"Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Mai Pham's book The Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking. Pham also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Pham and Vietnamese cuisine, click here. If you get invited to a traditional Vietnamese dinner, chances are you will probably be treated to this ca kho to. It is so basic and popular that in many homes (mine included) it is served almost every other day...."