The Memory Cookbook
Huy Luong
Cuisine is inarguably the friendliest route to be introduced to a foreign culture. The Memory Cookbook explores cultural memories through the discourse of foods. As people who share the same culture, we often take the underlying common values for granted.Through the process of interviewing five Vietnamese people who have experienced an independent life away from their families, The Memory Cookbook compiles five stories through their diction of memories and favorite recipes. Each person answered five questions. They were to write down how to cook their most frequently cooked dishes through memory, as if they were writing notes for themselves. Because of the aforementioned underlying qualities we culturally share, I recognized these dishes and recreated them according to my memory of them. The additional questions fostered exchange about cooking Vietnamese foods in foreign cities and the compromises we might have made for authentic flavors. The book celebrates Vietnamese cuisine and the people who bring it far beyond the borders.