Studying up on Vietnamese cuisine

When Pat Phung moved from Vietnam to the United States as a teenager, he didn't plan on getting into the food business. But the Northeastern grad and engineer decided to switch careers when the high-tech sector started going downhill, he says. A longtime resident of Medford, Phung ran a Vietnamese restaurant in Malden for six years until opening Pho Yan nine months ago. The menu is Vietnamese and Chinese, and Phung cooks the Vietnamese dishes, like seafood steamed vermicelli patties ($11.50 ). This do-it-yourself dinner includes grilled shrimp, ground shrimp wrapped with sugar cane, ground roasted peanuts, cucumbers, and dipping sauce to roll up in rice paper. You might need engineering tips from Phung on how to keep the rice paper from tearing while you roll. Pho Yan , 38 Salem St., Medford, 781-391-1100 .-- LEIGH BELANGER