Che Thai

January 22nd... two years since my mom has passed away and most of the time I go about my life pretending and trying to think that things are ok. Every now and then (and always at the most random times) it hits me really hard that she's gone and it always hits me really hard on this particular day. I thought I could make it through a whole day at work, and I almost didn't. It was hard, and I might be thinking about keeping this day open from now on.

Anyways, the family was gathering together at my dad's house to pray for my mom and all eat together. My dad said that he was going to cook everything that night and that no one was allowed to cook because he felt like he had to do it for her. He cooked Bo Kho (beef stew) and Bun Rieu (tomato based soup with seafood/tofu). It was pretty good too and he was very proud of his dishes. I wanted to bring something, but knew that 1) he didn't want me to and 2) I normally don't really cook. I enjoy baking.. but I don't know what the heck I'm doing when it comes down to cooking.

I thought a lot about what I could do and I decided to go for Che Thai. My mom was known for her ches (Vietnamese desserts). She made the best- hands down. Anyone in my family would agree to that. My mom was one of those great cooks that could never really pass down recipes because she never had any. I wish I had recipes for any particular che or all of them. One that I liked a lot was her Che Thai. It has coconut cream/milk with different kinds of fruit in it. I used logans, jackfruit, toddy palm seeds, and water chestnuts covered in tapioca. I used a recipe I found online and it didn't turn out so bad. The liquid/base for it all was a bit watered down and it wasn't as sweet as it could have been. Overall though, I would say it was a successful first try. Made me feel good to try something that my mom does so well and to have it on the night that we were all gathering for her. I think I might be trying out some other che recipes to see if I can try to remember more from her/of her.

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