Season the food until your ancestors tell you to stop.
This was one of the first things I remember my Plano neighbor, Genie Nguyen Smith, telling me about how she learned to cook. Once she shared that, I knew we would be fast friends.
I’ve had seven years of friendship with Genie, and while it was our daughters’ kindergarten class that introduced us, it’s our love of food that has bonded us. For years, talk of food and kitchen equipment has filled many of our conversations, but it wasn’t until this past summer, when I asked my friend and neighbor if we could cook together, that I truly understood her kitchen training.
Genie opened her home and welcomed me and my family into her kitchen. She did more than instruct us in the techniques of central Vietnamese cooking, she told a story through food — one of love, bravery and inner strength.
“‘Season the food until your ancestors tell you to stop,’ is more my translating of what she [my mom] was trying to say,” Genie says. “What she always told me was to eyeball it until you think it’s right, and then taste it. If too salty, add more water; if too sweet, dump some of it out and add more water.”
Genie adds: “Ultimately what it means to me is, ‘How I taste my food is how I’m showing my love to you. What I find the best, I will share it with you. You are a part of me.’”
One week before the fall of Saigon in April 1975, Mai Van Nguyen and Hoa Thi Nguyen left Hue in central Vietnam for the United States. Their stop in Hawaii was brief enough for respite, as well as an introduction to Spam, which yielded a lifelong affinity for hot dogs, rice and soy sauce. The next leg of their journey took them Kingsport, Tenn., where “finding anything close to Vietnamese ingredients was extremely hard.” They would drive four hours to Little Rock, Ark., just for some similar ingredients. Finally, in 1979, Mai drove his family in a light blue Volkswagen Beetle to Texas for better opportunities.
Dallas became the final home for the Nguyens. Not strangers to new beginnings, the Nguyens opened their home to friends from their homeland. “A couple of my dad’s best friends that we met had late starts in life since they were in jail in Vietnam,” Genie says. “When they were released and were able to come to the U.S., they would stay with us for a few months until they could get on their own two feet.”
Genie, born and raised in Dallas, tells the story of her immigrant parents who desired to keep their Vietnamese culture present in their home. Food was key.
“My mom worked hard to create food she grew up with so that our palates were expanded and we didn’t shun strong, stinky flavor,” Genie says as she smiles. “She always encouraged us to try things, and I continue to do that with my kids. Food is something that introduces so many cultures and brings people together, and I wish my kids to also have an open mind for both people and food.”
This desire to help others expand mind and palate was evident in our time together in the kitchen. Not only was I introduced to new flavors, I also learned about the regional differences of Vietnamese food.
“Hue is the central region my parents grew up in. It was the Imperial City when Vietnam had an emperor and where the French resided when it was colonized,” Genie says, and there are a lot of French influences, from foods to language. “For example, I grew up saying apple as ‘bom,’ which is close to ‘pomme’ in French, but other regions call it ‘tao.’ I didn’t know this until I went to college and met other Vietnamese people who taught me the word.”
“Hue is known for being the spicy region of Vietnam in cuisine,” Genie says. “Hue people use a lot of fermented shrimp paste [ruoc] in their dishes; usually added later as a condiment. It has a very salty and seafood taste. The smell can be very offensive to some though.”
From the age of 5, Genie remembers rolling egg rolls and grocery shopping for ingredients. Being her mother’s sous chef, this constant participation in the kitchen was how Genie learned her mother’s recipes. Nothing was written — it was all done by memory.
Genie continued to cook from her mother’s verbal instructions as a young adult. “When I moved away for college, I got extremely homesick and would ask her how to make simple, easy dishes over the phone, since I didn’t have a full kitchen.”
Even though they were not sharing the same physical kitchen, Hoa and Genie were cooking with their ancestors, side by side, using memories and tastes of home.
Soon after Genie graduated college, Hoa passed away, leaving a void in their family’s kitchen. The difficulty of cooking without her presence and knowledge was felt through the course of daily eating and during the holidays.
“After she passed away, I felt the need to continue cooking to keep her memory alive,” Genie says.
Without written recipes, Genie’s desire to maintain her mother’s memory and food was a task familiar to many. Fortunately, Genie’s childhood role as sous chef came in handy. When cooking her mother’s recipes, “I really just re-create them from my memories of how the dish should taste.”
“It’s still a learning process; I cannot perfect her grilled pork,” she adds. “I remember her marinating it for a day or two in foiled baking pans, then I would help skewer them on wood skewers, and she would grill them outside on the grill.”
There are still a few dishes Genie hasn’t tackled, either because they are labor-intensive or use specialty ingredients, like Com Hen (Baby Clam Rice) and Banh Bot Loc, which are tapioca dumplings filled with pork and shrimp or mung beans wrapped in banana leaves to steam. “I remember making that as a child with her, and the tapioca dough was so messy and stuck everywhere, but it also took at least half a day to make,” Genie says.
Re-creating a recipe from memory takes time, patience and hard work. “It takes me probably two to three times to finally fine tune to what I can remember in my memory of how the dish should taste,” Genie says.
To be invited into such a sacred space was an honor. Together, with my neighbor, I was given the privilege of keeping a memory alive by learning the ways of Hoa and Genie’s ancestors.
Genie defined ingredients like wood ear mushrooms to annatto seeds. I was shown that lemongrass does not have to come in small sticks shoved inside a plastic box, but rather long branches, tied together. I learned that there are good and bad ways to use fish sauce. She demonstrated and instructed me (along with our children) to fill and roll egg rolls. We watched in eager expectation as she fried her perfect cha gio (and our air-filled and imperfect ones) to a golden majesty.
After a morning and afternoon of cooking, we gathered around the table where our combined families dined in honor of culture, friendship and memory. We slurped noodles in Bo Kho, we wrapped cha gio in leafy greens (then dipped in nuoc cham) and we found comfort with every buttery, umami-filled bite of Pâté So.
Overwhelmingly satisfied, happy and moved, I found that cooking with my neighbor and friend was a reminder of how powerful food can be when it is shared.
Chả Giò (Fried Egg Rolls)
“We’d make this for every special event and parties,” Genie says. “I would spend many hours in the kitchen with my mom rolling hundreds of egg rolls. ... I would ask her what she put in it and that’s when she told me the secret ingredient was the crab meat. They were always so popular at school, I never went home with leftovers.”
1 pound ground pork
1/2 cup (4 ounces) crab or mashed shrimp, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
1/4 cup finely shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped, hydrated wood ear mushrooms (also called black fungus mushrooms, use 5 to 8 dried mushrooms)
3/4 cup chopped, hydrated bean vermicelli noodles (from a 35g package)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 egg with 1 teaspoon water
1 package (24 ounces) egg roll wrappers
Neutral flavored oil for frying
Nuoc Cham, for serving (see recipe below)
Leafy greens, for serving
To hydrate the wood ear mushrooms and bean vermicelli noodles: In 2 medium-sized bowls, place the dried wood ear mushrooms in one and the beans in another. Cover each with warm water. Let soak about 15 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place onto a cutting board. Chop into small pieces.
In a large bowl, combine the pork, crab, onions, carrots, mushrooms, noodles and salt.
Take an egg roll wrapper and place onto a cutting board positioned in a “diamond” shape.
Place a small handful of meat mixture into the palm of your hand and form a 2-inch “sausage” shape. Place onto the bottom third of an egg roll wrapper, leaving enough dough below the filling to cover it. Fold the bottom corner over the mixture and tightly roll enough to tuck the corner under the filling. Gently, fold over the flaps on each end, firmly hugging the sides of the egg roll. Continue to roll tightly until about a 1 1/2-inch triangle is left. Dip your finger into the egg wash and coat the triangle. Continue to roll and seal.
Fill a Dutch oven or a heavy-bottomed pan (about 5 to 6 quarts) halfway with oil (enough to cover the egg rolls). Heat the oil to 350 F. Once hot, fry the egg rolls in batches, about 4 at a time, for 6 to 8 minutes or until the egg roll is golden brown. Place onto a cooling rack to dry and cool. Take the leafy green and wrap the egg roll in it. Dip in the Nuoc Cham and serve warm.
Nuoc Cham: In a bowl, combine 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon chopped serrano pepper, 1 crushed clove of garlic, 2 teaspoons lime juice, 1/4 cup fish sauce and 1 cup hot water. Stir until combined and the sugar is dissolved. Taste and add extra lime juice if needed. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
SOURCE: Genie Smith, edited by Rebecca White
Instant Pot Bo Kho
“My mom made this whenever we were tired of Bun or Pho, both are noodle soups. We normally ate it with a baguette or egg noodles,” Genie says.
Bo Kho Marinade (see ingredient list below)
2 to 2 1/2 pounds fatty beef shoulder, cut into 3 to 4 large chunks
1 yellow onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 stalks lemongrass, cut into 4 pieces
1 inch to 1 1/2 inches (8g) ginger root, peeled
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
5 cups water
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole star anise pods
2 whole cloves
2 to 3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon annatto seeds
6 to 8 large carrots, cut into 2-inch chunks
Fresh basil, for topping
Fresh cilantro, for topping
Jalapeño slices, for topping
Red onion slices, for topping
Lime wedges, for topping
Combine the Bo Kho marinade ingredients (see recipe below) into a small bowl. Place the beef shoulder into a sealable plastic bag. Pour the marinade over the beef and seal the bag. Massage the marinade into the meat and place into the fridge. Marinade for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
When ready to cook, add the yellow onion to the Instant Pot insert. Then, top the onions with the lemongrass, ginger and garlic. Place the marinated meat on top of the vegetables and aromatics. Spread the meat out to thoroughly fill the pot, and cover with the water. Add the cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves, bay leaves, tomato paste, pepper and salt. Set aside.
In a small pan, add the vegetable oil and the annatto seeds. Warm over medium heat for 2 minutes to extract color and flavor. Be sure the temperature is not too hot; this will prevent the oil from popping. Strain the annatto-infused oil into the soup mixture.
Seal the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Quick-release the pressure after the 20 minutes. Skim the soup to retrieve the cloves, anise and cinnamon stick. Remove and discard.
Add the carrots to the Bo Kho and seal the Instant Pot. Cook on high for 10 minutes and then quick-release the pressure.
Serve the Bo Kho with egg noodles or toasted French bread and then top with cilantro, basil, jalapeños and lime wedges.
Bo Kho Marinade
1/2 stalk lemongrass, minced
1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon neutral oil (canola or vegetable, for instance)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon msg or sugar
SOURCE: Genie Smith, edited by Rebecca White
Pâté So (Pâté Chaud)
This recipe reflects the epicurean influence French colonialism had on Vietnam. “My mom would make this for us every other month because it was a fast snack after school or good for breakfast,” Genie says. “We’d shape them in various shapes and that was fun. I remember going to the grocery store and when she picked up pastry sheets, I was so excited. This is one of my favorite snacks growing up.”
1 pound ground pork
4 ounces pâté
1/3 cup green onions (or yellow onions), finely sliced
1/4 teaspoon msg (or sugar)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 egg
1 teaspoon water
2 17-ounce packages of puff pastry (approximately 1 box), thawed
Heat oven to 350 F.
In a large bowl, combine the pork, pâté, green onions, msg, salt and pepper. Using your hands, combine the ingredients to incorporate.
Place the egg and water into a small bowl. Whisk and set aside.
Lightly flour a cutting board. Cut each pastry sheet into nine equal squares. Place a heaping tablespoon of meat mixture into the center of one square. Slightly flatten the meat mixture. Dip your fingers into the egg mixture and paint a rim of egg wash around the rim of the square. Top with an additional square of puff pastry. Seal the edges with a fork and poke the top of the pastry with the fork. Using a pastry brush, top the pastry with egg wash.
Place into the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and place onto cooling racks. Let cool for 10 minutes, serve warm.
Makes 18 pastries.
SOURCE: Genie Smith, edited by Rebecca White