Giao Chau

CultureMagazin® • August 18, 2021

Denise Sandquist Returns to Her Birthplace to Empower Vietnamese Women

Does Vietnam need another dating app? This young entrepreneur thinks so.

CultureMagazin® • June 8, 2021

Salted Egg Yolk Is the Umami Ingredient You Need

How a humble pantry staple opens the door to culinary exploration.

CBC • May 10, 2021

What to cook in May: Cold noodles and snappy salads to remind you that you like to cook! | Life

We're more than a year into the pandemic, and the fatigue for us home cooks is real.

CultureMagazin® • April 21, 2021

Raising Children Between Cultures

How immigrant families become more resilient in the face of challenges.

CultureMagazin® • April 19, 2021

How Sahra Nguyen is Elevating Vietnamese Coffee

Nguyen Coffee Supply is building a socially just and equitable world, one cup of coffee at a time.

CultureMagazin® • February 19, 2021

Solving Scientific Problems Together

Can we solve Canada’s opiod crisis with a long-lasting targeted painkiller delivery system? Can we inject drugs directly into the central nervous system to treat stroke and spinal cord injuries? How can we improve stem cell survival and tissue...

CultureMagazin® • February 9, 2021

How Celebrating Tết Connects Vietnamese to Their Roots

Gratitude, togetherness and hope are the holiday’s essence, no matter what traditions people adopt.

Bon Appétit • December 7, 2020

Anything Water Can Do, Coconut Water Can Do Better

Long before coconut water was a trendy sports drink, I adored it. During the annual summer trip to visit my grandmother, I gulped the refreshing liquid straight from the green husk my uncle had broken open with a machete just seconds earlier. My...

CBC • November 25, 2020

How to make kho — the ultimate Vietnamese comfort food | Life

With summer days long gone and a distinct chill in the air, I dream of a bowl of warm rice, doused in the homey Vietnamese dish kho's sweet, salty and sticky sauce, with steamed cabbage on the side. That simple pleasure helped me survive my first...

CultureMagazin® • September 3, 2020

How the Vietnamese Diaspora Keeps the Phở Spirit Alive

For more than 20 years, Tuấn Võ arrives at his restaurant at 8 a.m. and gets everything ready before the first guest comes at around 11 a.m. When service ends and all the staff have gone, he stays behind and continues preparing for the next day.

CultureMagazin® • July 27, 2020

Culinary Frank: “There Are No Boundaries Between Cuisines”

You’re in bed at 10 PM, watching a knife mincing garlic and slicing pork while listening to the echo of the metallic blade hitting the wooden board. A moment later, the meat glistens in a viscous amber sauce on the stove, its sizzle amplified by the...

CultureMagazin® • June 30, 2020

A Look into Vietnamese Restaurants in Ontario During COVID-19

In the near future, your neighbourhood’s favourite Vietnamese restaurants may look different, with two-meter markers on the floor and hand sanitizer prominent on the table next to the condiment set. The dining room may be half-empty, with less...

My Joyous Lab • October 14, 2020

My Joyous Lab

This is my personal blog, where I document everything related to food and cooking.

CultureMagazin® • August 6, 2020

Not Pho Me Please – Vietnam’s 1001 Noodle Soups

Everybody knows phở is the touchstone of Vietnamese cuisine for the uninitiated. But the country offers a myriad of other noodle soups, as diverse and complex as the plot of One Thousand and One Nights, the renowned Middle Eastern folk tales. Make...

Food52 • March 17, 2016

Burmese Salads: Lacking in Greens, Huge in Flavor

It was during university in Singapore that my concept of salad was completely uprooted. Coming from Vietnam, where salad is usually served as a side, I found my concept of the dish limited to a mixture of greens tossed in tangy dressing. But my job at...

CultureMagazin® • September 16, 2020

You’re Be Pleasantly Surprised with Fast Food in Vietnam

Bin is a nine-year-old boy living in Saigon. Like other kids, he is excited about his coming birthday, when he will be showered with presents and play with his friends with limited parental supervision. Last year, his mom cooked a feast with his...

CultureMagazin® • September 17, 2020

Eating Bánh Xèo (Sizzling Crepe) is a Multisensory Experience

There are few Vietnamese dishes that can evoke as many of our senses as bánh xèo (sizzling cake or sizzling crepe), a bright yellow crepe stuffed with an explosion of protein goodness, served alongside a platter of multi-colored herbs and vegetables.

CultureMagazin® • August 20, 2020

A Vietnamese Food Adventure – These Dishes Are Not for the Faint-Hearted

Vietnam’s strategic geographical location endows the country with a long coastline, dense forests, plains and mountains that support a wide array of agricultural crops and animal habitats. These blessings from Mother Nature, together with the people’s...

CultureMagazin® • September 15, 2020

A Primer to Vietnamese Coffee

Coffee was deeply ingrained in the Vietnamese culture after its introduction to the country by French missionaries in 1857. “To get coffee” in Vietnam is “to talk” or “to discuss”.

CultureMagazin® • August 19, 2020

Vietnam’s Unique Contribution to the Global Pantry

Two main cultural forces influenced the development of Vietnamese cuisine over history. Centuries of Chinese occupation brought in noodles, roast meats and steamed buns, among others. Decades of French colonialization led to the perfection of the...