My name is Vicky Pham. A mother of two and wife of one.
In 2014, I quit the corporate world and said tạm biệt to the 9-to-5. I realized after having kids that I couldn’t do it all. I couldn’t be the mother that I wanted to be while working a full-time job outside the home.
With the help of the husband, we buckled down and made it work. And in the rare moments when I’m not an uncompensated full-time taxi driver, personal chef, and laundry machine operator to my two children, I spend my spare time practicing traditional Vietnamese home-cooking recipes.
Ironically, my love for cooking didn’t come from my own kitchen growing up. I didn’t grow up learning to cook from my parents. Home wasn’t a place for passing down recipes or teaching of any kind. It was a lot of screaming. My parents were often at odds, and we kids always ended up in the crossfire.
But I love good food and I finally learned from my mother-in-law when I married to get away from the madness.
MIL pushed cooking on me at first, probably because she thought her newly married son would starve.
I’ll admit, I was peeved that every recipe started with, “He likes this dish, so here’s how you make it for him.” But eventually I gave in.
And I’m forever grateful I did, because I unknowingly learned from the very cook who worked behind the scenes at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Oakland. If that’s not fate, I don’t know what is.
I first started this blog for my eyes only to keep track of the notes from her lessons. Somewhere along the way, it came to life, reaching hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world every month.
I began working on the blog professionally, and it has since become an awesome and unexpected full-time job. My goal is to document my favorite traditional Vietnamese dishes and translate “just add enough until it’s right” into clear recipes. Hopefully one day my kids will be able to look up their favorite childhood foods and recreate them for their own families.
This website is still very much a one-woman show. Recipe testing, writing, videography, photography, and editing are all done by yours truly with some occasional website and coding help from the incredibly geeky husband.
So welcome to my humble online abode. Kick off your shoes. Peruse my recipes. If you get a chance, leave me a comment below or connect with me on social media. I’m so glad you’re here.
Một, hai, ba, vô!
Vicky
A little more about myself and my family: Hello Vietnam. Goodbye 2014.
