Culture

I had just put down the phone with my mother and was staring at the paper in my hand with a recipe scribbled on it — my favourite potato curry.

Comprised of a rich broth, rice noodles, meat and fresh garnish, phở is a long-established staple of Vietnamese cuisine

Back at home, meals like fried plantains — a sickly-sweet dish of deep fried plantains that is typically served with scrambled eggs — were common, especially for lunch or dinner.

As a college student, it’s a lot rarer to have such prime leftovers to toss in, but, as I said, congee is really what you make it to be. But this time, I wanted to make it exactly the way I had it as a child.

Even though I’ve never been to Serbia, I’m connected to it through the culture I was raised with. I feel homesick for a place I’ve never been, but I can make it better by enjoying the connections I have to it here.

This recipe serves as a reminder of the identity that both my dad and I share as part of the Diné people.

Couscous Royale was the last meal my father made me before leaving Montreal and it was one last reminder that when I moved out, j’allais me débrouiller — I was gonna figure it out.

With many Vietnamese restaurants peppered across Vancouver, there is no shortage of places to go — the two places below, though, have been thoroughly tested and approved by my family and me.

The last time I had my grandfather’s congee was a few years ago. He quietly stopped making it one day, as standing for hours in a sweltering kitchen grew to be too taxing. Although my dorm-room concoction will never be the same as his, it’s enough to remind me of home.