The Culinary Institute of America

Our culinary adventure in Vietnam ends in Ho Chi Minh City, still informally known as Saigon. Ingredients and cooks from all over the country converge on this hustling city, the country’s largest, and despite Saigon’s wealth of sophisticated restaurants, there may be no more enjoyable place to eat in town than at the Ben Thanh Market. At its no-fuss food counters, diners can feast on steamed rice rolls or bun cha, (Boon Cha) grilled pork with rice noodles.

Watch the full series and find recipes at http://www.ciaprochef.com/wca/vietnam/

Fusion food is nothing new. On the streets of Vietnam, sidewalk vendors sell a popular sandwich that reflects the country’s history in every bite. Banh mi, (Bahn Mee) Vietnam’s version of a baguette sandwich, shows the obvious influence of both China and France, countries that had a long presence here. Stop at a street cart some afternoon and treat yourself to a traditional banh mi. Made on an airy baguette spread with mayonnaise—that’s the French legacy—the banh mi includes a variety of Vietnamese charcuterie, depending on the maker and the customer. Chinese-style roast pork is customary, but a French-style pâté scented with star anise may be an option, too. Secret sauces are often part of the ritual, with the Vietnamese contribution last: crunchy onions, sliced chilies, fresh herbs and pickled vegetables. Without them, it’s not banh mi.

Watch the full series and find recipes at http://www.ciaprochef.com/wca/vietnam/

The slender, serpentine profile of Vietnam extends nearly 1,000 miles from north to south, but measures just thirty miles across at its narrowest. Bordered by China to the north, and Laos and Cambodia to the west, this lengthy country can boast an astonishing range of landscapes and climates. In the chilly north, near the China border, tribal people inhabit spectacular mountains known as the Tonkinese Alps (TAWN-Kin-Ease). In the cool central highlands, coffee plantations thrive, while in the tropical south, banana trees lurk in the lush jungle valleys and miles of pristine beaches draw vacationers to the coast.

Watch the full series and find recipes at http://www.ciaprochef.com/wca/vietnam/

It is hardly an exaggeration to say that Vietnam runs on rice. The humble grain is the country’s most important crop, and the major source of calories in the diet. Vietnam is the world’s second-largest rice exporter, after Thailand, a huge achievement for such a small country. Vast rice paddies blanket the nation, from the terraced highlands of the north to the fertile river valleys of the Mekong Delta. Rural people still work these verdant fields by hand, sowing, weeding and harvesting the grain according to nature’s schedule, in a cycle that defines their way of life.

Watch the full series and find recipes at http://www.ciaprochef.com/wca/vietnam/

In the early morning hours, on side streets and street corners, Hanoi’s hard-working cooks begin setting up their pho stations. A soup, a meal, a national treasure—pho is a widespread addiction. Many Vietnamese start the day with a steaming bowl of this divine noodle soup. Often mispronounced, but immediately appreciated, pho is pronounced like “fur” with a soft “r.” Once the broth is prepared, it takes only seconds to assemble—and not much longer to eat. Truly, pho is a fast food that even a dietitian can love.

Watch the full series and find recipes at http://www.ciaprochef.com/wca/vietnam/

Back in his restaurant, Il Cociniero, in the hotel Katane Palace, Carmelo shows us how to make one of Sicily’s most important dishes: A baroque caponata. . . and caponata is one of the signature dishes of Sicily, made with eggplant, and peppers, and tomatoes, and many other ingredients depending on where in Sicily you find yourself. A baroque caponata has a lot more ingredients and. . . we’ll find out what they are. It’s a dish, Carmelo says, that brings together all the different influences on Sicilian cuisine, Arab, Norman, Spanish, and products that arrived after the discovery of America. No one knows what the word caponata means, but it’s related to pisto from Madrid and ratatouille from France in which there’s also this play between vegetables and agrodolce—sweet-sour. There are many variations, a winter version that uses vegetables from the mountains, a spring version that uses asparagus and peas, there’s a version that includes lamb, and even a version that adds lobster to the dish. This is a noble version, a late summer version, that requires 16 hours of preparation. It’s flavored with fresh mint, a little bit of raw garlic, and a few fried capers. Some people add green olives, and some add a little anchovy. What makes it baroque is the addition of other ingredients, like black eggs or drunken eggs, hardboiled eggs marinated in a mixture of 70% red wine and 30% aged wine vinegar; chocolate; and then I add certain seafoods, like these red shrimp, an anchovy, and a few mussels.

Watch the full series and find recipes at http://www.ciaprochef.com/WCA/Sicily/

This is the Mediterranean, in the old language it meant the middle of the world “medi-terranea” – and that’s what it was for the ancients, the very center of the known world. Today it’s a delectable center of the culinary world, and at the center of that center is Sicily, right in the heart of the Mediterranean, the largest island, one of the most beautiful places and one of the most exciting regions – where it’s possible to experience the whole delicious panoply of what Mediterranean cuisine is all about.

Watch the full series and find recipes at http://www.ciaprochef.com/WCA/Sicily/

It’s an extraordinary thing to us visitors, but in Sicily, ordinary people, trattoria cooks, home cooks, diners in simple restaurants, even school children, expect to find the quality and seasonality and variety that high-end restaurants take for granted.

Watch the full series and find recipes at http://www.ciaprochef.com/WCA/Sicily/