Ăn Chung: Loving in Vietnamese

We are delighted to offer signed copies for a limited time.

“Ăn chung” is Vietnamese for “eat together." Created by Brooklyn-born illustrator Vanessa Nguyen, this slender, vibrant book is about the expression of love through food and cooking.

It was originally a 42-copy risograph-printed edition, one copy of which is now in the collection of the Thomas J. Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Our copies are from a later, still small, printing, each of them signed and dated by the artist.

Nguyen pairs recipes for everyday dishes such as nươc mâm—the dipping sauce used with many Vietnamese dishes—and thit khô—caramelized pork belly—with commentary on how they are eaten and with whom. Their instructions are often quite tactile as well as touchingly intimate.

And of course there is Nguyen’s art, playful, joyful, inviting.

Staplebound paperback. Color illustrations throughout.