Current:Home > BackFood blogging reminds me of what I'm capable of and how my heritage is my own-InfoLens
Food blogging reminds me of what I'm capable of and how my heritage is my own
View Date:2024-12-23 15:30:50
I love to eat, but feeding others is my love language.
When I graduated from college and moved to Washington, D.C., in 2017, I left all of my friends behind. Plying new acquaintances with lavish, home-cooked meals was my best attempt at making new friends and curing my loneliness. I don't want to brag, but my food is pretty good. Soon enough, everyone was asking me for the recipes, which is how Bun Bo Bae, my Vietnamese cooking blog, came to be in 2019.
In hindsight, I've probably been destined to start a food blog. I spent most of my childhood in the kitchen with my mom. As a toddler, I'd sit and watch her cook. My sous chef duties started with just passing her the ingredients. Soon, I was measuring, steaming and stir-frying my way toward kitchen mastery. I left for college before I could learn my mom's best dishes.
In 2015 I went abroad to study in France. I was living alone — truly alone — for the first time in my life. There were no roommates, dorms or dining halls. I was on my own and I was desperately homesick. So, I started calling my mom and asking for the recipes for my favorite dishes.
It turns out, my mom doesn't have any recipes. She couldn't give me a single measurement for any dish — that wasn't the way she learned how to cook. She grew up in the kitchen with her mom too, and my grandma passed on her knowledge orally. Now it was my turn. My mom taught me how to cook intuitively and "measure with my heart." Instead of following rigid measurements, I learned to cook by tasting and feeling my food.
Bun Bo Bae was initially a space for me to put what I learned into writing. I didn't want all of the secret knowledge behind dishes like my mom's bún bò huế (a spicy beef and pork noodle soup that inspired the blog's name) or my dad's thịt băm sốt cà chua (a versatile, pork-based tomato sauce) to disappear one day if the oral tradition ended. I wanted to write down every piece of advice I was given in detail, to make sure people could keep creating these dishes as authentically as possible.
These days, I experiment more. I'm not as strict with myself about preserving and re-creating Vietnamese dishes exactly as I remember eating them. I use seasonal ingredients and substitute items when I can't find them. Some recipes, like my bò lúc lắc, or shaking beef, feel entirely my own. As my food blog and follower count grew, so did my confidence in the kitchen.
Bun Bo Bae also grew my confidence at work. I knew I was a great cook, but I had no idea how to make a website, photograph my meals or even how to arrange them to look appetizing. I taught myself social media and web building, and the skills helped me land my job at NPR, where one of my recipes was served in Sound Bites, the cafeteria. I even hosted a cooking class for my colleagues to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month.
My blog has given me a space to write about what I love on days when the news feels too depressing. It's connected me to countless new internet friends. Most importantly, writing for Bun Bo Bae has taught me that celebrating my Vietnamese American culture doesn't have to be about perfectly re-creating my parents' traditions. It's about mixing what I've been taught with my own experiences, and cooking up something entirely new.
What are you really into? Fill out this form or leave us a voice note at 800-329-4273, and part of your submission may be featured online or on the radio.
veryGood! (2231)
Related
- Why Jersey Shore's Jenni JWoww Farley May Not Marry Her Fiancé Zack Clayton
- Inmates were locked in cells during April fire that injured 20 at NYC’s Rikers Island, report finds
- Biden signs executive order targeting financial facilitators of Russian defense industry
- First child flu death of season reported in Louisiana
- King Charles III celebrates 76th birthday amid cancer battle, opens food hubs
- FDA says watch out for fake Ozempic, a diabetes drug used by many for weight loss
- Trump asking allies about possibility of Nikki Haley for vice president
- Post-flight feast: Study suggests reindeer vision evolved to spot favorite food
- Kid Rock tells fellow Trump supporters 'most of our left-leaning friends are good people'
- We buy a lot of Christmas trees (Update)
Ranking
- 'Yellowstone's powerful opening: What happened to Kevin Costner's John Dutton?
- Rare conviction against paramedics: 2 found guilty in Elijah McClain's 2019 death
- The head of Arkansas’ Board of Corrections says he’s staying despite governor’s call for resignation
- Peso Pluma bests Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny for most streamed YouTube artist of 2023
- Beyoncé nominated for album of the year at Grammys — again. Will she finally win?
- Are banks, post offices, UPS, FedEx open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2023?
- Fire breaks out at California home while armed suspect remains inside, police say
- A next big ballot fight over abortion could come to Arizona
Recommendation
-
Reese Witherspoon's Daughter Ava Phillippe Introduces Adorable New Family Member
-
The 'All Songs Considered' holiday extravaganza
-
Mega Millions winning numbers for Dec 22: Jackpot at $57 million after no winner Tuesday
-
Cuban government defends plans to either cut rations or increase prices
-
Sports are a must-have for many girls who grow up to be leaders
-
Ole Miss football lands top player in transfer portal, former Texas A&M defensive lineman
-
Peacock's Bills vs. Chargers game on Saturday will have no fourth-quarter ads
-
Olympic marathoner Molly Seidel talks weed and working out like Taylor Swift