Stovetop Roasting for Maximum Flavor

Here’s one of the secrets (not so secret anymore, obviously) for making the fragrant, full-flavored broth used in Vietnamese Pho. Andrea Nguyen teaches this technique in her book Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors. Slightly different from another technique I learned from a Vietnamese friend (and also used by other Vietnamese cookbook authors) where the aromatics, mostly commonly onion and ginger, are roasted in the oven or browned in oil before using. Roasting them stovetop brings about a complexity in flavor that doesn’t come through quite as brightly using the other techniques. And I must say I *love* Andrea Nguyen — she’s one of the most accommodating cookbook authors I’ve ever come in contact with. If you’ve got any questions about Vietnamese cuisine, I strongly suggest you contact her through her website; but do get her book first as she may have already answered you even before you asked!