“A lifetime of traveling, talking and eating throughout the country may not be enough to discover all that Vietnam has to share”.
(Luke Nguyen, The Food of Vietnam)
Hi, I’m Sophie and welcome to Delightful Plate! The world probably doesn’t need another food blog, so I appreciate you visiting us here.
My life partner and I created this blog, first of all, as a place to document all the fun we have in the kitchen. Both he and I love good food and enjoy trying new things in the kitchen, whether it’s a new ingredient, new knife or new kitchen appliance. To some extent, this blog is like a diary that allows us to record our life experiences and look back on them later.
The second reason we created Delightful Plate is we want to showcase Vietnamese cuisine, which has much more to offer than just pho noodle soup and banh mi. Creating contents for Delightful Plate is a great experience through which both of us re-discover our Vietnamese heritage.
Through the blog, we hope to preserve the authenticity of Vietnamese cuisine. We also hope we can help you recreate the dishes you love and connect you with Vietnamese culture more.
What you will find on Delightful Plate
You will find both traditional and modern Vietnamese recipes here. I hope through my recipes, you will have better understanding of not only Vietnamese cuisine but also Vietnamese culture. We were both born in Vietnam, so you can trust us that we know what we are talking about when we say “authentic”.
Besides Vietnamese dishes, Delightful Plate will sometimes have recipes inspired by flavors and ingredients from other cuisines. I went to the U.K. for postgraduate study and subsequently moved to the U.S, which has given me access to many new ingredients, spices, and kitchen appliances as well as chances to try many international dishes. We love to cook food from other cuisines at home.
Writing is not my forte and English is not my mother tongue, so I often worry if my posts are well-written enough. I started the blog with the thought that I need to keep my posts concise and straight to the point. In each post, I try my best to describe the cooking process and how the dish tastes.
I will also share my thought process for the recipe as well as useful/meaningful information such as the origin of the dish or characteristics of ingredients. I apologize in advance if I sound too boring, but don’t hesitate to let me know that so I can improve.
What you will not find on Delightful Plate
There are certain things I try to eat in a small amount if possible. They are dairy, refined sugar and highly-processed food. They sadly give me terrible mood swings and skin issues. Moreover, I believe in the importance of eating fresh and nutrient-dense food, so I mostly use natural and wholesome ingredients in my recipes.
I don’t follow any food trend. What I share on Delightful Plate is what my partner and I genuinely enjoy eating.
We do have Amazon affiliate links and ads to offset the costs of running a website. However, we don’t do sponsored posts. Everything we write on the blog is what we think, and we pay for all ingredient costs and travel costs ourselves.
Thank you so much for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy spending time at Delightful Plate! We also have a travel site at delightfultravelnotes.com where we share comprehensive travel guides, unbiased reviews, and insider tips for an authentic travel experience.
Sophie
Victor Ratner
I just wanted to ask you about arriving in the Six Senses in Ninh Van Bay in early October.
Are the chances of a rough sea lesser in the morning than in the late afternoon?
I’m concerned about my wife for the 20 minutes speed boat ride from the dock in Nah Trang to the resort. she has problems with motion sickness.
You’re advise would be greatly appreciated
Sophie
Hi Victor,
I’m so sorry I won’t be able to tell whether the morning ride will be less rough than in the afternoon. We’ve always arrived or left the resort in late morning or around noon. Has your wife been on a speedboat before?
The speedboat ride will always have some bumps because it rides on the water at high speed. I remember the trip to the resort is usually rougher than the return trip. Six senses NVB has several speedboats with different seat configurations. Some boats have passengers sit parallel to the moving direction, while some boats have people sit perpendicular to the direction. You can email or call the resort to see if they can offer any insights, such as where to sit on the speedboat. I think the front tends to be bumpier, but I’m not sure 100%.
Lola
Thank you for your blog. I’m rediscovering my true Viet heritage and authentic foods that’s NOT chinese!
Kit Harrison
Made the bahn mi sandwich…. absolutely delicious! Very easy to prepare and cook. Looking forward to try more Vietnamese recipies. Thank you
Meaghan
Hello!
Reaching out because I manage the Weee! affiliate program and thought that you might be a good partner for them. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with affiliate marketing but it would basically involve you linking out to their products, and whenever your readers make a purchase, you would receive a commission. To start, we would be able to offer you $10 for every new customer you drive to the Weee! site.
If you are not familiar with them, Weee! is the leading Asian and Hispanic e-grocer in the U.S. that sources and delivers products directly to customers. More than 3,500 products are offered across 13 categories. Weee! is on a mission to enable affordable access to groceries for every home in North America, Weee! helps customers discover everyday staples sourced locally and hard-to-find goods from around the globe, with a new standard for freshness and value.
Let me know if this is something you would be interested in exploring!
Thanks,
Meaghan
Monica Riske
Sophie,
I am a “newer” blogger and just found your recipe and blog through Pinterest. Thank you for sharing your delightful recipes and life! I will be back for sure and I hope, from one blogger to another, that you will be okay with my sharing a recipe? I will give you full credit of course! I recently made your recipe, Asian Steak Bites with Potatoes, and it was fantastic and our entire family just loved it!
yvonne scordato
Hello Sophie,
Thank you for Delightful Plate. I am a Vietnamese American and these recipes are connecting me to my roots. I was wondering will you be publishing a actual book (not ebook)? I would love to have a hard copy to have.
Sophie
Hi Yvonne,
I’m sorry for my late reply. I took a week off to spend time with my family during the Lunar New Year celebration, and then tried to catch up with work after that. Thank you so much for the comment. I’m really glad my recipes help connect you with the Vietnamese roots!
At this moment, I haven’t published any physical cookbooks yet. So sorry about that. I think at some point, I will eventually look into self-publishing a cookbook and maybe find extra help with editing and proofreading. Just the ebook took quite a lot of time, so the physical book will be a lot more work :). I’m already happy knowing that you would like to have a copy if I can manage to have it done. Thank you! In the meantime, I hope you will continue browsing recipes that are on my site.
Sophie
dan nguyen
Hello!
Keep going Sophie! I am enjoying & interesting your DelightfullPlate!
I’m Vietnamese also and love to cook!
Enjoy cooking and eating!
Justin
I love your website—not just the recipes but your writing. I spent over 20 years working as an English-language editor and proofreader. Your writing (and editing) is first-rate. Most food magazine writers and editors could learn much from you.