A Recipe for Belonging: Kat Lieu on Baking, Family, and Finding Her Voice

A Conversation with Kat Lieu, Founder of Subtle Asian Baking and Author of 108 Asian Cookies, Modern Asian Baking at Home, and Modern Asian Kitchen

From building an online baking community of more than 156,000 members to preserving family memories through her cookbooks, Kat Lieu has found ways to connect food, culture, and storytelling.

As a strong supporter of Vietnamese Boat People and the 2026 Story Slam, Kat shares how baking helped her navigate grief, reconnect with her heritage, and find a sense of belonging. She also reflects on the stories she hopes to preserve for future generations and what this year's Story Slam theme, "Code-Switch," means to her.

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Tell us a little about yourself and Subtle Asian Baking. How did it all begin?

On Facebook, there was a very popular group called Subtle Asian Traits. In 2020, back when COVID made us all stay at home and quarantine, I thought, why not make a similar group, but all about baking?

Subtle Asian Baking (SAB) was born in May of that year as a private group that blossomed into a community of over 156,000 members on Facebook alone.

As for myself, I was formerly a doctor of physical therapy who got super burned out at work. My last PT role was in a school district, and we had to wear N95 masks while working with students back in 2020.

That July, my father passed away after a short illness. I think he had gotten COVID, but because he tested negative, we couldn't confirm. He had Lewy body dementia, so cognitively, he hadn't been himself for years.

When he passed away, I didn't know if all his dreams had come true, or even what those dreams were. I didn't want to follow in his footsteps, so I made a promise that, from that moment on, I would live fully, creatively, and achieve my dreams, which would be his dreams too.

Physical therapy was not the career for me. I knew it since day one.

Today, I work with food every day, write, and have time to pursue hobbies and fully engage with my only child. I am very happy and fulfilled.

I think my father approves.

How did you get into baking? Do you have a favorite recipe?

Baking always fascinated me. It was again in 2020 when I baked a lot to heal. I was often in my kitchen, calling my grandmother. We would cry about my father, and she would encourage me to bake and cook.

My favorite recipe? I don't really have one. I like to make everything!

Recently, I told BuzzFeed Tasty that I could make anything, and given the right tools and

ingredients, that's no lie.

Do you have a funny story about how one of your recipes came about?

The Pho Cookies in my cookbook, 108 Asian Cookies!

I wanted to make a cookie that reminded someone of a warm bowl of phở. It took many tries because a beef-flavored cookie with sriracha and hoisin glaze is not as delicious as it sounds!

What has been your favorite part of the growing Subtle Asian Baking community?

Meeting people from all around the world!

What core values are at the heart of what you do, and how do they shape your work?

I give generously, I am who I am, I am funny, and I work SO DAMN HARD!

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What drew you to Vietnamese Boat People and the Story Slam?

Well, I am half-Vietnamese, but growing up, I've embraced my Chinese side more. I speak Cantonese and can understand Vietnamese.

I want our stories to be heard. I love what you guys do.

Whenever I have extra funds, I just want to give back to the AANHPI community. VBP and the Story Slam just resonated with me.

And the storytellers each year? Oh man, I get goosebumps hearing and watching them!

The Story Slam creates space for people to share personal stories of identity, family, culture, and belonging. In what ways do these themes resonate with you?

No one else will tell my grandparents' and my father's stories. I am the only one who will. Otherwise, they will just slowly be forgotten people.

We can't have that.

I preserve their memories in my work and my cookbooks.

And as someone who grew up never feeling like she truly belonged in America, Hong Kong, or Vietnam, storytelling, recipe development, and content creation have helped me define myself and reconnect with my culture and my family.

And finally, I feel like I belong somewhere.

This year's Story Slam theme is "Code-Switch." Looking at some of our storytelling prompts, do you have a code-switching story of your own?

Is there a joke, saying, or expression that only lands in one language and falls flat (or means something totally different) in another?

Oh yes, Cantonese is SO flavorful!

Like if you're watching Shaolin Soccer and reading the subtitles, but don't understand Cantonese, you're missing so much of Stephen Chow's humor. I grew up watching his movies.

To give an example of Cantonese crudeness and humor, when you insult someone, you can say something like "Prod his lungs" (so he can't speak anymore or breathe well, lol), versus in English, where you may say "Damn you," or something like that.

A name given at birth versus a name adopted later. What happened in between?

My Chinese side calls me Ka Lay, a Cantonese name meaning "the beauty of the family." No one else calls me that. They call me Kat, but that's my pen name.

Have you ever shortened, anglicized, or hidden part of your name to make life easier?

Well, my Chinese name was never legally recorded. The way it sounds in Vietnamese, none of my family calls me that.

Kat is just easier to remember than my real name. It's Irish, actually, not Chinese, LOL!

Have you ever reclaimed a name later in life, perhaps choosing to return to a more difficult pronunciation?

I can't relate, other than shortening my legal name so it's easier for readers to remember me as a writer.

But I know my mom, who used to be a manicurist, calls herself Lisa and then Winnie to make it easier for her clients.

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About the 2026 VBP Story Slam

Vietnamese Boat People's 7th annual Story Slam will on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at Think!Chinatown in New York City. This year's theme, "Code-Switch," explores the ways we navigate language, culture, identity, and belonging.

Learn more and RSVP for the event at vietnameseboatpeople.org/storyslam2026.