The postpartum food traditions that inspire Bé Bếp’s meals are rooted in the long-held practice of “sitting the month,” a period of rest and recovery observed across many East and Southeast Asian cultures after childbirth. In Vietnamese culture, this postpartum ritual reflects the belief that the weeks following birth are critical for a mother’s long-term health and recovery.

Traditional Vietnamese medicine draws from both traditional Chinese medicine (thuốc bắc) and indigenous Vietnamese herbal practices (thuốc nam). These systems understand health through the balance of âm and dương, opposing but complementary forces that govern the body. Pregnancy is considered a “hot” state, while the period after birth leaves the body in a vulnerable “cold” state due to the loss of blood and physical exertion of childbirth. Rest, warmth, and nourishing foods are therefore considered essential to restoring balance.

For this reason, traditional postpartum foods often center around warming ingredients such as ginger, longan, jujubes, and goji berries, while cooling foods like raw fruits, raw vegetables, and iced drinks are typically avoided. Many postpartum meals are prepared as slow-simmered soups, broths, and gently braised dishes that are easy to digest and deeply restorative.

Raised by a long lineage of matriarchs, I found myself drawn back to these traditions while researching the dishes my grandmother, Vinh Thi Trương—once known as a village healer—prepared for my mother during her postpartum recovery. The meals I cook today are a tribute to that ancestral knowledge and to the belief that food has the power to heal, restore strength, and bring harmony back to the body after birth.