When Eating A Fruit

Ăn Quả Nhớ Kẻ Trồng Cây (When eating a fruit, think of the person who planted the tree)

a Vietnamese proverb

Seeds of curiosity were vigorously planted by my parents. While their curiosities often take different forms, I grew up in a home filled with questions: Wonder where they’re going? How can we make tempura at home right now (pre-internet)? What are the effects on cultures based on proximity to the equator? What do you think that is on that woman’s plate? If we walk down this narrow street, where will it take us? What do you think we just ate?

This special sauce of adventure, curiosity, and enthusiasm was evident when we whisked off to DC two years ago because a show on Afro-Atlantic art of the Americas was closing that very weekend. Or flashback to yesterday when my mom decided at 2am to come to Chicago later that day so we could see the Faith Ringgold show before it closes next week. Did I mention that she was here for 24 hours? It was glorious.

We did many things that day. We saw art. We had tea. We dreamt.

We ate.

Dish after dish served family-style warmed our bodies and fed our memories. My mom shared what she ate during her trip in Vietnam and we responded with fond throwbacks of culinary adventures in Oakland where I worked for several years. Phở of all types redolent of lime, culantro, lemongrass, basil, and rich broth came up over and over. And talk of the heady combinations of sweet-and-sour eggplant, pork and seafood, and bánh mì energized the conversation.