From Australia to DeLand, one family is working to record decades-old recipes for generations to come.
The pressure to keep family traditions alive is a widely felt experience, particularly throughout the holiday season. The magic of childhood memories and cultural practices that shape one’s identity resonates with each of us, and we feel the need to relive those moments and pass them on to future generations. That’s why Ivy Nguyen, her three sisters and their mother sat down to preserve their most cherished traditions this year. Now, they’re sharing them with the rest of their family, many of whom live in DeLand, and with the public.
Nguyen, who lives in Australia, said that she and her three sisters realized after their grandmother passed away, that all of her recipes were lost too. The loss of a loved one was magnified by the loss of a part of their Vietnamese culture, and they understood that they might never taste those cherished childhood comfort foods again.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the family was forcibly assembled again, the sisters sat down and decided to put a stop to the loss of their family traditions.
“We didn’t want this to happen [again] when our mom passes away, that we wouldn’t be able to cook her food,” Nguyen said. “Food is just such a big thing in our culture, and it’s a really good way for us to connect with our family.”
BÁNH CUỐN — This classically delicious Vietnamese dish is made with minced pork and rice paper, alongside an accoutrement of veggies and sauces. You can buy these wrappers in most grocery stores, but Momma Nguyen makes hers from scratch.
So, they went through all of the family’s recipes with their mom, one by one, and made them together. They recorded the recipes and estimated the measurements, and even took photos of all the finished products.
As a first-generation Australian, Nguyen has a lot of reverence for her parents’ story. She said that they left Vietnam after the war, in the 1990s, and experienced some struggles as they made a new life for themselves and their family. But they always made sure that their children remained connected to their culture. Now, as adults, Nguyen realized that it’s up to her and her sisters to keep those traditions alive.
While visiting her cousins in DeLand, Nguyen learned that other family members wanted access to these family recipes too. So, she took all of the recipes and published them on the online platform ReciMe, which allowed her to upload and share everything. And the best part? It’s also available for the rest of us to access for free.
“I think a lot of people are very secretive about their recipes, but it has never been like that in our family. We just want to share the love,” Nguyen said.
MOMMA’S BÚN BÒ HUẾ — This Vietnamese dish is made with rice noodles and sliced beef. It originated in the Vietnamese city of Huê, hence the dish’s name.
You can access all 40 of Momma Nguyen’s original recipes on their ReciMe page at https://www.recime.app/u/pMbrmaRDwzgDn6CWkktiuySPcei1.
Nguyen recommends that folks start with the bún bò huê or the pho, two family favorites.
“We connect with each other through food. That’s our love language,” Nguyen said.
They hope that people feel the love as they try these authentic, just-like-momma-made recipes for themselves.
