Ann Mah's newsletter / November 2020
November 2020 newsletter
Hello!
Living in the tropics, I've had the strangest sensation of time standing still. Though Hanoi does have a winter (chilly, damp, and grey, so I hear), the rest of the year is some variation of hot, hotter, and hottest. It feels like eternal terrasse weather (and isn't this one at the Metropole Hotel a beauty?) so when I looked at the calendar a few days ago, I was shocked to realize that Thanksgiving is in two weeks!
Of course our celebrations will look different this year because of Covid, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I'll let you in on a little secret: every year, after the annual feast with family and friends, I come home and make my very own little turkey dinner. I do this because A) I love Thanksgiving leftovers; and B) I can cook everything exactly the way I want :) I usually roast a turkey breast because I like white meat, but if you prefer dark, braised turkey thighs are divine and so easy in the Instant Pot. I wrote about them a few years ago in this article for the Washington Post.
Or, maybe this will be the year you'll have fondue for Thanksgiving? Or eggs benedict? Or order Chinese food and binge season 4 of The Crown? (That sounds pretty fantastic, actually.) Whatever you decide, I'm wishing you a safe and healthy holiday filled with virtual visits from the people you love.
Here's what else I've been up to...
What I've been eating
–Everyone loves pie, but with smaller gatherings this year, why not downsize them? King Arthur Baking has excellent tips, ideas, and measurements on how to miniaturize your pies.
–Speaking of pie, I enjoy making the usual suspects (pumpkin, apple), but the one I love most is David Lebovitz's chocolate pecan. Pecans are very expensive here in Vietnam, however, so I'm toying with the idea of using cashews, which are a local nut and very reasonable. Thoughts?
–Whether you're baking one pie or many, I recommend Melissa Clark's all-butter pie crust recipe from the New York Times.
–Kimchi mac and cheese is the realization of a dream I didn't know I had.
–Someone posted about the ranch fire crackers on Twitter and I can't stop thinking about them. It's unlikely I'll make them soon since the ingredients aren't readily available in Vietnam, but if you do, drop me a line and let me know how delicious they are on a scale of one to ten.
What I've been reading
–If you follow me on Instagram, you'll see I've been posting daily photos of my life here in Hanoi. The question I've been asked the most is why people aren't wearing masks in my pictures – and the answer is that Vietnam has had one of the world's most successful pandemic responses, with only 35 deaths in a population of 96 million, and there is currently no community transfer. I talked about this a lot on Instagram, but the short version is that the Vietnamese government's successful Covid management is due to several factors including pandemic preparedness, swift and serious early action, testing, contact tracing and isolation, wearing masks, closing the border, and suspension of all international flights. (A few groups like diplomats and experts have been allowed to enter, but they are tested twice and quarantined for 14 days, as we were when we arrived in September.) The result is that schools, restaurants, bars, offices, etc are all open and masks aren't generally worn, except in taxis, or by cyclists and moped drivers, to keep out dust. If you'd like to learn more about Vietnam's Covid response, here are good articles from the UN, the International Monetary Fund, and ABC Australia.
–The baby panda cub at the Smithsonian National Zoo is eleven weeks old and soooo sleepy and adorable.
–You know how sometimes you finish a book and miss the characters? That's how I've been feeling ever since I read Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig, an inspiring tale of adventure about a group of Smith graduates who volunteered in France during WWI. Lauren's book comes out in March – but you can preorder!
–As a fan of cool-climate wine in a rapidly warming world, I'm looking forward to Trink, the first English-language digital magazine about the wines of Austria, Germany, south Tyrol, and German Switzerland.
–Home-baker Stacey Mei Yan Fong has set out to bake a pie representing every state in America, from the marion berry, pear, hazelnut of Oregon, to a rice pudding pie fortified with homemade sunflower seed milk of South Dakota. Read more on her project, 50 States 50 Pies, at Eater.
–Chinese restaurateur and culinary icon Cecilia Chiang has passed away at 100. I'm looking forward to watching a documentary about her life, Soul of a Banquet, now on Amazon Prime. Here's the trailer.
A bientôt
Motorbikes seem to morph into another limb here in Vietnam, an extension of their human drivers. I am fascinated by the ways people use them – four people on a bike, babies in the front, piled high with furniture, restaurant supplies, a treadmill, you name it. You can even hail a bike via an app similar to Uber, hop on the back, and ride to your destination while dodging city's infamous traffic... which I'm not brave enough to do now, but maybe one day?
Wishing you a good month – and happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate! Please stay safe and healthy.
XO,
Ann