The Culinary Institute of America

Khao kluk kapi is a popular Thai fried rice dish seasoned with umami-packed shrimp paste and then served with a variety of sides and toppings, including sliced green mango, Thai chiles, green beans, and a fried egg. The dish is known for its combination of salty, sweet, sour, and spicy elements. Chef Ian Kittichai is the owner of Khum Hom Thai restaurant in the Mövenpick BDMS Wellness Resort Bangk...

Chef Benz Mahasuk is the head chef of Khum Hom Thai restaurant by Chef Ian Kittichai in the Mövenpick BDMS Wellness Resort in Bangkok. Here he shows us how to make a popular soup, Tom Kati Bai Liang Goong. Tom Kati Bai Liang Goong is a creamy coconut milk soup with shrimp and “bai liang” or malindjo leaves, which are similar to spinach. The soup’s milder flavor cool your palate, and make it a grea...

Chef Ann Pavita Sae-Chao is the Executive chef of Khum Hom Thai restaurant by Chef Ian Kittichai in the Mövenpick BDMS Wellness Resort Bangkok. Here she prepares yellow curry with mushrooms or gang kua hed kareng. Gang kua is a type of curry paste from southern Thailand. Watch the full series at: https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/southeast-asia

Chef Ian Kittichai gives us a tour of Or Tor Kor Market in Bangkok, known for its produce, prepared foods, and seafood. CNN named Or Tor Kor Market as one of the top 10 best fresh markets in the world in 2017. On this market tour, Chef Ian shows us some of his favorite snacks, and some of Thailand’s lesser known fruits and vegetables. Watch the full series at: https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/s...

Chef Ian Kittichai is the owner of Khum Hom Thai restaurant in the Mövenpick BDMS Wellness Resort Bangkok. He talks about his childhood memories of selling produce at the market in Bangkok, as well as having plant-based menus available at each of his restaurants. Watch the full series at: https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/southeast-asia   

Chef Luke Nguyen, restaurateur, author and television show host, shows us his creative Vegetarian “pork belly” salad. He makes a batter from tapioca starch, rice flour, and coconut milk layered with tofu and baguette. This is steamed then flash fried to create a finished product with an uncanny resemblance to pork belly. He serves the pork belly in a pomelo and herb salad. Watch the full series at...

Inspired by the street food of Vietnam, banh khot are mini savory pancakes, typically made from a batter of rice flour, cornstarch, turmeric, and coconut milk. While these are usually topped with shrimp, these plant-based banh khot are topped with mushrooms. Chef Mai Pham from Lemon Grass Restaurant is joined by Chef Luke Nguyen, restaurateur, author and television show host, to show us how to mak...

Chef Luke Nguyen is a restaurateur, author, and television show host on multiple series, including Luke Nguyen's Vietnam and Master Chef Australia. He talks to Chef Mai Pham of Lemon Grass Restaurant about cooking creative plant-forward dishes at his restaurant Vietnam House in Ho Chi Minh City. Watch the full series at: https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/southeast-asia

Phillipe Le Bourhis is general manager at Hotel des Arts Saigon, MGallery Hotel, in Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam and talks about his hospitality philosophy and serving sustainable meals to his international guests. The hotel includes two restaurants – the Saigon Kitchen, which serves buffet-style dining, and the Albion, which serves modern British cuisine. Watch the full series at: https://www.plantforwar...

Goi buoi, or Vietnamese pomelo salad, is a refreshing blend of juicy pomelo, mint, chili, crunchy fried shallots and toasted peanuts. Pomelos are the largest member of the citrus fruit family, and a Southeast Asian cousin of the grapefruit. Executive Chef Benoit Leloup and Junior Sous Chef, Hoang Long from Hotel des Arts Saigon show Chef Mai Pham from Lemon Grass Restaurant in Sacramento, CA how t...

These vegetarian gỏi cuốn or fresh Vietnamese spring rolls contain rice vermicelli noodles, mushrooms, herbs and vegetables in a rice paper wrapper. They are served with a peanut dipping sauce. Executive Chef Benoit Leloup and Junior Sous Chef, Hoang Long from Hotel des Arts Saigon show Chef Mai Pham from Lemon Grass Restaurant in Sacramento, CA how they make this delicious appetizer. Watch the fu...

This Vietnamese vegetable curry is made with coconut milk, red curry paste, lemongrass, fried tofu, and eggplant. The curry’s toppings include peanuts, fried shallots, shaved raw onions, fresh herbs and a rice cracker. Executive Chef Benoit Leloup and Junior Sous Chef Hoang Long from Hotel des Arts Saigon are joined by Mai Pham from Lemon Grass Restaurant to give us a lesson in Vietnamese curry fr...

Bánh cuốn are an iconic dish of Vietnam. The thin rice batter is prepared like a crepe, and filled with a mixture of ground pork, minced wood ear mushrooms, and minced shallots. The rolls are served with poached bean sprouts, herbs, cucumbers, chả lụa (Vietnamese pork sausage), with nước chấm dipping sauce. Chef Mai Pham of Lemon Grass Restaurant is joined by Executive Chef Benoit Leloup, Hotel de...

Explore the best food stalls at Vietnam’s Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Min City with Chef Mai Pham of Lemon Grass Restaurant and Executive Chef Benoit Leloup from Hotel des Arts Saigon. They try bún thịt nướng, or noodles with grilled meat at Xuân Mai as well as shrimp on sugar cane, both served in fresh and aromatic herbs.  Watch the full series at: https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/southeast-asi...

Chef Mai Pham of Lemon Grass Restaurant is joined by Executive Chef Benoit Leloup, Hotel des Arts Saigon to tour Ben Thanh Market in Hồ Chí Minh City in Vietnam. They stop at Xuan Mai for some prawn bun, we see the proper way to enjoy Vietnamese spring rolls, and enjoy some freshly squeezed juices. Watch the full series at: https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/southeast-asia

The central market of Hồ Chí Minh City in Vietnam, Ben Thanh Market has over 1,500 booths selling items ranging from fresh produce, juices, and food, to apparel and fabric. Chef Mai Pham of Lemon Grass Restaurant is joined by Executive Chef Benoit Leloup, Hotel des Arts Saigon to tour the market’s fresh produce. Chef Mai shows us the specialty herbs of the Vietnamese kitchen, including red perilla...

Vietnamese lemongrass tofu with peanuts is intensely flavorful and harnesses the fresh, citrusy notes of lemongrass. Mai Pham from Lemon Grass Restaurant in Sacramento, CA shows us how she makes this dish, and thinks that whether you love or hate tofu, you will love this dish! Watch the full series at: https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/southeast-asia

While very rare in western recipes, in Vietnamese cooking, mixing tofu with an animal protein is very common, and makes a great combination of flavors and textures. Chef Mai Pham from Lemon Grass Restaurant in Sacramento, CA shows us how to make this traditional Vietnamese clay pot with shrimp and tofu. Chef Mai explains that a chảo đất or clay pot dish, is an important part of a Vietnamese family...

Chef Mai Pham from Lemon Grass Restaurant in Sacramento, CA, makes a classic Vietnamese dish: Gỏi Gá or Vietnamese chicken salad with tofu and peanuts. With crispy cabbage, herbs, and a tangy dressing, this salad is refreshing and delicious. Watch the full series at: https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/southeast-asia

Chef Yen Nguyen serves only vegetarian food at her Temple Restaurant at Buddhist Vĩnh Nghiêm Pagoda in Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam. She shares some of her most popular dishes with Chef Mai Pham from Lemon Grass Restaurant. Her peanut stir-fry, seaweed fried rice, fried mushrooms, lemongrass tofu, and spring rolls are the biggest hits on her menu. Watch the full series at: https://www.plantforwardkitc...

Chef Cam Van and Mai Pham show us how to make a vegan version of Vietnamese pho. This deeply flavorful and carefully balanced vegetable broth is made with charred onions and garlic, salted radish, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, coriander, fennel, and cloves. The broth is ladled over fried tofu, oyster mushrooms, vegetarian tofu “sausage,” and rice noodles. Nguyen Dzoan Cam Van is a household name...

Chef Cam Van shows us how to make a classic Vietnamese dish -- Vietnamese clay pot with tofu and peanuts -- which she prepares with Chef Mai Pham from Lemon Grass Restaurant. Ordained as a Buddhist monk in 2019, Nguyen Dzoan Cam Van has since focused on teaching vegetarian cooking. The Spice Garden is a cooking school in Củ Chi, a rural district of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam where Cam Van now tea...

These vegan Vietnamese spring rolls are filled with sautéed jicama, fried tofu, mint, perilla, and sautéed radishes, and served with a peanut dipping sauce. Chef Cam Van shows us how to make this popular Vietnamese street food, which she prepares with Chef Mai Pham from Lemon Grass Restaurant. Ordained as a Buddhist monk in 2019, Nguyen Dzoan Cam Van has since focused on teaching vegetarian cookin...

Nguyen Dzoan Cam Van is a household name in Vietnam, and considered Vietnam's "national chef" for her role on her popular cooking show “Kheo Tay Hay Lam.” The famous cooking teacher was ordained as a Buddhist monk in 2019, and she has since focused on teaching vegetarian cooking. The Spice Garden is a cooking school in Củ Chi, a rural district of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam where Cam Van now teach...

In The Plant-Forward Kitchen: Southeast Asia, we explore the bold, aromatic cuisines of Vietnam and Thailand — where plant-forward traditions are deeply rooted in everyday meals. Southeast Asian cuisine has long embraced plant-forward principles, drawing from its Buddhist roots that promote compassion for all living beings and encourage followers to adopt an occasional or ongoing vegetarian diet....