02/15/2026
Finally, I managed to find a little time to cook a pot of braised pork with coconut juice and eggs, just as my daughter requested.
After that, I made some pickled lotus root and red radish. I carefully arranged them in glass jars, trying to make them look beautiful… just like my mother used to do when she was still alive.
Every time Tết came, my mother’s house was always filled with the smell of vinegar. There were hundreds of orders from longtime, loyal customers in the city.
She made many kinds of pickles: pickled scallions, lotus root, garlic… and especially pickled ginger.
Pickled ginger was the hardest to make because it had to be made from young ginger. And young ginger was very difficult to find in the market. So my uncle would grow it in the countryside and harvest the young ginger according to my mother’s needs. Each time, she would make 100–200 kilograms of ginger.
I was the one who helped her peel and slice them 😂
But when it came to the final step—arranging them beautifully in the jars—she would always say,
“It’s not pretty enough, Hạnh. Leave it there, let Mom do it.”
Thinking back on it now, I can only smile…
Every year when Tết comes, I miss my mother. I miss everything she did for us. I miss her hard work, her patience, and her love.
Perhaps I could spend a lifetime telling stories about the most wonderful mother I have ever known, and it still wouldn’t be enough.
This Tết, I only hope that…
If you still have your parents, please take the time to go home. ❤️
