My family doesn’t have many grand objects from our Vietnamese heritage. And of those we do own, I don’t have much personal attachment to them. However, something that I’ve grown up with that I do adore is the Hotpot we always use for big dinners. I don’t know when we got it, all I know is that this pot has been in our family for as long as I can remember. Whenever we have a large group of people, usually family from out of state, we always use this for dinner. This picture is actually from Christmas dinner 2024.
The reason this pot means so much to me specifically is because of how many memories of mine revolve around this piece of cookware. Hotpot always leads to lighthearted conversations, a delicious meal, and patiently waiting for our food to finish cooking. The food each person chooses to cook and eat always reflects who they are. I remember that this specific night was when I tried fish roe dumplings for the first time and fell in love. In fact, part of the reason I’m in college is because of this pot as I actually wrote my college essay on it.
Whenever I go into storage to grab the pot, every memory of the fun and laughter it’s brought to my family comes flooding back. It may not be as glamorous as a piece of jewelry or as grandiose as a family heirloom, but our Hotpot has brought my family a sense of joy that just can’t be recreated.
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