Born, 1948, Hanoi
Mother tongue, Vietnamese
Grandchildren, Joseph, James, Calypso, Alfred, Edward
They call her, Ba Tinh
This dish is eaten in Hanoi where I’m from as street food. My mother taught me how to make its become ever-present on the family menu. I even did it for my children’s packed lunches at school. The key is to use all the coriander, including the stalks because they hold the most flavour.
In the eighties, thanks to political unrest in Vietnam, I was forced to flee from my home in Hanoi. My husband was Chinese and there was conflict between Vietnam and China at the time. We may well have been subject to ethnic cleansing if we had stayed. So we became part of the boat people migration that happened across the late seventies and early eighties.
Part of me honouring my new self without my husband were these tattoos. I got my first one when I was 60. My first tattoo was an enormous one on my back. Since then I’ve had sleeves down both arms and legs. It was an affirmation that, ‘you know what? This is who I am and I don’t care.’ Every tattoo I have symbolises how I was feeling at the time. It’s an expression of my entire life. These tattoos make me really, very happy. I’m more myself now, in my old age, definitely.