Celebrating Lunar New Year Vietnamese-Style #weekendcooking @BethFishReads

It’s the Year of the Monkey!Picture with text Happy New Year in VietnameseI went along as a driver to the Tet in Boston celebration (which was actually held in a town near us, not in Boston) recently with my husband and his lovely group of students from Vietnam (and one from Haiti!) to learn English and attend college. He is a volunteer tutor at the nearby convent where they live while they’re here.

stage performance

There were speeches, dancing, martial arts performances, and ceremonies, but our little group of sisters attracted a lot of attention from the Vietnamese-American crowd and became minor celebrities for the morning. Everyone wanted to have a picture taken with them, and sometimes wanted a picture of our whole group. Maybe because my husband dressed up in his Chinese jacket!

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Most of the sisters don’t mind posing for pictures, anyway!

My favorite performance was the Lion Dancers. All young men in pairs, they made the giant dragons dance and leap into the air.

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When I saw a few of the Lion Dancers relaxing after their performance, they agreed to let me snap their picture.IMG_4178

There were a lot of vendors and displays.

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And, of course, a lot of tables where you could buy food!

I bought a Vietnamese sandwich, bánh mì, to take home and we sliced it and had it for dinner.

banh mi sandwich slices

When our group of lovely ladies learned that morning that I had not yet tried phở (Vietnamese noodle soup) they decided to treat us to lunch at a nearby Vietnamese restaurant, where they showed me how to eat phở correctly. I made a valiant attempt with chopsticks, but soon gave in and used a spoon.

I ordered the tofu-vegetable phở but accidentally was given plain vegetable phở, which was still delicious. When the apologetic waiter brought me a dish of sauteed tofu, I just added it in!

The Tet in Boston was held before Lunar New Year, so my husband made banh chung to give to his students for their own New Year’s dinner the following week.

I wrote about banh chung in an earlier Weekend Cooking post, if you would like more details on what it is!

These are the two Vietnamese cookbooks my husband has been given. I hope to try a recipe from one or both of them soon!

cover image of Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table Vietnamese Home Cooking

Happy Lunar New Year and Happy Weekend Cooking!

Weekend Cooking badgeLinked to Weekend Cooking, a weekly feature on Beth Fish Reads. Click/tap image for Weekend Cooking posts from other bloggers.

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Judith / Leeswammes
8 years ago

Thanks for sharing this wonderful story. I had my first pho in December in Paris! Ever since reading the beautiful The Beauty of Humanity Movement by Camilla Gibb, I’ve been wanting to eat it. It looks like you had a lot of very good food and a great time!

Deepika Ramesh
8 years ago

Lovely pictures. Thank you for sharing. 🙂

Beth F
8 years ago

What a celebration! Looks like you all had a great time. I don’t know a lot about Vietnamese food, and I keep meaning to check out some of the available cookbooks. That pho looks delicious.

Guiltless Reading
8 years ago

What a fun visit! And everything looks so festive … and delicious!

Pat @ PostingForNow
8 years ago

Looks like a fun celebration! Thanks for sharing your photos. I am not familiar with Vietnamese food. I’m glad you enjoyed it.

Jackie
8 years ago

Yum! Love noodle soup!

jama
8 years ago

What a wonderful celebration — so colorful and festive and delicious! Thanks for sharing all the great pics. 🙂

Diane (bookchickdi)
8 years ago

I love the sisters’ beautiful smiling faces!

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