My Partner Doesn’t Know What “Pork Floss” Is
A story about identity
This year marks the 10th Lunar New Year I’m not spending with my family in Vietnam and 2 years since I last visited Vietnam. It’s a bit crazy to think about that little fact.
Needless to say, I’ve been feeling homesick.
Since I discovered a Vietnamese supermarket near my place in London, I haven’t stopped eating authentic Vietnamese food: Phở ăn liền (instant Pho), giò lụa (lean pork pie), and bánh chưng (square sticky rice cake).
I have gotten so used to my lifestyle in London and adapting without question over the years that sometimes I forget just how comforting and effortless it is to surround myself with familiar things from my birthplace.
The other day, while I was on a video call with my sisters to wish each other a happy lunar new year, I saw my eldest one eating a popular Asian dish called ruốc (pork floss.) She told me that she had bought it from a Vietnamese seller on Facebook who was part of a niche group for immigrants like us.
From my understanding, my sister frequented those groups initially because she wanted to promote her Vietnamese blog to Vietnamese people. In that regard, I only write in English, so I haven’t made any efforts to imbed myself in such groups — I figured my own circle of…
