Thank you Andrea for your research in Tet. I love to understand the history of words and pleased to know the Chinese people stood firm with their tradition.
Jan 30, 2023·edited Jan 30, 2023Liked by Andrea Nguyen
Thank you, Andrea! I am a 4th generation Chinese-American, and there are so many things that my cousins and I don't know! It takes a Vietnamese-American to teach us!!! The "extra depth sprinkled in" that you provide is very welcome!!!
I listened to the interview and it didn't bother me that you didn't know the origin. Rather it struck me as you being your usual honest self. Thanks for doing the research and sharing with your fans!
Interestingly, Koreanized version of Chinese site refers ,團圓節 (mind you on the order of Chinese characters) as another name for full moon festival (August 15 lunar calendar or 中秋節)
Woah -- I have to look up those characters, Yun Ho. Tet is included for the Moon Festival term -- Tet Trung Thu, but the characters are the latter set that you point out.
Does Korean have a separate set of Chinese characters? Viet language used to based on chu nom -- Chinese characters with some occasional extra strokes here and there to differentiate them from Chinese. 🤷🏻♀️
Another great newsletter, Andrea! I love peanut butter cookies even more than almond butter, so thank you for this. And the addition of the sesame coating is brilliant--both types! The crumb on this cookie looks super crisp. Is there any chewiness to it? If not, is there a modification that will make the center chewy, or should I stick to another tried and true recipe like that?
Hi Bonnie! Aaaah -- a fellow peanut butter cookie lover. Yay! This cookie is delicate and crisp all the way through. There’s no chew because there’s no flour, I suppose. And the way they are coated allows you to do some with sesame seeds and some without so you may try all the variations and see what you like. It’s a fun recipe.
Marion -- thank you for taking time to listen and read and comment. I am hard on myself because I don’t want to mislead or misrepresent. Love that you noted my mortification. It was like, “Why don’t I know that?!” But not knowing resulted in a revelation that benefits lots of people.
You shopped where Eileen YFL shopped? How cool! She was a tireless cook and teacher. Thank you for sharing your experience!
Thanks for the feedback y'all. I love how folks share information in the Substack comment section. It's an efficient way for us all to communicate. That said, this lovely note arrived in my inbox:
Hello! I don’t know if replying will work, but I wanted to say that we made the almond butter cookies last week and they were AMAZING!! My soy allergy got a lot worse in my 40s and the risk of cross contact is such that we hardly ever eat out or get predone baked items. We duly followed your instructions, and even though we thought it wouldn’t work, we achieved magical perfect almond cookies that tasted and looked exactly like the ones the the Chinese bakery we used to go to years back!! And so easy!! Truly, one of the best recipes ever. Lots of memories are all right there, bundled up in an almond cookie. 💕 Thank you for the peanut butter follow up as we wondered about subbing other nut butters. We look forward to trying the variation and are big fans of your work.
I think you are too hard on yourself! I heard Francis' talk with you and could tell you were mortified but also knew that there are some cultural norms we don't question. I am glad you found the origin and why you didn't know-such a fascinating history. I think I read the meaning of Tet in an old cookbook 40 years ago (I wonder if it was in The Classic Cuisine of Vietnam? Can't find my copy at the moment). I am so sorry to hear of the passing of Eileen Yin-Fei Lo. She was one of my heroes. We used to shop at the same Chinese market in Maywood. Her books were my go tos. Thank you for a wonderful post.
I think it's the same meaning except your characters are the simplified version. Koreans still use non-simplified Chinese characters. As far as I know, we do not have separate Chinese characters. We call full moon festival simply Chuseok (秋夕) or Autumn night.
I remember my Father's explanation (he influenced in three languages: Vietnamese, Chinese and French): TẾT is from the French word: "la Tête": (cái đầu), the beginning.
Thank you Andrea for your research in Tet. I love to understand the history of words and pleased to know the Chinese people stood firm with their tradition.
You’re so welcome. I’m thrilled to know that you share interest in this sort of thing. I can get geeky on things and worry about ‘over sharing’.
Many people want recipes and pretty photos. I do too but with some extra depth sprinkled in. :->
Great post! Thanks for sharing your experience and recipe!
Thank you, Andrea! I am a 4th generation Chinese-American, and there are so many things that my cousins and I don't know! It takes a Vietnamese-American to teach us!!! The "extra depth sprinkled in" that you provide is very welcome!!!
Sylvia — thank you for being part of the PTFS crew. I bet we call learn from one another. There’s power in unity.
I listened to the interview and it didn't bother me that you didn't know the origin. Rather it struck me as you being your usual honest self. Thanks for doing the research and sharing with your fans!
Thanks for listening! I do try to be honest. It can be hard during an audio interview but as you, say, I’m keeping it real!
Interestingly, Koreanized version of Chinese site refers ,團圓節 (mind you on the order of Chinese characters) as another name for full moon festival (August 15 lunar calendar or 中秋節)
Woah -- I have to look up those characters, Yun Ho. Tet is included for the Moon Festival term -- Tet Trung Thu, but the characters are the latter set that you point out.
Does Korean have a separate set of Chinese characters? Viet language used to based on chu nom -- Chinese characters with some occasional extra strokes here and there to differentiate them from Chinese. 🤷🏻♀️
I loved your explanation of Tet! And, Eileen Yin-Fei Lo - I'm lucky to have Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking!
Mastering is an amazing work!
I really appreciate this, Andrea. Thanks for sharing your clarity of sight and mind! <3
Heheheh — it’s rare that both of things happen at once! Thanks for commenting Linda.
Thank you for the explanation. Tet is in full force down here in New Orleans.
My pleasure, Kathleen! I’m heading to New Orleans for work this week. Very much looking forward to it!
Have fun! Snag a Dong Phoung King Cake.
That’s a tough one! I’ll try!
Another great newsletter, Andrea! I love peanut butter cookies even more than almond butter, so thank you for this. And the addition of the sesame coating is brilliant--both types! The crumb on this cookie looks super crisp. Is there any chewiness to it? If not, is there a modification that will make the center chewy, or should I stick to another tried and true recipe like that?
Hi Bonnie! Aaaah -- a fellow peanut butter cookie lover. Yay! This cookie is delicate and crisp all the way through. There’s no chew because there’s no flour, I suppose. And the way they are coated allows you to do some with sesame seeds and some without so you may try all the variations and see what you like. It’s a fun recipe.
Happy Sunday!
Marion -- thank you for taking time to listen and read and comment. I am hard on myself because I don’t want to mislead or misrepresent. Love that you noted my mortification. It was like, “Why don’t I know that?!” But not knowing resulted in a revelation that benefits lots of people.
You shopped where Eileen YFL shopped? How cool! She was a tireless cook and teacher. Thank you for sharing your experience!
Thanks for the feedback y'all. I love how folks share information in the Substack comment section. It's an efficient way for us all to communicate. That said, this lovely note arrived in my inbox:
Hello! I don’t know if replying will work, but I wanted to say that we made the almond butter cookies last week and they were AMAZING!! My soy allergy got a lot worse in my 40s and the risk of cross contact is such that we hardly ever eat out or get predone baked items. We duly followed your instructions, and even though we thought it wouldn’t work, we achieved magical perfect almond cookies that tasted and looked exactly like the ones the the Chinese bakery we used to go to years back!! And so easy!! Truly, one of the best recipes ever. Lots of memories are all right there, bundled up in an almond cookie. 💕 Thank you for the peanut butter follow up as we wondered about subbing other nut butters. We look forward to trying the variation and are big fans of your work.
Cynthia and Jim in Chicago
I think you are too hard on yourself! I heard Francis' talk with you and could tell you were mortified but also knew that there are some cultural norms we don't question. I am glad you found the origin and why you didn't know-such a fascinating history. I think I read the meaning of Tet in an old cookbook 40 years ago (I wonder if it was in The Classic Cuisine of Vietnam? Can't find my copy at the moment). I am so sorry to hear of the passing of Eileen Yin-Fei Lo. She was one of my heroes. We used to shop at the same Chinese market in Maywood. Her books were my go tos. Thank you for a wonderful post.
I think it's the same meaning except your characters are the simplified version. Koreans still use non-simplified Chinese characters. As far as I know, we do not have separate Chinese characters. We call full moon festival simply Chuseok (秋夕) or Autumn night.
Ah, the traditional Chinese characters had many more strokes. That makes sense!m. Thanks for the follow up from the Korean Hangul side of things!
I remember my Father's explanation (he influenced in three languages: Vietnamese, Chinese and French): TẾT is from the French word: "la Tête": (cái đầu), the beginning.