Mom's Garden

If there’s one thing my mom is good at (besides being an excellent cook of course), it’s definitely hands-down, gardening. On my most recent trip to visit her in Houston, I asked her if she could send me home with some Vietnamese herbs—ones I find terribly difficult to find anywhere near me in New York. It turns out that two the main stores I go to (to find Vietnamese herbs) are currently closed. I’m not sure if they’ll ever be back to be honest, and the thought of it is quite devastating to me. Some herbs are absolutely essential for making certain dishes, as the aromatics take the dish to another level. Anyway, my mom took me on a mini-tour of her organic garden and showed me all the herbs and veggies she was currently growing. Her garden is a little Vietnamese heaven. I was most impressed with how each species was thriving in her little yard. Fresh lemongrass, bittermelon, fish mint (diếp cá, which is my favorite for spring rolls of any kind), lemon balm (kinh giới), perilla leaves (lá tía tô), Vietnamese coriander (rau răm, another favorite of mine), a variety of squashes, and so much more. It truly is a Vietnamese cook’s dream, and I hope that one day I can have a garden of that level so that I don’t have to worry about heading to the grocery store to find all of my cooking herbal needs (if there are even any grocery stores around that carry these herbs where I’ll eventually be living—we shall see). Last night my husband and I pulled out the electric griddle to make spring rolls with squid, shrimp, and thinly sliced beef—all cooked in creamy butter, and dipped in my pureed pineapple anchovy sauce. The Vietnamese herbs that my mom packed for me made what would be ordinary, to extraordinary. Even rinsing and preparing these herbs was a nostalgic and ritualistic experience. It felt like home. Of course we’ll be eating this again in the next few days so that the batch doesn’t go to waste. I’ll be posting my version of bitter melon soup next week, since she also packed me that as well. Anyway, I know this is not a recipe post, but it made me so happy that it needed to be shared. In the meantime, happy cooking and happy eating. I’ll be back soon!