By Tet 2025. Year of the Snake. Mai and I made bánh tét together, as we do every year, and this year she let me do more of the wrapping — not because she's slowing down (she isn't) but because she said, "You need to be able to do this when I'm not here." It was the first time she'd said anything like that. I didn't respond. I wrapped the rice cakes tighter than I needed to, and she noticed, and she said, "Not so tight. They need room to breathe." Even mortality has a cooking lesson in Mai's world.
Went to the temple with Mai. She wore her green áo dài and prayed and lit incense for Huy and for Thanh and for her parents. I stood next to her and tried to pray and ended up just standing — standing with her, in the smoke, in the quiet, in the specific peace that comes from being in a temple with your mother on the first day of the lunar new year. That's prayer enough.
FaceTimed Huong from Mai's house. Huong was celebrating Tet in Da Nang with her children and grandchildren. She showed Mai the bánh tét she'd made — different from Mai's, wrapped differently, the filling arranged differently. Mai said, "Your wrapping is wrong." Huong said, "My wrapping is Da Nang." Mai said, "Same thing." Huong threw something at the phone. The Tran sisters are eternal. Their arguments are forever.
Made the Tet feast: bánh tét, thit kho, nem chua, pho. The four pillars. The taste of every new year since 1976. Ate at Mai's table. Touched the chip in my wallet. Touched Huy's watch on my wrist. Sixteen years sober this March. The snake is a symbol of wisdom. I'll take it.
The four pillars of our Tet table — bánh tét, thit kho, nem chua, pho — are not just dishes, they are a calendar. They mark every year I have been alive, every year I have been sober, every year Mai has stood at her stove and made the new year real. When I think about what a family feast actually means, it’s this: a handful of recipes so embedded in your life that making them is the same as remembering everyone you love. These are the kinds of dishes that anchor a feast like that — the ones worth coming back to, year after year, no matter who is at the table.
Family Feast Top 10 Recipes
Prep Time: 45 min | Cook Time: 2 hrs | Total Time: 2 hrs 45 min | Servings: 8–10
Ingredients
- 1 whole roasting chicken (4–5 lbs), patted dry
- 2 lbs bone-in beef short ribs
- 1 lb pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 4 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed
- 1 large head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
- 2 large yellow onions, halved
- 4 stalks celery, roughly chopped
- 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 lb green beans, trimmed
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil (vegetable or canola)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Fresh herbs for serving: cilantro, scallions, mint
- 1 loaf crusty bread, for the table
Instructions
- Prepare the broth base. In a large stockpot, combine the short ribs, one halved onion, two celery stalks, and 10 cups of water. Bring to a boil, skim foam carefully, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour until the broth is rich and clear.
- Brown the pork shoulder. Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Season pork pieces generously with salt and pepper. Sear on all sides, 3–4 minutes per side, until deeply golden. Remove and set aside.
- Build the braise. In a Dutch oven, combine seared pork, remaining onion, garlic cloves, soy sauce, fish sauce, and brown sugar. Pour in 2 cups of the simmering broth. Cover and cook over low heat for 45 minutes until pork is tender and sauce has thickened.
- Roast the chicken. Preheat oven to 425°F. Rub the chicken all over with oil, salt, and pepper. Place breast-side up in a roasting pan with the remaining carrots and celery beneath it. Roast for 1 hour until juices run clear and skin is golden brown. Let rest 10 minutes before carving.
- Cook the rice. Combine rinsed rice with 6 cups of the broth from the stockpot (strained). Bring to a boil, stir once, reduce heat to the lowest setting, cover, and cook 18 minutes. Remove from heat and let steam, covered, for 10 more minutes.
- Blanch the green beans. Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add green beans and cook for 4 minutes until bright green and just tender. Drain and transfer immediately to ice water to stop the cooking. Drain again and season lightly with salt.
- Finish and serve. Arrange all dishes on the table family-style: carved chicken, braised pork in its sauce, the short ribs from the broth, rice, green beans, and the bread. Ladle the remaining broth into bowls and pass the fresh herbs. Let everyone reach across each other.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 620 | Protein: 48g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 52g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 890mg