Vit n – Talk Vietnam

Thanh Nguyen, 35, an ethnic Vietnamese man living in Virginia, always returns home to Maryland during Tet (Lunar New Year). But this year the nurse decided to stay back and instead celebrate the festival with his parents by video call. "My Vietnamese parents are disappointed because I did not drive home to see them, but the Covid-19 pandemic is a good reason to not travel, especially when I work in a hospital with infection risks," he said. He also made several video calls to relatives in Vietnam for Lunar New Year, which falls on February 12 this year. "My mom sent me two banh chung and I bought some spring rolls. I will go to a nearby Buddhist temple to pray for a new year if it is not too crowded during the weekend." Nguyen is among many members of the Vietnamese diaspora in America who have celebrated the traditional holiday of their forefathers amid the raging pandemic with a lot of differences this year. Asian Garden Mall (Phuoc Loc Tho) is a popular place to celebrate Tet among Vietnamese in Westminster, California. Photo by Shutterstock/Hung Tran. In California, even though Governor Gavin Newsom lifted the stay-home order in late January in response to an improving situation, a move hailed by some Vietnamese ahead of their traditional holiday, many people still have their guard up and are not gathering with relatives or going to public places. "We will not go to Vietnamese malls or supermarkets since the places are always packed" Thao Nguyen, a banker in Orange County, California, said. Nguyen’s family canceled a party with relatives on the last day of the lunar year, which "always used to be an indispensable part of our Tet. " Instead, she had dinner and went to a nearby Buddhist temple without her parents, who are old and likely to be vulnerable to the coronavirus. In December 2020, according to health officials in Santa Clara County, California, the Vietnamese and Philippine communities were more severely affected …

The travel guide website of Lonely Planet has listed out 10 most unusual dishes of Vietnam which are loved by locals but horrified by foreign travelers. According to travel’s expert Fabienne Fong Yan, some Vietnamese typical dishes such as Trung vit lon (fertilized duck egg), Chan ga (chicken feet) or Tiet canh (blood soup) might make foreign travellers feel difficult to eat because of its peculiarity, but are very common in Vietnamese eating habits and easy to find on street food markets. As an old saying goes “one man’s food is another man’s poison”, the food writer suggested: “Don’t judge local food habits when traveling: you might end up liking some of those dishes and if not, there are plenty of other food options in Vietnamese street food stalls, markets and restaurants.” Chan ga- the chicken feet The stir-fried chicken feet with lemongrass and chilli. Tiet canh - fresh blood soup with animal organs The Tiet canh - a not recommendation dish. Blood soup (tiet canh) is a dish that is not recommended so much anymore as it is a seasoned mixture of fresh blood from different animals and can easily carry infections. In large cities, this dish is only served in large restaurants that have a Food Safety Certificate. Blood soup is usually made from the blood of goats, pigs and ducks. These animals’ blood was mixed with some fish sauce, boiled water and poured over chopped animal organs to be some jelly-like pastes, then is eaten accompanied with fresh lemon juice, roasted peanuts, pepper and herbs. Chao Long- pig’s organ soups and other animal organ soups The pig’s organ soup is served hot to eat accompany with pepper and herbs. On night street food stalls, it is not unusual to see a display of all possible organs, so diners can choose which they want in their broth or porridge. Options can include duck liver, pig brains, pig’s intestines or stomach, or more ordinary pig knuckles and feet. The recipes for …

Tet in the times of pandemic: muted celebrations for Vietnamese diaspora in US

Vietnamese specialties: Someone’s loves, other’s horrors