Given that Sunday is Mother’s Day in the U.S., I’d like to celebrate some of the quirky things that I’ve learned from my mom. She seeded my culinary interests when I was a child and as now as an adult, I trade new discoveries with her. In fact, she frequently contributes her knowledge to the Mama Says page on this site!
Mẹ (how to say Mom in Vietnamese) did and still does certain things in her kitchen that my siblings and I used to and kinda still frustrate over. For example, she saved every plastic container and bag for reuse; I think she may have reused the foil in the above photo. Nowadays, we call that green living, but in 1980, my sister Tasha and I would sing Tom Petty’s “You Don’t Have to Live Like a Refugee” to Mom who would pretend to ignore us. But as time passes, I’ve come to realize that she’s got a way about her (I’ll stop with the pop song references; and btw, that’s a Billy Joel song). I better appreciate her kitchen quirks that we often poked fun at. Here are a few standouts:
Storing dishes in the dishwasher
“I don’t trust the dishwasher to get dishes clean,” Mom says. We grew up washing all the dishes by hand, and to this day, my mother’s dishwasher has never been operated. She uses it to store clean dishes. The countertop dish rack is seldom empty. Though in my house, the dishwasher is one of my favorite kitchen appliances, I revert to hand washing dishes whenever I’m at Mom’s house. It’s nice when we have a big family meal and my sisters and I work together, gossiping and joking around as we scrub, rinse, and dry.
Keeping a special tub for food trash
It’s not like Mom is a Luddite. She was using the first generation of food processors when we still lived in Vietnam. But as for the modern kitchen wonder – the garbage disposal, she never runs it. She keeps a 2 quart plastic container near the kitchen sink and lines it with a plastic produce bag (which she’s recycled) into which she deposits all the refuse from kitchen prep and the table. That keeps stinky trash, such as shrimp shells, away from regular trash. It’s an efficient way to work and when I’m prepping food, there’s a produce bag nearby for collecting wet trash. Extraneous raw produce is put into a 2-quart plastic tub for green-recycling.
5/10/09 Clarification from Mom: "I actually started using the tub method because I didn't want to repeatedly move wet trash from the counter to the trash can and worry or clean up after drips."
Freezing as much as possible
My mother can put a spread together for 12 with 24-hour notice because she owns 2 freezers. Everything is carefully labeled with freezer tape. Even the regular side-by-side refrigerator’s freezer is full. The freezer is essential to her battery of equipment and though she can be brazen about things that she freezes (even banh cuon rice rolls), she’s always ready to feed you when you come in the door. As for me, I have a standup freezer in the garage for my stocks, frozen shrimp, char siu pork, etc.
5/10/09 Clarification from Mom: "I just got another freezer so now there are 3 of them. If you fill the freezer it runs more efficiently!"
Venting the house with fans
Volume Vietnamese cooking was de rigeur for our family and my mother figured out early on that a series of 3 stand-up fans set up between the kitchen and furthest open window would effectively suck out the kitchen heat and odors. Summers were particularly noisy for us but we always ate well. Though I have a powerful exhaust, I occasionally run a portable fan to air out the house.
Protecting the kitchen countertop with plastic
You know the plastic runner meant for protect heavily-trafficked carpeting? They have the nubs on the under side. My mother uses it for protecting the kitchen countertops from dirt. She and my father selected 3 x 3-inch tiles for the kitchen and the numerous grout lines were a pain to clean. Since she protected the hallway carpet in our house with the runners, why not put them on the counters? For years, all the counters were covered but today, she only has the plastic on the most-used part of the kitchen. I chose extra large tiles for our kitchen countertop.
I’m certainly not going to become my mother, but I have taken many of her kitchen wisdom to heart. I’m surely not alone so feel free to share your experiences.
Michele Morris says
My mom always saved every single plastic container also and I thought she was crazy and too cheap to buy "real" Tupperware. Now I'm a very "green" chef and I either reuse or recycle everything - and am lucky that the city of Denver picks up all of that kitchen "smelly trash" for us in a city sponsored composting program. Times have changed!
Kimberlea says
I swear your mother and mine could be twins. The other thing my mom does is cover the top part of the range (where the knobs are) in plastic wrap so that all of the miniscule oil and food splatters dont find their way underneath the knobs, which is a pain to clean. That way, you can just peel, toss, and repeat the process.
Andrea Nguyen says
Michele, Love it. We never had real Tupperware either. I was envious but we weren't about to have Tupperware parties at our house... Yes, times and growing up changes us all!
Kimberlea -- I had a feeling that my mom's quirks were matched by other moms. For the love of plastic wrap...
Von says
Ditto, I have a small trash can on my kitchen counter top and I tie all my plastic bags into a knot and put them in a drawer to later line my counter top trash can just like my mom. Sometimes doing these things scares the hell out of me because it makes me realize how much influence she has over me! Another thing that she did before it was cool (like recycling) is foraging for food. There was a little creek that ran underneath a bridge near the house I grew up that had watercress growing wild along its banks. When it was in season, she would gather my sisters and I, with recycled plastic bags in hand, to go pick them. Needless to say, we were horrified! Being the teenagers that we were, we were deathly afraid that we would be spotted by our American peers while doing this totally embarrassing 3rd world-refugee thing 🙂 Oh yeah, and throwing things like plastic containers that food comes in is an atrocity at her house to this day. When I'm there, I diligently wash them and store them away for later use.
I guess my mom was green, organic, and living the sustainable lifestyle long before all of it is cool. Gotta give it to mom!
thuy says
What are you talking about?!! LOL My mom never did those things other than save every container that came in the house. I have been doing those quirky things for over 10 years and I am only in my early 30's. I still store my dishes in the dishwasher because the dishwasher doesn't clean my dishes well. I recycle my plastic grocery bags as trash can liners and to throw away unused bits of food discarded at prepping, and to throw out food that smells, directly to the ourdoor garbage can. I vent the house when I cook because I have an open floor plan. I must have an old lady's spirit.
Annie says
We still use our dishwasher like a dish rack! LOL! Totally identified with almost everything you wrote about your mom (and yes, I've learnt a lot of my mother's ways too). Great post!
Andrea Nguyen says
OMG -- Thuy and Annie, my belly's achin' from laughing. I just deep-fried something and before getting the oil heated up, I opened up all the window in close proximity. Now I think I'll light an incense stick.
Gastronomer says
Speaking of foraging -- my mom plucks chives (he) for hu tieu xao from the planter at Nordstroms Rack. She's the best 😉
Johnny says
Your mothers only keep empty plastic containers? My mom keeps the styrofoam ones too. She also has a cupboard full plastic drinking cups she saved from us kids from 7-11 and fast food restaurants.
Oh, and when she hacks up a chicken for ga kho, she does it on the kitchen floor (in a vietnamese squat). After 37 years in the United States, she's still FOB.
Noah says
Wet-food trash is brilliant! I'm not going to have a disposal next year, so I will definitely keep that one in mind.
Diane says
Am I turning into your Mom? Hmmmm...
Except for not using the dishwasher, I do most of these things. I also save all potentially reusable containers, wash out ziploc bags, re-use foil, etc. My friends think I'm odd about that.
Andrea Nguyen says
Cathy, which Nordstrom's Rack does your mom go to? My friend Linda, a Korean American, told me about how her mom used to make them stop the car on the highways in Kansas (where they lived) to forage for greens.
Thanks, Johnny, for reminding me about the styrofoam containers. There is a sizable collection of them in one of my mom's cupboards. But your mom squatting on the floor is a good one. American standard countertops are too high for most Asian people. Squatting will keep you young, I believe.
Noah, every time I run the disposal, I think, "Man, I hope it works." All those sitcom episodes showing clogged up sinks and broomsticks stuck in the disposal, combined with my upbringing, make me leery about disposals.
Diane, yep, my husband and I reuse reuse and reuse just like you. A large portion of my hall closet serves as a pantry for plastic tubs! If a piece of foil isn't greased up, why discard it?!
Robyn says
Great post! I love the plastic counter covers - your mom's kitchen equivalent to my late grandma's living room decor (does you mom have plastic on the furniture too?).
Until about two years ago my mom's main kitchen 'quirk' was that she couldn't work at the stove without a a cigarette in her mouth. Once it was in she didn't remove it till it was a butt.
I don't think any ashes ended up in our food (at least, I didn't *taste* any) and my mom is a killer cook. And she kicked the habit at age 75 after smoking for 60 years. Happy Mother's Day Mom!
Thuy says
Aundrea, what a great way to honor moms. I think the quirks you mention can be found in almost all Vietnamese moms. I grew up teasing my mom for years about all her little quirks and habits. I brushed them all off as silly or "old school" but who knew mother's are so wise & ahead of their times! She was telling us all to "Reduce, reuse, recycle" long before it was the latest green catch phrase (only it was in vietnamese). Now we're swapping ideas constantly. Thanks for a great post. I just recently became a fan of your blog and absolutely enjoy it!
thuy says
Oh, I have to share another thing I learned from the old Laos ladies: newspaper for tablecloth. Asians love to eat things with bone on it and what better way to leave stuff on the table when eatting in an informal setting.
1. You save in having to wash the tablecloth after using it.
2. You save on having to wash the "bone" dish.
3. You gave a second use for newspaper.
Another great thing I learn is you put the newspaper down when you are peeling veggies like carrots, daikons, and papaya. After you finish prepping, just fold it up and throw it away. Fast and easy clean up.
Buu Huynh says
Ah, yes, foraging for food... There was the wild pea vines on the hillsides before the stores started selling them; going to my dad's work on the weekend to cut wolfthorn branches for soup because they had chosen the plant to use as a hedge; climbing on top of the large shipping containers outside Red Apple market to get at their plums that they had planted for decoration...
Recently, I found a building at the university that I went to that used Houttuynia cordata, that herb that tastes like fish, as lawn cover and the first thought that came to my mind was, I could harvest this... Than I came to my senses and remembered, if nothing else, the university has a hefty fine on picking university plants 🙂 I do however, still pick watercress out of the creek nearby.
Andrea Nguyen says
So I call my mom today to wish her a Happy Mother's Day and she says she read this post with all of our comments and just loved the whole thing. She had a few comments of her own so I added them as clarifications. Then she says she knew of a woman who covered her kitchen walls with foil to avoid wiping them down. "That was too much," Mom said. "I don't mind wiping walls so long as I still can."
Robyn, I love it. Your elegant mom with a cig in her mouth, stirring a pot of something. A friend of ours was an acupuncturist who would cook with a couple needles stuck in her head. We always inventoried the needles after she finished to ensure that they hadn't dropped into the food. As for the plastic on the furniture, no. My mom is a dressmaker and she and my dad can recover furniture well. She makes great slip covers... such a crafty woman.
Thuy, love the tip with the newspaper because it's biodegradable. Smart Lao women.
Buu, that is so cool that you forage watercress! Oooh, the Houttuynia cordata (rau diep/diep ca) is a great ornamental plant that comes in variegated leaf too. But if the U. sprays stuff, you may not want to eat it.
Thanks everyone for these tributes to our moms.
cbien says
Typical vietnamese mom! 🙂 Every time I go home and open my mom's fridge there is always entirely too much stuff in it! I never know what's in the freezer and how long it's been there. Due to hurricanes in the past few years, she's actually had to clean out that fridge... otherwise I'm sure it'd still be chockful of stuff from godknowswhen.
It is odd how viet people don't like to use the dishwasher for its intended use. I can say I definitely use the dishwasher to wash dishes. haha. Maybe it's because I date a white guy? 🙂
Sylvan B says
My (Anglo) daughter describes her Korean mother-in-law doing laundry: she takes a pot of water into the laundry room, kneels on the floor in front of the washer and dryer, and scrubs everything by hand. She's gotten used to that, but not to mil's bringing over gallon containers of squid....
Andrea Nguyen says
Cbien -- nah, not b/c you're dating a white guy! Washing dishes can be laborious. My mom wears gloves and her model-like hands remain lovely.
Sylvan -- love the anecdote. Does she use one of the wooden boards? I see them at Korean grocers.
Annie N says
LOL, some of these anecdotes are so funny and so familiar. My mother could never throw anything out. She use to amass bags and bags of plastic utensils that were "still good". My sisters and I resorted to waiting for Mom to go out of town and then we would clear all that stuff out. I had the hardest time getting rid of old clothes that I simply didn't wear anymore. Sure enough, Mom would go through the donation bag and take almost everything out, saying to me: "But this is practically brand new, why would you throw it away???". Somehow donations to Goodwill was still throwing something out...Sigh...
anh says
lol...my mom does all the same things except for the counter matts. And like you I've found that many of these same habits have stayed with me. Even after recently rennovating our kitchen, my husband still has to remind me to run the dishwasher every two weeks. Reusing plastic/glass containers, grocery bags, Reynolds wrap, freezer bags, newspapers has always been a way of life for us. The only strange thing that stands out in my family and my in-laws is the excessive use of paper towels. For some reason they really love using up paper towels. So to curb the waste we've moved to using the "select a size" ones that are perforated in smaller sections =)
Sandy says
I just discovered your blog after purchasing the dumpling book, and this post hits close to home. My mom uses the plastic container for food prep trash or an empty milk carton (not jug). It cracks me up that Rachael Ray sells a plastic bowl for this! I can't bring myself to use the plastic container, but I use produce bag to contain the food prep trash.
I think you can count on two hands the number of times my parents have used their dishwasher in 40+ years, and it's probably been over 20 years since they last used it! As the only daughter, *I* was the dishwasher. I think it's because dishwashers really don't do a good job in cleaning bowls, which are usually used in Asian meals over plates. Even though I have a very nice dishwasher, sometimes it's easier to wash by hand and let dishes dry on the rack.
Thanh T says
Oh my goodness, I was reading the first two points when I realised that ... I, too, store clean dishes in the dishwasher AND I keep food scraps away from the normal trash! And I didn't pick this up from anyone ... what does that say about me?? LOL!
But to clarify, we have a tiny, tiny kitchen with a bench space smaller than our sink. So we find it practical to use the dishwasher as a dish rack; I usually handwash the dishes because it's easier when you have big pots and pans (which you tend to use for Vietnamese cooking), though we often use the dishwasher when we've had friends over for dinner.
I can't think of any kitchen quirks my mum has ... it sounds like it skipped a generation!
Andrea Nguyen says
Thanh -- thanks for sharing your quirks -- and they all make sense. Very funny indeed! Necessity breeds many of the things that we do as humans.
Kimberly says
I smiled through this whole article and the posts... I remember going with my mom to pick watercress from a nearby spring, among other things. But the one quirk I think I remember most about my Viet mom (and that isn't mentioned here) is her use of the microwave for food storage. I truly think that contributed to my tough digestive system. LOL Anything from leftover pho noodles to cake were put in the microwave to be stored 'til the next feeding. 😛
Lan says
When my mom was alive, she also had the little wet trash thingie next to the sink. She used this for all wet, organic trash which she later went out and buried in the backyard for fertilizer. A composting pioneer!
Helen says
This thread is so funny to me. My mom has been dead for over 20 years now but she too had these quirks (she was from the south of the US and went though the depression as a child). When I was growing up (in the 60s and 70s) she would *never* buy zip top bags, we used waxed paper for everything since it was cheaper. To this day, I have never bought waxed paper, I think it's useless! All plastic containers were reused, all bags were reused, soap scraps were saved and there was always a pantry full of food as well as freezers full. When she passed away we moved into the house and I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out where all the little moths were coming from until one day I reached for a box of pasta and found out. The little moths had eaten the box of pasta and all that was left was dust and moth eggs . I now have developed some of the same habits and it seriously cracks me up. All paper in our house that cannot be recycled gets shredded and put into the compost heap (this includes boxes and junk mail) as well as any compostable trash. The meat scraps, bones, etc gets thrown out into the back of our large lot (we're backed up to a mountain) and it mysteriously disappears. All styrofoam containers are washed and given away when guests come so that they can take food home (my friends don't cook) , the plastic containers are also good for this. We recycle all glass and plastic and everything that we can and as a result we throw out about one trash bag every three weeks. Since there is nothing in there, it never stinks so it's no big deal. Funny how our mothers were right about so much....except for the stinkin' waxed paper!
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rick tippie says
my wife's grandmother was from norway. about as white as it gets. she also did the thing with the dishwasher.
we have never used our dishwasher for anything but storage.
small world.
Earth Lover says
Hi! Recycling plastic bags & newspaper into proper recycling bin/centers is significantly more beneficial to our Earth! Using it as a second trash bin for wet waste, or using newspaper to cover a prepping area – is opposite of being “green”. Let me explain, dumping any kind of plastics/papers emit dangerous greenhouse gases in landfills. Besides that, plastics take more than a decade to disintegrate. Paper emits more methane than plastic as it breaks down.
It is incredibly important to learn that we need to limit our need of plastics/papers firstly! - bring your own cloth bag for groceries. Don’t accept more plastic bags than you need!! Also, I drain my wet waste into a section of my backyard, designated for it under a delicious fruit-producing tree. I dig several deep holes, fill it up with wet waste & cover with dirt. Then I dump the solids into my trash –such as bones (for soft leftovers, such as animal fats, it too goes into the dirt holes). I don’t believe in amassing a closet full of plastic containers, when I know it’s better to be recycled. We all need to decrease the amount of plastic/paper that goes into landfills! Not create new uses for it which will allow it to go back into the landfill. My heart weeps.
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Vanita says
This is so much similar to what we Indians also follow.
Reusing plastic containers;using grocery bags as garbage bags;linning the cooking range with foil to make clean up easier;using newspaper to line the counter while chopping vegetables;storing cooking pans in the oven.
I guess we were all raised that way and never thought of it
as being green.
marlon says
what a great way to honor moms. I think the quirks you mention can be found in almost all Vietnamese moms.
marlon says
Asians love to eat things with bone on it and what better way to leave stuff on the table when eatting in an informal setting.