For ethics or health? It started off as a dislike of meat. When I was at university, I just decided to give it up. Now, having been a vegetarian for more than 25 years, it’s morphed into other things. I believe that if more people ate less meat, the world would be a better place. There are environmental factors as well as health benefits. [The American writer and journalist] Michael Pollan has said, “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants” and I think “mostly plants” is the way to go for a healthy body. And I’m pretty healthy. I never have been deficient in anything.

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You’ve lived in New York City for six years. Have the lockdowns affected your physical or mental health? Physical, definitely. I love living in cities and the way I move around them is on foot. So it’s affected my health because we never leave the house except to go on errands. I’m scared of what it’s going to be like when we reopen. I saw a photo of friends in Australia celebrating Lunar New Year in a restaurant at one of those big tables. Inside, I was going, “I can’t even deal with that situation.” There’s definitely mental [anxiety] – we’ve forgotten what it’s like.

Is cooking helping? Honestly, I cook all the time and it gets me through everything. Cooking is my balm, my saviour. I don’t need therapy because I can cook.

Do you have any tattoos? No. I’ve always wanted one, though.

Oh, what would you get? A ginger root. I still might get one. But it might look like a penis. [Laughs]

Depends how gnarled and knobbly it is. Exactly! I still might get one, though.

What part of your body are you most happy with? My hands. Because they make things.

DEATH

What were you told about death, growing up? We didn’t talk about death, but we were confronted with it. My grandfather, who had cancer, died during my cousin’s birthday party. He was in his 60s; I was eight or nine. I remember my uncle – my mum’s brother – was very sick at my 11th birthday party after having a heart transplant. And I lost my dad when I was 15.

I’m so sorry. Tell me about your father. My dad was a really big personality. He spoke broken English, but was very proud of it, and would use it everywhere. He was an atypical Chinese immigrant father because he was very affectionate with us. He loved to hug us and give us cuddles and big kisses on the cheeks. He worked at the Flemington markets. Then he got cancer, but we thought he would get better. We thought he was in remission, but then he got sick and died very suddenly on New Year’s Eve in 1989.

Gee, Hetty. I don’t celebrate New Year’s Eve any more.

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What does losing a father so young do to you? It made me grow up instantly. Overnight. Coming from a strict Chinese immigrant household, we all kicked into gear. Like, “We now have a responsibility to our mother.” My sister was working, my brother had started working as a mechanic, and I was getting through school. There were no thoughts of rebellion lest we bring shame on our mother. That sense of responsibility stays with you.

Your vegetable education came from your dad? All of it, I think! He was an importer-exporter of bananas, so our house was always full of crates of fruit and vegetables. My mum never bought vegetables because it all came from his work and friends at the market. And there was always lots of fish and seafood everywhere.

Chinese heaven, basically. Yeah! I attribute a lot of my food education to my mum. But Dad influenced me more than I really acknowledge. The whole vegetable thing was just so ingrained in me from a very young age.

What’s your ideal last meal? Something my mum made us, like ginger fried rice or salt and pepper tofu. Something deeply comforting. The food from your childhood you could just eat and eat and eat and eat. That’s what I want to do. I want to have way too much of it, then go off in my blissful state.

diceytopics@goodweekend.com.au

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