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memoir

Mango and Peppercorns + Vietnamese Macaroni and Cheese

March 16, 2021 by Megan 2 Comments

Mango and Peppercorns is a memoir told collaboratively from three perspectives — that of Tung Ngyuen, a Vietnamese immigrant; of Kathy Manning, an American who sponsored Tung; and Lyn, Tung’s daughter, born in Miami, where Tung and Kathy lived. It is a memoir not only of the immigrant experience (from both sides) but of food and family as well. Together, Tung and Kathy opened a successful, award-winning restaurant.

Mango and Peppercorns
Available on Bookshop.org and Amazon

This memoir is a great reminder of the opportunities that American can provide and the successes immigrants can realize when given the right support. The alternating points of view made the story whole and demonstrated that all relationships — even those that are long-lasting and loving — have their conflicts. 

Throughout the book, recipes were included. The one I chose to include may seem like an odd choice, but I loved that it embodied the combination of Vietnamese heritage and American culture shared throughout the book. This macaroni and cheese is one that Tung made for Lyn, who as a younger girl preferred American food over her mother’s traditional Vietnamese cooking — yes, the cooking that made Tung an acclaimed chef. But, as Lyn realizes in retrospect, sometimes children don’t always appreciate what’s in front of them until it’s no longer there. 

Anyway, Tung tried to bring some Vietnamese flavors to a very traditional American dish, primarily by adding fish sauce and Accent flavoring. I didn’t end up including Accent flavoring because my local supermarket didn’t have any and I didn’t have time to run to the Asian market, so that may have affected my experience with the recipe. 

It was really easy to make: start by boiling macaroni. Meanwhile, in a skillet, melt some butter, brown onions and garlic and add ground beef, cooking until browned. To that, add fish sauce and salt (and Accent flavoring). 

Ground Beef

Once the macaroni is finished, drain and rinse in cold water. Add the ground beef mixture and stir to mix. Pour it into a 9x13 pan — I found deep dish was best — and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Cover in foil and bake until the cheese is melted.

Vietnamese macaroni and cheese

I really loved the idea of this macaroni more than the finished product. I didn’t think the fish sauce was enough to bring out that flavor. I also didn’t like how the cheese was just melted on the top and not incorporated throughout. (I prefer a creamy macaroni and cheese myself.) To me, the dish honestly tasted like ground beef with noodles and some cheese. 

That said, I’m sure the Accent flavoring would’ve made a huge difference! I may experiment again with more fish sauce and creating more of a cheese sauce than just sprinkling it on top before baking.

I sort of wish I had chosen one of the many many more traditional Vietnamese recipes Tung serves at the restaurant, but honestly, a lot of them had ingredients that are hard to find here. They all sounded absolutely mouth-watering though! 

Vietnamese macaroni and cheese inspired by Mango and Peppercorns
Vietnamese macaroni and cheese
Print Recipe

Vietnamese Macaroni and Cheese

Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Total Time35 mins
Course: Main Course

Ingredients

  • 1 lb elbow macaroni or 3 cups
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter
  • 6 medium garlic cloves minced
  • ½ medium sweet onion chopped
  • 2 lbs ground beef
  • 2 tsp fish sauce
  • ½ tsp Accent Flavor Enhancer optional
  • ¼ tsp kosher salt
  • 4 cups shredded Colby-Jack cheese

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350-degrees F, with rack in the middle position.
  • Meanwhile, cook the macaroni according to the package directions. Rinse with cold water and set aside.
  • In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat, add the onions and garlic, stirring occasionally until lightly browned. Add the ground beef, breaking it up with a wooden spoon or spatula.
  • Lower the heat to low, stir in the fish sauce, Accent (if using), salt and cook for about 2 minutes. Raise the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally to incorporate the juices, until the beef is cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
  • Off the heat, stir in the reserved cooked macaroni, then transfer the mixture to a 9x13 pan. Scatter the cheese evenly across the top. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil, leaving some space between the top of the macaroni and the foil. Bake until the cheese is melted, 10-15 minutes.

Notes

From: Tung Nguyen in Mango and Peppercorns
If you had a deep 9x13 baking dish that would work best. When I used a regular one, it was too full to cover without the foil touching the cheese on top. The original recipe said to bake for 5-10 minutes but my cheese took closer to 15 minutes to melt, so I added additional time here.
Also, the original recipe called for 1¾ lbs of beef, but I used 2 lbs because that was what I had on-hand and didn’t want to save/waste ¼ lb of beef.

*I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This post contains affiliate links. This does not increase the price you pay, but I may receive a small commission for any products you choose to buy. Purchases made through affiliate links help to cover my blogging costs. Thank you for helping to support The Hungry Bookworm! Full disclosure here.

Filed Under: book review, recipe Tagged With: cultural, easy prep, memoir

Show Us Your Books Reading Recap — What I Read in February

March 9, 2021 by Megan 6 Comments

I’m shocked to report that I’ve already read 20 books this year! At this rate, I should probably up my 2021 reading goal, but I’m kind of loving that it can give me the luxury of finally checking out some of those reallllllly long books that have been sitting on my TBR forever — so for now I’m leaving it. This last month also gave me my first AND second 5-star reads of the year, which is awesome. Let’s dive into what I read and see if there’s any you’d like to check out.

[Read more...] about Show Us Your Books Reading Recap — What I Read in February

Filed Under: book review, of interest Tagged With: book club, book list, fiction, historical fiction, memoir, mini review, science fiction, short story, show us your books

Show Us Your Books Reading Recap — What I Read in January

February 9, 2021 by Megan 8 Comments

Happy February! I hope you’re staying warm! It’s freezing here (literally, below freezing for most of this week, according to the forecast). It’s the kind of weather that makes you want to curl up under a blanket and read a book — I would say it’s great weather for reading, but what weather isn’t, really? I read a lot of great books this month, including some long-awaited reads that didn’t disappoint. Let’s get to them!

[Read more...] about Show Us Your Books Reading Recap — What I Read in January

Filed Under: book review, of interest Tagged With: book club, book list, fiction, historical fiction, memoir, mini review, show us your books

Show Us Your Books Reading Recap — What I Read in October

November 10, 2020 by Megan 7 Comments

My reading month started off with a bang and then pretty abruptly crashed to a halt the week of Halloween. In that time, I managed to read two graphic novels and an essay collection about popular movies, but have been struggling through my current fiction read (which I’ve been working on for 13 days). Anyway, here’s a look at what I read — mostly 4-star reads and no two books alike!

[Read more...] about Show Us Your Books Reading Recap — What I Read in October

Filed Under: book review, of interest Tagged With: book club, book list, fiction, memoir, mini review, nonfiction, show us your books

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Make Me Hungry

September 1, 2020 by Megan 4 Comments

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is Books That Make Me Hungry… honestly, at this point that could almost be every book. I’m always looking for food mentions when I read; it’s the nature of the beast. A couple of years ago I participated in the topic Yummy Food Mentioned in Books, so I’ll try to avoid choosing the same ones here. Like I said there are a lot of books that make me hungry…

Let’s get to it!

[Read more...] about Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Make Me Hungry

Filed Under: of interest Tagged With: book list, books about food, cookbook, memoir, top ten tuesday

Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously + Julia Child's Beouf Bourguignon

January 15, 2019 by Megan 4 Comments

Ever since Julie & Julia hit theaters 10 years ago, it has been one of my favorite movies. Until recently, I had never read the book it was based on. Julie Powell’s memoir Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously is based on the year she spent cooking all of the recipes in Julia Child’s legendary cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking and blogging about it. Perhaps you can see why I love the story so.

Julie & Julie by Julie Powell

Not much over the course of Julie’s memoir was surprising to me, though certainly elements of it had been left out of the more streamlined movie (also paired with Julia’s life story, where Meryl Streep plays the iconic chef). I have to say, though, the book lacked the charm with which the movie nestled into my heart.

[Read more...] about Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously + Julia Child's Beouf Bourguignon

Filed Under: book review, recipe Tagged With: books about food, dinner, dinner party, meat, memoir

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