Family Meals

My family is a second generation Vietnamese Australian, arriving in 1985 as refugees from the Vietnam War. One of my favourite memories growing up in the 1990’s suburbia of Brisbane was our weekend tradition of cooking Nem Nuong (Pork Skewers) meats on a grill in our backyard.

 

My dad would make a home made grill with not much more than the a few pieces of recycled bricks. He would use 4 bricks to elevate the grill, a piece of chicken wire to serve as the grill, another 2 bricks to hold it in place, and  a bag of charcoal. It didn’t look great, but it was practical and served to bring out the best flavours.

 

Being such a glut, I would be salivating as I inhaled the aroma, I could hardly wait to taste the morsels of charred pork skewers and chicken wings as they came off the grill. I can still close my eyes and fondly recall the smell of spices. The lemongrass, garlic, chilli, pepper, five spice, fish sauce and the smoke as the rendered fat hits the charcoal. These are the flavours of Saigon.