Abstract

This dissertation is an ethnobotanical study that documents and analyzes the reconstruction of culinary practices of the Vietnamese diaspora in Hawaii. The basic approach was a comparative study of Vietnamese in Honolulu, Hawaii and Biên Hòa, Vietnam. A triangulation of methods was employed that included: (1) interviews, both, (a) ethnographic and (b) participant observations with key informants and during community events, (2) documentation of food plants from Vietnamese market places, and (3) an analysis of food reconstruction using an ecological community analysis and species functions model approaches applied to a culturally significant food.

A checklist of over 200 food plants that includes the taxonomic groupings, scientific and vernacular nomenclature in Vietnamese, English and French was compiled. Changes in food plant usage from a foundation in Vietnam to a modified diet in Hawaii are noted. Acculturation of food plant knowledge of Vietnamese in the Hawaii compared to their counterparts in Vietnam was documented. While there was a positive correlation between age and knowledge of food plants in both communities, older Vietnamese immigrants demonstrated greater recognition of plants than younger ones and Vietnamese born in the U.S. Younger Vietnamese in Hawaii also used significantly fewer Vietnamese plant names compared to older Vietnamese.

Colocasia gigantea (Blume) Hook. f. (Araceae) was documented as a significant plant in the culinary history of Vietnamese-Americans. It is an indicator species in the Vietnamese soup, canh chua. An ecological community analysis of canh chua recipes in cookbooks from the U.S. and Vietnam demonstrated that its reconstruction has been a dynamic process of plant substitutions that fulfill specific taste functions. Stability of functions is significant to maintaining the structure and recreating the cultural experience of the food.

This dissertation documents a dynamic community of people and assemblage of food plants reflecting (1) the natural and social climates of Hawaii, (2) increased trade between Vietnamese in Hawaii and Vietnam, and (3) the economic flexibility of Vietnamese in the U.S. These findings are considered in designing a culturally informative cookbook that is the reciprocal return to the communities where I worked.