Magical kitchens

Lena's Asian Kitchen not only provides healthy meals in Houston, Texas - USA with a rich menu of Asian dishes, but is also a place where many people start a new life, according to ABC 13.

Beautiful Mission

"I create jobs for people who have escaped domestic violence, and I am one of them. I sympathize with people who are in the same situation - feeling like they are alone - and that's why I really want to raise awareness about domestic violence," chef Lena Le, also known as Le Quynh Trang, told ABC News.

“She helped me understand that I needed to believe in myself,” said Tracey Diehl, a prep worker at Lena’s Asian Kitchen. “I’m getting my life back and moving into my own apartment.” Meanwhile, Jewel Miller, a baker, said, “Lena is always supportive and she always tries to encourage me to do things.”

Vietnamese-American chef Lena Le Photo: FOX 26

FOX 26 also mentioned Lena Le in a series celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage in Houston last year. The 37-year-old chef told the channel that many members of Lena's Asian Kitchen family had difficult pasts, perhaps in their home countries, before coming to America.

"Some were physically abused, some were emotionally abused, some were even sexually assaulted. Seeing them suffer made me feel traumatized and I really wanted to change. They needed a job to start saving for a new life, buy a new car and get their own apartment," she confided.

Lena Le began studying culinary management at the Art Institute of Houston after leaving Vietnam to settle in the US in 2015. She spent many years working at famous Houston restaurants such as Bludorn and even won the American James Beard culinary award.

In early 2022, she decided to open her own food company, focusing on Asian-inspired dishes. The idea came from the fact that after the hard work days when she first came to America, she always wanted to eat a dish with the taste of home but quickly realized that the Asian dishes she craved were not available.

The first dishes on chef Lena Le's online menu include braised pork and duck eggs with rice, beef with rice... - Photo: Lena's Asian Kitchen

Vietnamese food is definitely present in Lena's cozy kitchen, but not only that, they also serve Korean, Japanese, Thai, Malaysian, Indian dishes... The top criteria is to provide delicious portions but still suitable for people with health limitations, requiring a special diet.

Lena Le's idea was quickly responded to by Americans with 400 orders/week after the first month the "magic kitchen" opened.

The essence of Vietnamese cuisine

Like Lena Le, many female chefs of Vietnamese origin are known for spreading the characteristics of Vietnamese cuisine, introducing Vietnamese culture and people to the world.

Chef Thi Le, manager of Jeow restaurant and Ca Com bakery in Melbourne, Australia, is among them. She was voted "Chef of the Year" by Gourmet Traveller magazine in September 2022, having previously won the same title from Foodservice (2019).

Vietnamese-American chef Thi Le Photo: DAILY MAIL

Confiding to SBS Radio (Australia), Thi Le said she is familiar with the flavors of southern dishes from her hometown: not too strong in flavor and with lots of fresh vegetables. She said her mother grows all kinds of vegetables in the backyard, so every meal has a basket of fresh vegetables.

"We travel a lot, so on weekends, the whole family tries to eat a lot of vegetables. Sometimes we make bitter melon stir-fried with eggs, sometimes we cook vegetable soup" - Thi Le recounted.

She believes that herbs and spices are the secret to enhancing the flavor of Vietnamese dishes. That is also the reason why Vietnamese restaurants often have a plate of herbs on the side. Herbs are considered "green medicine", for example, whenever her stomach is rumbling because of alcohol, Thi Le often eats pho, instead of stuffing her stomach with bacon and eggs like some people. Thi Le explains: "Pho is a nutritious dish that helps warm the body".

“Million view” chef Tue (Tway) Nguyen Photo: Instagram

Besides Thi Le, there is another Vietnamese girl who is famous for promoting her homeland's cuisine on social media platforms and attracting millions of followers, that is Tue (Tway) Nguyen. She was born in 1988, lives in Los Angeles, California - USA, and studied culinary at the California Institute of the Arts.

When the US began experiencing its first wave of COVID-19, Tue Nguyen shared a clip of her cooking egg fried rice with sausage, green onions, minced garlic and a little fish sauce. Although the clip was only 30 seconds long, it inspired both Vietnamese and foreigners to love Vietnamese food, and it was a stepping stone for her to pursue a career in the culinary industry.

Responding to The Knockturnal, Tue Nguyen affirmed: "My goal has always been to connect people through food. Honestly, I know Vietnamese food best. The difficult thing for me is to simplify the recipe without losing the essence of Vietnamese food."

Her inspiration for cooking was celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain and former US President Barack Obama enjoyed bun cha in Hanoi in 2016.

Vietnamese-American chef Tue (Tway) Nguyen Photo: RESTAURANTNEWS.COM

Recently, on March 29, when sharing with the media about opening a Vietnamese restaurant called DI DI in West Hollywood in June, Tue Nguyen said: "My food always tells the story of my own experiences. Vietnam is constantly developing and it's time to bring modern Vietnam to Hollywood. (...) I want Vietnamese cuisine to receive the love and attention it deserves."

Miss you mom!

Besides the familiar image of the basket of herbs, Thi Le still remembers the aroma coming from the kitchen when she comes home from school. "Sometimes, even before I get home, I can already smell the fragrant aroma of the spices and herbs my mother is cooking. The aroma permeates the air," Thi Le told SBS.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, she has been contemplating the simple yet nutritious dishes she loved as a child, and has added more fillings to sandwiches. For the Vietnamese chef, the kitchen is a familiar place and where she learned how to make Vietnamese dishes like spring rolls and simple, healthy dishes from her mother.

Tue Nguyen also said Asian Americans, especially Vietnamese Americans, always tell her that her recipes remind them of their mothers and good times.

Hue Binh

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