Vietnamese Family Builds Mekong Delta Homestead in California

In late September, 37-year-old Ngoc Loan and her 55-year-old mother, Nguyen Ngoc, stepped into their backyard to harvest eggplants, okra, and fresh herbs to prepare traditional fermented fish noodle soup (bún mắm).

For over a year, their central cooking space has been an open-air pavilion built with a steel wire mesh frame and corrugated sheet metal roofing. Along the perimeter walls hang aluminum pans, woven bamboo winnowing baskets, and bundles of dried garlic and shallots. Out in the garden, the family strung up hammocks and arranged wooden dining sets to share outdoor meals while admiring fruit trees.

A short video shared by Loan capturing daily life in her family’s miniature homestead in the United States garnered over 2.9 million views across social media.

Loan moved to the United States in 2013 from southwestern Vietnam and welcomed her mother to join her in 2019. Observing her mother’s deep comfort with rural routines and kitchen gardening, Loan and her husband decided to overhaul the vacant plot behind their home. She also wanted her two American-born children to experience traditional domestic rituals and regional culinary heritage firsthand.

The cultivation project commenced in 2020. After hiring a crew to clear thick weeds across the 2,000-square-meter parcel, the couple tilled the soil, raised garden beds, applied organic compost, and sowed seedlings by hand.

Sourcing authentic plant stock presented the greatest initial hurdle. For common fruit trees and garden vegetables, Loan acquired seeds and cuttings through Vietnamese diaspora networks across the United States. However, finding delicate culinary herbs like sawtooth coriander, cilantro, and Thai basil required driving three hours to Vietnamese grocery markets to buy fresh sprigs, which she rooted in water before transplanting outdoors.

“Dozens of cuttings withered before roots took hold, but whenever we craved authentic Vietnamese flavors missing fresh herbs, we started over again,” Loan said.

After six years of dedicated husbandry, the acreage features dozens of fruiting varieties, including coconuts, peaches, limes, plums, jujubes, and bananas. These grow alongside seasonal beds of water spinach, tomatoes, luffa, okra, cucumbers, chili peppers, pickled scallions, elephant ear stems, and bitter melons.

Mrs. Nguyen Ngoc in the rustic open-air kitchen built in Northern California

Loan’s young son playing within the family’s homestead garden

Cooking traditional Vietnamese comfort dishes using heritage utensils and cookware,

washing cookware beside the rustic kitchen setup

The household cultivates diverse Vietnamese produce varieties across the garden plot

Harvested okra, green beans, eggplants, chilis, and cucumbers grown in the California orchard

The couple integrated miniature garden landscapes and a decorative fish pond into the yard. 

Several rose varieties planted in front of her home

In early 2025, the couple erected the outdoor cooking structure to round out their living space. Because local contractors were unfamiliar with the rustic architectural traditions of the Mekong Delta, Loan only hired crews to frame the metal beams, lay the metal roof, and pour the concrete pad. The remaining work—wiring electrical lines, mounting wooden pantry shelves, constructing masonry wash basins, and tiling floors—was completed by the couple. Behind the pavilion, her husband planted coconut palms and excavated a koi pond designed to evoke village canals.

Traditional kitchenware, including mini savory pancake (bánh khọt) cast-iron molds, sizzling crepe (bánh xèo) pans, woven bamboo trays, and sieve baskets, were brought over directly from Vietnam.

Since completing the airy garden and kitchen, Ngoc spends most of her days tending crops, frying crepes, and preparing southern specialties for her grandchildren. “Sitting here listening to cicadas and singing birds in the yard makes me feel as if I am back in my home village,” Ngoc remarked.

On weekends and traditional holidays, the garden becomes an anchor for the extended family. Family members harvest greens together, cook side by side, and relax in hammocks. Through these shared meals, Loan’s children have developed an affection for regional dishes like bún mắm, bánh xèo, braised eggplant soup, and grilled squid. When cooking large batches, Loan often prepares extra portions for American neighbors, many of whom inquire about the breezy open pavilion design when visiting.

Mrs. Nguyen Ngoc gathered with her children and grandchildren in the United States. 

During her leisure hours, Loan records snippets of gardening and harvest routines, drawing millions of viewers on social channels. Online commenters note that the sight of corrugated tin roofs, outdoor wash floors, and canvas hammocks in America stirs fond memories of home.

For Loan, the greatest reward of the garden is anchoring younger generations to their roots. “After long workdays, stepping into the backyard and resting on the hammock while looking out over the vegetable beds brings me the same peace I felt as a child,” she said.

Source: vnexpress.net