Somehow "avocado smoothie" sounds less bizarre than "avocado milkshake," but that's essentially what we're talking about here—an avocado whirled with sugar and milk that turns out the prettiest shade of pale green. Could this replace our favorite avocado-centric breakfast? Or, hey, pass for dessert? More

In episode 10 of "Luke Nguyen's Vietnam," the chef and traveler sits down to eat trứng vịt lộn, a duck embryo (also known as balut). He doesn't treat it as exotic, or weird, or Extreme. He just describes it to his viewers, savors it, and moves on. It's this spirit of genuine discovery and appreciation that we love about the Australian chef and his program, which we can't recommend enough. If you're squeamish, don't worry, this isn't really a show about "bizarre" foods; it's about culture and heritage, a passion for Vietnam's people and landscape, and fresh, simple ingredients and recipes. More

Called nam pla in Thailand and nuoc mam in Vietnam, fish sauce is an essential seasoning ingredient in many Southeast Asian dishes. And what a seasoning it is! This reddish-brown liquid sauce smells as pungent as a fishing dock, and packs a powerful savory punch. Do you have a bottle in your pantry? More

Even if you aren't traveling far this summer, you can take a trip through Asia right in your own kitchen. Here are 15 of our favorite Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese dishes for warm weather, including refreshing salads, barbecue crowd pleasers, and quick-cooking dinners. More

Poking around the fridge and pantry the other day, I unearthed several ingredients from my boyfriend's heritage (Korean kimchi) and my own (Vietnamese noodles and rice paper wrappers) and I wondered, why not combine them into one dish? This is a little twist on the traditional Vietnamese gơi cuốn, or summer rolls, filled with fresh vegetables, golden tofu, and the spicy, tangy crunch of pickled cabbage. Plenty of sesame oil and a dipping sauce with chili powder provide a robust Korean kick. The verdict? We wished we had doubled the recipe! More

It's always fun to find a new culinary rabbit hole to jump down. While cruising the interwebs, we ran across a recipe for chai tea gelatin which was a spin off from a Vietnamese coffee gelatin. Following recipes as they morph from one thing to another is always fascinating and while these two recipes are very similar, they have very different tastes! More

Last night I realized that, for the first time in my adult life, I will be moving into an apartment with a real dining room. This is big news! I'm saying farewell to coffee table dining and crowded potlucks and hello to proper dinner parties. So, while I share my fellow Kitchn writers' love of outdoor parties, I'm dreaming of the first dinner party inside my new home… More

Whenever I need a specific ingredient such as curry leaves, Thai basil, or really fresh and low-cost meat and seafood, I head to Duc Loi Asian Supermarket in San Francisco's Mission District. More

Compared to the curled quills of most cinnamon and cassia varieties, the rough, flat bark of Vietnamese cassia-cinnamon might seem inelegant, but the flavor is something quite remarkable. Sweet, spicy, and robust, it's the cinnamon we reach for most often when cooking anything from baked goods to phở. More

Oh boy. Out of all the Dungeness crab dishes I've cooked lately, my boyfriend says this one is his favorite. It's made with lots of ginger, some garlic, cilantro, and a little bit of soy sauce, and it's so fragrant. The seasonings pair so well with the delicate, succulent crab. I like to cook some Asian noodles with this and use them to soak up the leftover seasonings. More