Anh-Hoa Thi Nguyen Microgrant

A food memoir book with the working title of “Hand to Mouth: A Daughter’s Memory and a Mother’s Legacy of Vietnamese Food” about my complicated relationship with Vietnamese food and how cultivating that relationship over time influenced my desire to learn about my Vietnamese culture and family history. Woven throughout this three-part essay will be a story highlighting my mother’s experiences working in Vietnamese restaurants in the Twin Cities, as well as historical reflections on four Asian markets on University Ave and stories about the history of the buildings/locations before they became Asian markets. These Asian markets have all played important roles in the legacy of my mother’s cooking and the ability of refugees, like my family, from South East Asia to find food and ingredients that remind them of home.