The start of something delicious

I'm going to attempt to tackle a new food endeavor this new year: to recreate--to the best of my abilities--my mom's food, very broadly defined (so broadly, it includes your mom too). The driving force behind this new food endeavor attempt is to honor, and record, the food traditions of my family and of many families like mine.

As I grew up in a Chinese household with Vietnamese tendencies, almost all of the food I ate growing up fell into one of those two categories (with the rare treat to Wendy's). My sisters and I spent countless hours helping our mom prep our meals and watching her throw things into a wok or pot, without a recipe to guide her, and turn it into some of the flavors and dishes I remember and crave most. Though I learned from her how to wield a Chinese butcher's knife efficiently, to be fearless of fire when cooking, and to be confident that the food I make will almost always be edible and most likely taste fairly decent, I never learned those recipes that reside only in her head.

So, I need your help.

1. Send me a list of your favorite family foods (things your mom and grandma cooked--dads and grandpas too) to inspire me, and to add to my list of dishes to cook.
2. Come by to eat what I've made.
3. BONUS: If you want to cook, write, and submit a post, or several, as a special guest star, I'd love that too!

Some things I'm dreaming of already are:
- pho ga
- bun rieu
- steamed catfish with black beans
- wontons
- dumplings
- steamed buns
- tamales (thanks for the primer, David!)
- shark fin soup (just kidding, though it will soon be completely banned in California)

I hope that this will be a regular-ish thing, happening once a week or once every two weeks, so that by the end of the year, I will have attempted and compiled a new repertoire of recipes. Sounds pretty delicious to me.