Rice is a big part of Vietnamese culture. In every dish we eat, there’s rice and some sort of vegetables. My grandmother was a great cook that made a lot of dishes growing up such as Canh Sườn Khoai Tây (vegetable and pork rib soup), Bò Lúc Lắc (shaking beef), Thịt Kho (Vietnamese braised pork with eggs) with rice. I got to experience that when I went to visit Vietnam and got to eat her cooking. I tried her rice with fish and soup. It reminded me of my mom’s cooking so I got to see the resemblance in their cooking and where my mom got her recipes from. My mom’s really close to her mom. They’ve always been close. It was really difficult to leave her mom and her family. She was really worried about her mom and leaving her. One of her goals when coming to America was to be able to build a better life for herself and get a job so that she could support her mom and provide for her, giving her a worry-free life. My grandmother came to America before to visit us. She came here when her grandson was born but only stayed here for a couple of months. She missed living in Vietnam where her entire life was so decided to go back. My grandmother would always cook her fried rice both in Vietnam as a child and also during her time in America and my mom would love it. My mom says it’s easy to make and eat. It would be served hot and would fill her up on a cold day, giving her warmth. It would give her enough energy for her long day ahead, whether it be at school or at work. She appreciates her mom for sharing her recipe. I think my mom’s story is really touching. I also like her fried rice. I think it’s one of my favorite dishes that she has cooked for me. I’m grateful she shared her story with me because I’m glad that I got to know the story behind her fried rice. I used to not like fried rice, but I’ve grown to love it.