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Thanh Nguyen came to the U.S. to study biochemistry but instead followed her passion and became a chef.

State of play: Nguyen is the owner of Gabriella's Vietnam in South Philly, where she serves up dishes from her native Saigon, Vietnam.

Axios asked Nguyen a few questions for our culinary advice series, Chef's Table:

Must-have tool in your home kitchen? Chopsticks. We use wooden chopsticks to cook just about every dish.

Go-to grocery store for home cooking? Hung Vuong Food Market on Washington Avenue in Little Saigon.

Most overlooked spice? Turmeric. It gives food a very comforting flavor and an eye-pleasing color that kind of triggers your tongue to want to eat the food.

Favorite home-cooked meal: Thịt Kho — braised pork belly with boiled eggs. It's Vietnamese soul food and the best Vietnamese dish you'll ever have.

What's your go-to dish at your favorite local restaurant? Mike's BBQ in South Philly, which is the only American BBQ joint my husband, Chris, and I crave and the only place we'll probably ever eat at.

Quick tip for at-home cooks: The best way to clean your ingredients, and hold their quality and color is to flash blanch it in boiling water first.

How do you unplug: I read a lot. You'll find me on my phone almost every time that I'm not working. Besides that, there is one video game that I've been enjoying for almost 10 years now: "Mobile Legends: Bang Bang," which I play with my husband.

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