My name is Ly Nguyen and I’m a second generation Vietnamese American and daughter of war refugees. I started this page to pass down to my daughter, Amelia, because I always wished I had a resource like this to better understand and preserve our family legacy. I love cooking and want Amelia to learn to appreciate her culture through cuisine so I try to replicate tastes from my childhood so she can experience her history. It’s also a place for me to explore dishes from my Korean husband’s childhood and put my own spin on them. I lost my mother in 2020, the same year I started documenting recipes, so this is a space of remembrance too.

My mom and I didn’t always have the most tender or understanding relationship through the years, but the last few were the most difficult for me. Probably because after I had my own daughter, it unearthed a lot of suppressed memories, questions and resentment that we never had that chance to address. It wasn’t until after she had passed that I realized my complicated, misplaced emotions were about wanting a better life for my daughter, just like I know my mom intended for me.

Cooking has been an unexpected source of intergenerational healing and processing in many ways. I hope to share reflections and resolutions of the memories each recipe holds so that when Amelia gets older she doesn’t have to bear the unresolved burdens of the generations before her.

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By day, I’m a full-time EVP, Head of Creative working in advertising which is why I’m all about simplified recipes and ease in navigation. I believe cooking should be creative, simple, and flexible. I hope these recipes make you feel like traditional Asian meals are attainable in your home daily, and you’re inspired to invest a little time to nourish your body and soul.

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Say hi!
hicookingoffthecuff@gmail.com