Tu David Phu recalls the time when, as a culinary school student, he presented his mom with a perfectly pan-fried fish fillet to show off his new skills.
Instead of being impressed, she was horrified.
She pointed at the scraps left in the sink and asked him, “What about the rest?”
That criticism, and the wisdom behind it, stuck. He reveals how it shaped his zero-waste approach to cooking — and his pursuit to understand his heritage — in his debut cookbook, “The Memory of Taste: Vietnamese American Recipes from Phu Quoc, Oakland, and the Spaces Between” (4 Color Books, $32.50), written with Soleil Ho.
“As a chef, the dream is to have at least one dish in your repertoire that can tell your story in just a few bites,” writes Phu in the introduction for Tuna Bloodline Tartare, a recipe that elevates a typically discarded part into a tropical-flavored poke bowl.
Growing up in Oakland, California, he often ate those tasty but unattractive fish bits wrapped in nori. His parents, refugees from Phu Quoc island, were so traumatized by the nightmare of war they rarely spoke of their past. The frugal meals born of survival on the family dinner table helped Phu fill in the blanks, and are now proudly woven into his culinary identity.
Phu’s culinary career has spanned Michelin-star restaurants and the Top Chef kitchen. He now helms District One, an innovative Asian-fusion restaurant in Las Vegas, and uses his platform to advocate for food justice. His new book connects his past with the present, with recipes reminiscent of his mom’s ingenuity (Banana Flower Salad), fishing trips with his fishmonger dad (Fish Jerky), travels to Vietnam (Coconut and Fish Sauce Rice Noodle Salad) and his Bay Area pop-up days (Caviar a la Nuoc Mam).
I made — and loved — Phu’s Caramelized Pan-Fried Pork Chops, which offers the brilliant suggestion of soaking leftover macaroni in the luscious pan drippings for a side dish. Fish sauce, the pride of his parents’ homeland, is key to its savory flavor. And for Phu, it is a taste that reminds him of the resourcefulness that rises out of struggle.
Susan Puckett is a cookbook author and former food editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow her at susanpuckett.com.
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