The Culinary Institute of America

Fresh coconut is one of the mainstays of the market. Young coconut, which hasn’t formed a hairy shell yet, is sweet and juicy, and vendors shave it on the spot for use in salads or for a quick snack. Note the clever knife, with its central slit, used to shave fruits and vegetables. It’s the Vietnamese version of a mandoline, and you can pick one up at the market. Download Podcast Video

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/

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/ Download Podcast Video

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. Download Podcast Video

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/

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/ Download Podcast Video

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. Download Podcast Video

For a closeup look at southern Vietnamese cooking, let’s join Mai Pham on a visit to her grandmother and aunt in the village of Quoi Son (Kway son) near the city of My Tho (My Toe). Mai and her aunt will prepare a Southern-style meal featuring water spinach seared with garlic over a brisk wood fire; puffy, fire-roasted rice paper sheets; fluffy steamed rice from the local rice fields, and a rustic dish Mai learned from her aunt. As with much of the best cooking, there’s a secret ingredient.

For a closeup look at southern Vietnamese cooking, let’s join Mai Pham on a visit to her grandmother and aunt in the village of Quoi Son (Kway son) near the city of My Tho (My Toe). Mai and her aunt will prepare a Southern-style meal featuring water spinach seared with garlic over a brisk wood fire; puffy, fire-roasted rice paper sheets; fluffy steamed rice from the local rice fields, and a rustic dish Mai learned from her aunt. As with much of the best cooking, there’s a secret ingredient. Download Podcast Video

For a closeup look at southern Vietnamese cooking, let’s join Mai Pham on a visit to her grandmother and aunt in the village of Quoi Son (Kway son) near the city of My Tho (My Toe). Mai and her aunt will prepare a Southern-style meal featuring water spinach seared with garlic over a brisk wood fire; puffy, fire-roasted rice paper sheets; fluffy steamed rice from the local rice fields, and a rustic dish Mai learned from her aunt. As with much of the best cooking, there’s a secret ingredient.Download Podcast Video

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/

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/ Download Podcast Video

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.Download Podcast Video

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/ Download Podcast Video

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/