Vietnamese woman turns California backyard into a slice of the Mekong Delta

In late September, Loan and her mother, Nguyen Ngoc, 55, walked into their backyard garden to harvest eggplants, okra, and herbs to prepare good mom (fermented fish noodle soup).

For over a year, the duo have been cooking in an outdoor kitchen built with steel mesh frames and tin roof. Aluminum pans, bamboo trays, and strings of onions and garlic hang on the walls. In the yard, they have put up hammocks and wooden tables and chairs for family gatherings, dining, and admiring the garden.

Originally from the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long, Loan moved to the U.S. in 2013 and took her mother there six years later.

Knowing that her mother was accustomed to rural life and loved cooking, Loan and her husband decided to renovate the vacant plot behind their house into a garden. She also wanted her two U.S.-born children to experience her family’s traditional lifestyle and culinary culture.

The gardening project began in 2020. After hiring professionals to clear the weeds, the couple personally tilled the land, created garden beds, fertilized the soil, and planted trees.

Getting seeds was the most time-consuming part. In the case of common fruits and vegetables, Loan bought seeds and saplings from the Vietnamese community in the U.S. But for herbs such as culantro, cilantro, and Thai basil, she had to drive three hours to a Vietnamese market to buy fresh herbs, soak them in water until they rooted, and then plant them in the ground.

“Dozens of cuttings died before the plants finally took root, but the thought of not having fresh herbs whenever we want to cook Vietnamese food made us try again,” she says.

Now, six years after being planted, the garden now boasts dozens of fruit trees like coconut, peach, lemon, plum, jujube, and banana, seasonal fruits, and vegetables like water spinach, tomatoes, sponge gourds, okra, cucumbers, chili peppers, Chinese onions, taro stems, and bitter melons.

Ngoc, 55, in her family’s Mekong Delta-style outdoor kitchen in Northern California, the United States. Photo courtesy of Loan

In early 2025, the couple built an outdoor kitchen to complete their living space. Since local contractors were unfamiliar with the rustic architecture of Southwestern Vietnam, Loan only hired them to erect the iron frame, install the tin roof, and pour the concrete floor.

The remaining work, such as running electrical wiring, building wooden shelves, constructing the sink unit, and laying tiles, was done by the couple themselves.

Behind the kitchen, her husband planted a row of coconut trees and dug a koi pond, modeled after the one in Loan’s hometown.

Cooking utensils such as banh khot (Vietnamese mini savory pancakes) molds, banh xeo (Vietnamese crispy pancakes) pans, bamboo trays, and woven baskets were brought from Vietnam by the family.

Since having the outdoor kitchen and garden, Ngoc spends most of her day tending to the trees, making banh xeo, and cooking Mekong Delta-style dishes for her children and grandchildren.

“Sitting in the kitchen, listening to the sound of cicadas and birds singing in the garden, I feel like I’m right back in my hometown,” she says.

On weekends and holidays, the “Mekong Delta-style garden” becomes a gathering spot for the extended family. They harvest vegetables, cook in the kitchen, and lie on the hammocks.

Through these outdoor meals, Loan’s two children have become familiar with the flavors of good mom, banh xeo, ca bung soup (eggplant soup), and grilled squid.

Whenever she cooks Vietnamese food, she makes extra portions to share with her American neighbors. Many neighbors who come to visit inquire about the design of this open-concept kitchen.

Ngoc (second from left) with her children and grandchildren in the U.S. Photo courtesy of Loan

In her free time, Loan films her family cooking and harvesting produce, and posts the videos on social media, drawing millions of views. Beneath the videos, many viewers leave comments saying that the tin roof, washing area, and hammock remind them of their homeland.

For Loan, the greatest value of the garden is that it helps younger generations stay connected to their roots. “After stressful hours at work, all I need to do is step into the backyard, lie on the hammock, and gaze at the vegetable garden to feel the same peace I felt in my childhood,” she says.