Shall I make a pot of pho?
We are not vegetarians, but I have been brought up to love my vegetables.
Growing up, my mum featured all our meals around herbs, fruits, and vegetables.
We will have fried fish because tomatoes are in season, along with tofu and grilled eggplant.
Family meals or eating together is hugely paramount in the Vietnamese culture.
Casual talk about the food youve enjoyed or about to delight in is popular chit-chat.
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That small talk embarks on all sorts of meaning and affiliations as true feelings are rarely spoken.
My mumsingswhen she talks about food.
I have found some, she would say in a more daring voice.
Shall I make a soup or shall I fry it with garlic?
This is a gift for Olive [my daughter].
Smell it, go on, smell it…. Victorious, she would chant, Ngon qua troi ngon!
(So delicious, heavenly delicious.)
My mum and her friends were the only Vietnamese people I knew growing up in London.
The beauty and deliciousness of their dishes mirror the compassion and affection that are often suppressed inside them.
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Unsurprisingly, my mums life revolves around food.
The conversation only ever starts with, Have you eaten yet?
The secret to good Vietnamese cooking is: the herbs and vegetables that elevate a dish.
This is what makes Vietnamese a brilliant cuisine and one of the most delicious.
Whilst, the color entices, and brings joy and pleasure.
And when a friend discovered that they sold fresh pandan leaves in Chinatown, they threw everyones birthday parties.
And when supermarkets started to stock honeyed mango and green papaya, the parties got more and more elaborate.
But at the same time, how I loved it.
But at the same time, how I loved it.
She squeezed every last drop of the first fresh lime she got hold of since we left Vietnam.
They even rubbed their hands and conditioned their hair with the leftover rind of limes.
Nothing ever went to waste.
It is the flavor of home and the flavor of her love.
Excerpted with permission from Vietnamese Vegetarian by Uyen Luu, published by Hardie Grant, May 2023.
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