit in 1998 to write my first cookbook, Authentic Vietnamese Cooking. Before my stint at Saveur, I just loved cooking. I've always loved working with my hands. I do enjoy writing about food a great deal now.

Where and when did your love for food begin?
Growing up in a French and Asian family, food has always been taken seriously and has always been part of my life. I say "Asian", by the way, because even though my other half is Chinese, that side was born and raised in Cambodia, then settled in Vietnam and Indonesia, and eventually wound up in Paris. It's a long story. So food is in my blood. I was lucky to grow up in France and watch my grandmother and mom, on my French side of the family, prepare all sorts of classic French foods. I enjoyed the same thing on my Asian side of the family, watching my aunts and uncles cook. All the foods I enjoyed growing up were part of rich culinary traditions. Falling into this business was only natural.

What motivated you to finally write your first cookbook? How did you go about structuring the book?
My friend told me that I needed to write a cookbook. His story is that I was the only "chick" he knew who could cook something different everyday for every meal in a single year. He'd brag about it to everyone all the time. So he said put it down on paper. I finally did. As far as the structure of the book is concerned, I relied on my editor and agent. Additionally, and I do this with every book, I always start with a chapter on ingredients, followed by equipment and techniques chapter. First things first. You have to know the basics before you get into the recipes.

What are some tips you have for new food writers?
Write about food because you love it. I say that about anything, though. Do because you're passionate about it, first and foremost. Then if you can make a living at it, great.

How would you describe your cuisine?
My cuisine evolves over whatever inspires me at the market on any given day. It's fresh, bold, and unexpected.

What is your favorite spice on the rack?
I've got so many. I don't like to use the word "favorite" or to have to pick one. I love spices. I love ingredients. I don't want to feel constraint when it comes to food. Every spice has something to offer.

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
The women who cook in my family, the home cooks and chefs I've met over the years, the ingredients I've cooked with. The varied culinary traditions I've been exposed to. It's a combination of all these things and more.

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
Again, I have no "favorite" or "secret" ingredient. And if I had a secret ingredient, I wouldn't share it here, or it would cease to be a secret! But I'll tell you that I like to build flavors, one layer at a time, and that's just good technique. First you start with the garlic, then the onion, then the lemongrass, and so on. If you take your time, the end result will be that much better.

What dish you do you recommend for the Asian cuisine novice?
Mango salad. It's fresh and requires a small amount of readily available ingredients besides the mango (fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, garlic, and chilies), and makes for a great side dish to any grilled or roasted meats or seafood.

Do you have a foolproof wine or cocktail that complements most Asian recipes?

1 ounce sake
1 ounce vodka
1 ounce litchee syrup
1 litchee

Shaken not stirred!

Start with that cocktail, then go straight to green tea at the end of the meal for digesting. But let's face it, people like to drink with their meals. So for all the wine and beer lovers out there, choose light to medium bodied wines, and skip the dark beers. You want something that is not too complex because Asian foods tend to have a lot going on already. You would not want to break the structure of a big bold wine. Fruity with light to medium acidity on the whites are best, but light beers or ales do well too. If reds are your thing, keep them on the light side.

You've been appointed Adjunct Professor of Communications Workshop in Foods and Nutrition at You teach Food Writing at New York University and Asian Food Workshops at Syracuse University. As a teacher, what's one of the first pieces of advice you give your students interested in food and health?
Several things! Take the time to learn as much as you can about different food cultures. Travel, eat plenty of varied foods, talk to people, and take notes. The more you know and understand about food (especially ingredients and how they are used classically), the better you'll be as a writer or food professional in general. Be open minded, and try everything at a least once. These days everyone is a critic. I say, think before you speak, write, or cook, and know that you will never have all the answers. Cuisines evolve all the time. Learn your classics so that you may better understand how to combine ingredients when cooking. I've had some pretty disastrous meals. I remember one I had in a French restaurant where the chef had combined sesame oil with truffle juice, two very pungent flavors. He was way off and overly confident, to say the least.

When you are not at home, where do you eat?
I like to look for small, family run restaurants most of the time. No fuss, from the heart kind of food is what I'm into. I can also get into show-off type foods, but only go for that once every other month or so.

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast? Get your favorite cookbook, read the recipe, close the book, and then cook. Food is not a science project, so feel what you're doing.