Recipes from My Home Kitchen: Asian and American Comfort Food from the Winner of MasterChef Season 3 on FOX: A Cookbook Hardcover – May 14, 2013

One thing I picked up right away from watching Christine Ha, and rooting for her to win the third Season of MasterChef, I wanted "her" cookbook! I knew from the way the judges reacted, and how she tasted everything at many stages in the preparation process that the food would be great. It had been long enough now after the third season, so I thought I'd check the "Zon", to see if the book was out. Sure enough it was, and wow a stunning achievement for a cook book. Every recipe in the book has a paragraph or two, telling a story about her history with the dish. A list of ingredients is provided, and a very concise, but complete explanation on how to combine the ingredients. There are occasional tips to improve or substitute for the dish. The book also has a running theme called "My Last Meal", where she discusses her favorites in some detail.The book also forms a picture bit by bit of Christine's life, the inspirational food cooked by her late mother whom she lost at age 14, sadly leaving no written record of her recipes. Christine herself is blind, and I didn't learn till I bought the book it happened in her 20's after she'd graduated from college. Further, that she was not a cook who'd learned at her mothers apron strings, which I'd imagined on the show, but had gone off to college with as she tells it, three recipes. "Scrambled eggs with toast, frozen pizza, and instant ramen". It was after college having to make for herself that she started to work with recipes, learned about cooking, found it fun, and then cooked for family gatherings.A crisis in her life, almost convinced her to give up on cooking (an eye condition that caused her blindness), but through training and therapy to function as an unsighted person, she learned to cook all over again. This time, the lack of one sense, gave her an extraordinary means of creating delicious food. Gordon Ramsey, is known to be a big proponent of cooks having a sharp palate, being able to recognize tastes, how different spices and base foods can be blended in a pleasing manner. I think he judged Christine to be quite superior in that regard. It's debatable, whether she'd have become this great, had she not lost her vision, but as they say "when one door closes...."The recipes in the book are varied, some are very simple, yet quite good, and others medium to complex. Everything I've made so far I've liked, and often have been a theme on something I've made before, but her taste adjustments could make it taste better. I made the clam chowder, but substituted canned clams for live, and it was still great. The bacon, which I never would have thought of, did the dish wonders. I learned a new technique in burger making, in the mushroom and onion burger recipe. That is, keeping the mixture loose creates a better, more tender burger, and while this is commonly known, I guess I hadn't read enough of the old boring recipe books I have, to know that!I didn't realize how easy it was to make a good soup, the complete explanation of how to blanch, and peel the tomatoes, and how long to cook everything, helped me make a tomato soup to die for! Some of the recipes called for things like fish sauce, white pepper and Maggi sauce, which I had a hard time finding. I was able to substitute in some cases, to give the recipe my own touch. For instance, the tomatoes soup, I had no fish sauce for the base flavoring, so I used Hondashi, a Japanese base for sushi rice, and miso soup. Sometimes made from Benito flakes, a kind of tuna, I had both the flakes, and the instant. I used the instant, and it worked fine.Some of Christine's stir fry dishes inspired me to make my own rendition of Konkatsu, a Japanese pork cutlet with rice bowl. Christine's heritage is Vietnamese, but there are some similarities in Asian dishes. I make a good recipe for breaded fried chicken breast, that I often top a salad with. Using an all-purpose flour, I add chipotle pepper, cummin seed, curry powder, garlic salt, paprika, and Old Bay seasoning to the flour, and mix it up good. Then I roll a hammer-flattened chicken breast in the mixture to coat, then roll that in a raw beaten egg, and finally in standard breadcrumbs, or in Panko crumbs. Then, I heat some oil to 350 on the stove, and grill both sides turning with tongs; I try and keep it to four turns. Lastly, I put the breaded fried chicken breast on paper towels to soak up the oil. This can be served by itself or on top a salad with your favorite dressing. My brother is my main critic, and he said it could be served in a five-star restaurant, since he complains about every little thing he doesn't like, I can give him some trust here! Back to my own inspiration, I used this technique, and some others in Christine's noodle section, to enhance my Konkatsu, from the blending of two different soy sauces, to my own touch of caramelizing the onions first with sautéed mushrooms, the dish became rich and flavorful. My brother complained the pork was a bit tough, so I'll have to learn better how to tenderize next time, but everything else was great.To Christine, I say thank you for the wonderful and very readable cookbook; I welcomed a chance to enjoy your recipes. I think you are going to sell well, so now that you're not in a hurry to capitalize on your victory, take your time and compile another set of recipes. There are so many theme cookbooks out there, despite comments from other reviewers, don't fall into that trap. I liked the blending of Asian, mid-American, and American Southwest recipes. The theme for your books should be "special tastes", as you use your gift to make great tasting food. Good luck and keep up the good work.

I was one of the ones glued to the TV during Season 3 of "Masterchef" - and mostly because of the intriguing allure of one young contestant, Christine Ha. I was as blown away as everyone else when she came out that first time, aided by a white cane and a helper; and my thoughts were the same as Gordon Ramsay's: what about hot stoves and sharp knives? (Ms Ha unfortunately lost her sight as a young adult.)Was I ever wrong. Ms Ha set about proving to the world that she has what it takes to deliver world-class dishes - in the same amount of time as chefs with the advantage of sight. I watched her as she went about whacking together great food in an unhurried, confident manner, using all her other senses to produce toothsome, wonderful food that the three judges - Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich, and Graham Elliott - almost universally went into raptures over. Ms Ha beat out not only thousands of initial applicants, but the final core group of 50 really good home chefs, to become the winner of Season 3 - a monumental accomplishment for anyone, much less a chef working with what would seem to be a huge disability.As Gordon Ramsay points out, however, it almost seemed as though Ms Ha's lack of sight was an advantage, as she was able to zero in on elements that other chefs obviously missed - taste, temperature, and composition. Her plates were exquisitely composed; she rarely screwed up at all noticeably; and she wowed the judges routinely.I had to wait quite a while for her cookbook to be available, but I received it yesterday, and I can't wait to try some of the recipes. Presented in an easy-to-read format and without a lot of extraneous filler, she gives us delectable-looking dishes like Candied Bacon (easy and oh-so-attractive), Ketchup Fried Rice (sounds pretty basic, but looks yummy), Sour Prawn Soup (my next recipe to try), and Buttermilk Fried Chicken (you want to eat the page). Most recipes that have a likeness to a Vietnamese recipe carry the Vietnamese name for it as well as the American name; there is a glossary of terms, also, at the end of the book. Some mention has been made of why fairly common recipes like some of the Italian ones (Spaghetti and Meatballs) were included, but I think any recipe that received the reaction that came from the three star judges that these did certainly earned a spot in Ms Ha's book; and it is, anyway, a FIRST cookbook. If she is anything like as dynamic a person as she appears to be, I'm betting there will be more, and anyway, she strives for simplicity and for attainable recipes and ingredients that anyone can find and do.Ms Ha attributes her success, mainly, to her mother, whom she lost when Christine was only 14,sadly. Her real success, however, comes from her indomitable spirit in overcoming serious obstacles to shine her star out above the pack. How wonderful it was to see her in action, producing such wonderful food. How great it was to see her win. I hope we continue to see her prove Gordon Ramsay and the others right for years and years to come.

I been on the lookout for a good cookbook to learn some veitnamese cooking. But all thats in her cookbook somewhat close is her ketchup fried rice recipe. I was rooting for Christine the whole time on Masterchef.I'm just to picky of an eater to try some of the things in this cookbook.I was just expecting a cookbook to learn how to cook fried rice, lomein maybe even Tao chicken and things like that, things that people from Acadiana aren't familiar with cooking.

You ROCKED Master Chef competition! I am just now watching the show and then when I saw, in a guest appearance, you had a book, I knew I wanted it. But what really brought it home to buy it was when I saw you had a ketchup fried rice recipe. lol We eat lots of rice and I have one son who want to put ketchup on everything. Drives me crazy but he is only 12 years old. Looking forward to making it.

I bought this book for a friend as a birthday present because she is a fan of Christine ever since the MC auditions period. I am a passionate cook myself, so thought I'd see what it's like and if I love it I'd order one more for myself. I haven't had a chance to cook all the recipes from it, but what I noticed is that Christine has put a lot of effort into making it a cookbook of a lifetime. It is easy to follow, has many stories of each dish that you could share at dinner parties and there is a touch of something special about the book. I loved the flavours as well as the fact that I have seen some of those dishes in making and was very curious to know the recipe.I have dropped one star for the organisation of the book. Although the illustrations and the layouts are very appealing and inspiring, the way the book is broken into chapters is not the most convenient if you decide to create a whole menu out of it.

I loved watching Christine at MC and her story is truly amazing and inspiring. And beyond!Was really happy to buy the book and get into her culinary world. While the book is good quality and with a lot of recipes none of them truly stood out for me or were very new to see. Also how the recipes are sectioned is a bit confusing ...however it is always easy to criticise...for a new cook or someone trying to try something new but not very adventurous in the kitchen this would be a good start.

After seeing Christine on Masterchef US i was looking forward to reading her recipes.This is a high quality, very usable cookbook. Simple process to follow recipes, but i was particularly impressed with the way her personal story was told throughout.I would definitely recommend this book, and look forward to seeing Christine's future publications as she is a true inspiration to all those touched by disability

Amerikanisierte Vietnam-Küche. Viele Rezepte lassen das Wasser im Mund zusammenlaufen. Man muss die Rezepte nicht sklavisch mit Zutaten und Abmesungen nachkochen, es ist Raum für eigene Ideen. Beim Umgang mit dem Buch snd gute Englischkenntnisse und eine Kenntnis der amerikanischen Gewichtseinheiten nützlich. Außer mit den Kochrezepten beeindruckt die Autorin mit ihrer Persönlichkeit. Sie wurde als Erwachsene blind, ergab sich nicht ihrem Schicksal und überzeugte mit ihren Auftritten bei Kochwettbewerben, als Foodbloggerin und als Autorin. Ganz bestimmt ein Vorbild in jeder Hinsicht.

Pros:Simple meals easy to prepare at homeNo weird or hard to find ingredients, regular pantry itemsClear instructions, well writtenLots of colour pictures of recipesCons:Print is very light. Have to be close to book to read instructions. This is an annoyance when cooking.