The closer it gets to Tết 🧧, as I eat some store-bought ”dưa món” to assuage the inevitable nostalgia that always creeps up during this time of year, the more this tinge of hankering for a time long past grows in my memory.

“Dưa món” is unlike any regular pickled vegetables. “Dưa món” is the first spring Robbin that sings “Tết is near!” To make “dưa món,” you must first dehydrate the vegetables (usually a mixture of daikon radishes, chili, garlic, and carrots) before soaking it in a salty brine, giving this dish its signature crunch. Since we didn’t have mechanical help back then, we used the sun as our dehydrator. The entire process takes at least two weeks.

And so, every year, about two weeks before Tết, every balcony and rooftop of everyone, young and old, rich and poor, would be decorated with the natural colors of Tết vegetables. The spicy aroma of the sun-soaked radishes and chili would permeate the air, spreading the first seasonal cheers in the atmosphere. When rain was imminent, you could hear a chorus of moms’ voices hasting, “QUICK! Bring the dưa món inside!”

The hustle and bustle of American life, and the availability of ovens, have deflated this festive tradition quite a bit. I still have not had time to make my own “dưa món.” Life here passes by too quickly. Perhaps next year, you’ll find colorful trays of pungent vegetables on my balcony, basking in the January winter sun rays, letting you know “Tết is here!”