As an Asian-American, specifically of Vietnamese descent, my family’s traditional family dinner is quite different from the dinners we see in movies. Typically, the dinners shown consist of a main center dish, usually turkey or ham. There are also plenty of side dishes. Christmas dinner is very similar to a Thanksgiving dinner spread. There are also universally loved drinks like hot chocolate and eggnog.
In my family, growing up, we never had the “traditional” holiday dinner. My family’s tradition is buffet style. My family and friends always throw large gatherings. The host would pitch in the most food, and guests would bring a dish or two. My family always brought a noodle variation and Peking duck.
Being that I am not a picky eater, I want to try everything at these parties. There are always certain foods and drinks I look forward to eating the most, some are fish sauce chicken wings, crispy pork belly, and Bun Bo Hue. I love going for most of the protein options because there’s always so much variety. For drinks, I especially love going for Thai Tea or coconut water. Hot chocolate is not very popular in my household, and I have yet to try eggnog. This year, I’m looking forward to trying it.
Personally, I’m not a sweet-toothed inclined person. I prefer when desserts are “not too sweet”, so at these gatherings, I tend to sway away from “American” desserts. I typically reach for Che Thai which is a Vietnamese fruit cocktail dessert.
This time of year is when everyone puts in the most effort in their dishes as well. Whether it be testing out a new recipe, or making an incredibly large amount of their dish. Seeing the love put into making these dishes is what I look forward to the most, aside from the actual food.
