“There’s nothing like mom’s home cooking. “
“Growing up as a young immigrant in a small town, my mom was my biggest mentor and role model. I have fond memories of our house filled with the aroma of the Lao meals she’d cook for my five brothers, four sisters, and myself. She unfortunately passed away in a house fire over a decade ago.”
“Nowadays, any delicious smell of Lao food wafting out of a kitchen is a time portal that sweeps me back to a time when my mom was alive, and it revives me of memories long forgotten. ”
“It was only after her passing that I began to passionately learn to cook authentic Lao food. I crave for her cooking.
I miss her.”
“As I honed my skills and recipes, it was difficult not having someone there for guidance on making Lao dish favorites, like kai palo (thom khem), pho, seen lard, thum mak hoong , kua mee, etc.”
“Yet, I am grateful to have strong support from my friends and family. They helped me stay positive and strive to live life to the fullest.”
“The most difficult decision I’ve made was going public with my cooking tutorials and recipes on social media. I was a very private person, and the internet can be brutal, but I’ve learned I cannot make everyone like me, even though I am a good person.”
“The advice I would give my younger self is to practice self-love, and to realize that being unique and different is absolutely amazing!!!”
“There will always be negative comments, but do not let that deter you from your goals. If you are true to yourself and know you are a kind person, that is what matters most.”
“My long black hair, my brown skin, and being bilingual and multicultural are awesome!”
“I embrace that my life was difficult and challenging as a child. What my family and I endured is not much different from other Lao families fleeing a war-torn country and looking to make a new life with freedom and prosperity.”
“It was difficult coming to America with little money, with nothing but the clothes on our backs, and with a lack of education. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for them. Yet, having language barriers compounded by prejudice and discrimination only made us stronger.”
- This picture was taken in Thai Camp. My mother is in the back center carrying my little sister who did not make it to America and passed away of sickness. I left Laos at 3 years old, had a birthday at Thai camp and came to America shortly after at 4 years old. We ended up in Upstate New York, Rochester, NY by sponsors of a church."
“Looking back now, I am extremely proud of my family and. I can honestly say we were still pure with ourselves, while being adaptable and victorious.”
“I am excited to see my children grow into strong, individual, and productive members of society. I have identical twin daughters who attend the University of Rochester and a son at the University of Chicago.”
“We also have pet hedgehogs as are part of our family 😊”
“I love Lao culture. It is heavily derived from Buddhism and centered around family, respect for others and contentment. To celebrate my Lao culture, I cook authentic dishes to share with my neighbors, friends and family. I even make meals and place them in for my deceased parents and loved ones.”
“I hope to continue sharing my love for food and help others perfect their own take on my recipes.”
“I am excited for COVID to end, so my husband and I can continue to travel the world sharing meals with friends and checking off destinations, cultures, and food from our bucket list.”
“I learned firsthand, you never know what day will be your last. Cherish and enjoy the little things in life because one day you`ll look back and realize they were the big things.”
