This article originally appeared in the Fall-Winter 2022/2023 print issue of Quench Magazine.

As the chef/owner behind New York City’s buzzy Vietnamese spot, Saigon Social, Helen Nguyen knows a thing or two about building community during challenging times.

Having constantly pivoted her business, which opened in March 2020 just days before the city’s restaurants were ordered to shutter in an attempt to halt the spread of COVID-19, Nguyen is essentially the modern definition of what it means to be a chef –– versatile, patient, and above all, committed to creating shared memories over delicious dishes that both celebrate and build upon their origins.

We spoke with Nguyen about how she got into cooking professionally, what motivates her to keep serving customers, and her vision for Saigon Social’s future.

The following conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

TELL ME A LITTLE ABOUT WHERE YOU GREW UP.

I was born in California and my family moved to Houston, Texas for a couple of years before going back to California, and then it was Seattle pretty much my entire life prior to moving to New York.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE COMFORT FOOD GROWING UP?

Braised pork belly and crepes that my dad would make. Or over rice. It’s still very much in my weekly rotation today –– I have to have my rice two to three times a week. I would say I’ve put my own twist on it, but honestly I don’t think there was ever technically a recipe for it –– my parents didn’t use cookbooks or anything like that. I would just mimic what they were doing, and as I got older and learned more about ingredients and cooking techniques, I was able to refine it over time.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE INGREDIENT TO COOK WITH?

Fish sauce! I think it’s in almost every recipe or every sauce I make. Whenever I make spaghetti or any kind of pasta, it’s in there as well. My favorite in the last couple of years is Red Boat.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE RESTAURANT THAT NEVER DISAPPOINTS?

I would say there are two restaurants that fit this for me –– they’re both Vietnamese restaurants in Seattle, and they’re actually right next to each other, but they serve very different foods. The first one is called Hoang Lan, and they’re known for their spicy beef noodle soup, which really hasn’t changed over the past 25 years. It’s been the same family running the restaurant all this time. The other is called Huong Que, and they’re very much focused on homestyle cooking –– it’s been around for decades as well. The mom and the son who manage Hoang Lan have helped me on many occasions to tweak my spicy beef noodle soup that I’ve learned from them, and they’ve even offered to fly to New York to help me refine the dish here. Every time I go home, that’s one of my first stops.

WHO (OR WHAT) IS YOUR MOST SIGNIFICANT CULINARY INFLUENCE?

I grew up watching a lot of Jacques Pepin’s videos. He’s been a huge influence since childhood in that his videos have always been so approachable, even a child could understand. Even now, I catch myself watching them and they resonate so differently, but the foundations remain the same –– they’re very easy to follow! What made it so intriguing and helpful for me is that I obviously didn’t understand what an omelet was when I was much younger, but he breaks everything down by technique. He shows you how to cut an onion, for example, but also explains different ways to make a single dish, which I still find really interesting.

WHAT DO YOU DRINK AT HOME?

I drink a lot of green tea, but I also drink a lot of coffee. I think the very first thing I do when I get to work is to have a quart of coffee. Before, I’d drink whatever coffee was available at work, but over the last few years, I’ve been only drinking Nguyen Coffee Supply. Sahra (the founder) and I became really good friends, and I try to support them as much as possible. I love the Truegrit blend, and I’m a big fan of the Robusta –– I don’t love the acidic aftertaste of Arabica coffees as much. I feel like I used to drink coffee with condensed milk, but over the last few years, I’ve just been having coffee black.

WHAT KIND OF MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO WHILE YOU COOK?

Vietnamese music! That’s what’s always on at home and in the restaurant. I have a few different playlists, sometimes it’s just classic, other times it’s more modern Vietnamese rap or pop. I personally think it makes the food taste better –– when you’re in a happy mood, it translates!

WHY AND WHEN DID YOU START COOKING?

I think I’ve always had an interest in cooking. When I was younger, my cousins and I used to play house and restaurant a lot; they used to watch me while my parents were working, and we’d cook eggs or fry spam. As I got older, I really enjoyed hosting weekly dinner parties for friends. Several years before moving to New York, I would volunteer at my church kitchen, and I think that was my first experience with large volume cooking. They had a community kitchen that offered hot meals to those in need, and I was a parishioner at that church, which is how I learned about the program. I would work two to three times a week to cook between 150 to 300 meals. I found a lot of joy about that –– I never thought it would become a career, but I always loved cooking.

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DO YOU FEEL LIKE WHAT YOU WANT OUT OF COOKING HAS EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS?

When you’re doing it recreationally versus professionally, your outlook changes. Yes, I have a restaurant now and I cook as a profession, but I see us as more than a restaurant –– it’s a strong foundation for a community. I get a lot of joy out of conversing with regulars, or with people who are coming in and tasting this food for the first time. When I opened the restaurant, it wasn’t to make money –– everyone knows how slim the margins are. But it’s something that made me so physically and emotionally exhausted at the end of every night, but I’d wake up every morning energized to do it again!

WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR SAIGON SOCIAL MOVING FORWARD?

Honestly? Stability. We’ve been stop-and-go for so long that I’m waiting for the day that everything we’re doing becomes second nature rather than constant pivoting. That’s what I’m excited for.