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    Chef Yia Vang teaches former mentor Chef Gavin Kaysen about the Hmong food scene in Minnesota
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    ‘A dish my mom made’: the roots of Minnesota’s Hmong cuisine

    Chef Yia Vang tells his parents’ story through his spirited interpretations of Hmong home cooking in Minneapolis.

    Chef Yia Vang uses food as a catalyst for storytelling and firmly believes that every dish has a narrative. Yia fuses local Minnesotan traditions with bold flavors from back home in East and Southeast Asia to bring Hmong fare to American palates.

    Photograph by Stephanie Rau
    ByJames Norton
    Photographs byStephanie Rau
    Published September 3, 2019
    • 10 min read
    This is Paid Content. The editorial staff of National Geographic was not involved in the preparation or production of this content.

    Between Rose Nylund from The Golden Girls and the Coen Brothers’ Fargo, it’s easy to get the impression that Minnesota’s people are as white as the snow that typically covers the ground from November through April. Touch down in Minneapolis and start exploring its neighborhoods, however, and you’ll quickly discover that this state is deeply connected to the outside world (Minnesota has one of the highest per capita number of refugees). Food from (and inspired by) places all over the world is plentiful, and Minnesota has distinct Somali, Mexican, Southeast Asian, and Middle Eastern culinary scenes, among others.

    The Hmong people of China and Southeast Asia are one of Minnesota’s most distinctive groups. Minneapolis-St.Paul has the largest percentage of Hmong residents of any city in the U.S., and the second largest population overall after California. Hmong food—typically balanced between heat (usually from hot sauce), neutral rice for sopping up and balancing bold flavors, fresh vegetables, and fatty richness from proteins such as pork or poultry—is one of the state’s great culinary secrets. Hmong farmers are mainstays at the many farmers markets here, and the Hmong American Farmers Association farm in West Saint Paul, MN supplies produce and flowers to hundreds of clients in the region.

    Chef Yia Vang teaches former mentor Chef Gavin Kaysen about the Hmong food scene in Minnesota

    Chef Yia Vang sources local, seasonal ingredients at the Hmong Farmers Market in St. Paul, MN.

    Photograph by Stephanie Rau
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
    Chef Yia Vang teaches former mentor Chef Gavin Kaysen about the Hmong food scene in Minnesota
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
    Chef Yia Vang teaches former mentor Chef Gavin Kaysen about the Hmong food scene in Minnesota
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
    Hmong food differs regionally because the cuisine is centered on what the land offers, and in the midwest, root vegetables are plentiful. "A lot of the soups and the noodles we do—khao poon, pho, khao piak, for example—go really well with the harsh winters," says Yia.
    Photographs by Stephanie Rau

    Inspired by stories of passionately crafted Hmong cuisine in the Upper Midwest, National Geographic and All-Clad traveled to Minnesota to discover the Hmong food scene that’s flourishing in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. That includes everything from indoor marketplaces with sprawling Hmong food courts (Hmongtown and Hmong Village in St. Paul) to food trucks (including Hmong Eatery, Happy Street Foods, and Qab Mib) to Hmong chefs running the kitchens at restaurants with Vietnamese, Thai, or Chinese branding.

    One of the scene’s rising stars—and one of its most heartfelt advocates—is Yia Vang, whose Union Hmong Kitchen project has evolved from a pop-up dinner series into a food truck residency at Sociable Cider Werks in Northeast Minneapolis. Yia met up with former mentor and James Beard Award-wining Chef, Gavin Kaysen—owner of Spoon and Stable where Yia worked as a line cook years ago—to talk Hmong food.

    “Here in the Upper Midwest, in the past 10 years, Hmong people have been able to move away from that umbrella of ‘oh, it’s Asian food,’” says Vang. “Some of the first Hmong restaurants, you’ll look at the menu and it’ll have 50 different things from cashew chicken to satays to pho to Pad Thai—it had everything on it.”

    Chef Yia Vang teaches former mentor Chef Gavin Kaysen about the Hmong food scene in Minnesota
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
    Chef Yia Vang teaches former mentor Chef Gavin Kaysen about the Hmong food scene in Minnesota
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
    Union Kitchen began working with Sociable Cider Werks on one-off events—"We’d just pop a little 10x10 tent and set up a yakitori grill to cook skewers," says Yia. The relationship grew into a full-time partnership with Yia and his staff taking up residency in a stocked food trailer adjacent to the brewery.
    Photographs by Stephanie Rau
    Chef Yia Vang teaches former mentor Chef Gavin Kaysen about the Hmong food scene in Minnesota
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
    Chef Yia Vang teaches former mentor Chef Gavin Kaysen about the Hmong food scene in Minnesota
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
    Chefs Gavin Kaysen and Yia Vang meet up at the Union Hmong Kitchen trailer at Sociable Cider Werks.
    Photographs by Stephanie Rau

    Now, as the first and second generations of Hmong children grow up in American schools and feel increasingly comfortable crossing cultures and embracing their roots, the cuisine has an opportunity to blossom. Hmong people in Minnesota are now able to define their own food, Vang says, and explain what makes it different. “I tell people Hmong food isn’t a type of food, it’s a philosophy of food,” he says. “It’s a way of thinking about food. When you come to my mom’s house and she’s cooking for you, from the moment you get there to the moment you leave, everything you’ve experienced, that’s part of Hmong food.”

    It is, Vang explains, first and foremost a cuisine for feeding friends and family at home, and that “just like family” connection imparted by his parents informs everything he does. “There’s a Hmong saying, 'come and eat'—it’s the most common phrase you’ll hear in our house,” says Vang. “You come in and we’re making food—you’re joining us! And, in our culture, being hospitable doesn’t mean just giving you enough food to eat—I’m going to overbless you so when you leave, you can take some with you.”

    Food for Vang always connects back to the story of his parents, their sometimes grueling journey to America, and the sacrifices they made. “It changes the way you go through life, and it changes the way I cook,” he says. “For me, it’s not—‘oh, here’s a great idea I had!’ It’s a dish my mom made for us growing up.” Vang cites his mom’s hot sauce, which has become beloved by numerous chefs. She makes massive batches of the stuff each season to support his restaurant and to share with friends.

    Vang’s father, too, has given him lessons in food—Vang won a recent contest with his dad’s Hmong sausage recipe. “I told him we won a contest with this, and he laughed. He said, ‘People like that stuff?’ Dad, you don’t know! People love it! Those things are so humbling to me—my mom and dad are doing what they’re doing, and I get to tell their story.” A surge in curiosity on the part of the general public has helped, too—Minnesotans aren’t as scared by heat or funk as they used to be, and they ask more questions. "They want to know more about what they’re eating," says Vang. “There’s a lot of young foodie people so with Hmong food, they’re really open to it.”

    Chef Yia Vang shows former mentor Chef Gavin Kaysen how to cook Hmong food in Minnesota

    Yia teaches his former mentor Chef Gavin Kaysen how to make a traditional Hmong dish that brings him back to childhood memories of watching his mom cook in the kitchen after school.

    Photograph by Stephanie Rau
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
    Chef Yia Vang shows former mentor Chef Gavin Kaysen how to cook Hmong food in Minnesota
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
    Chef Yia Vang shows former mentor Chef Gavin Kaysen how to cook Hmong food in Minnesota
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
    Yia's nostalgic pan-seared cornish game hen has all the makings of a great dish. "It’s got the four elements [of Hmong cooking]—you’ve got your protein, you’ve got your rice, you’ve got your vegetable, and you’ve got your hot sauce," says Yia. And the sauce packs a powerful flavor punch with a whole lot of heat. "The sauce is like a Tiger Bite Sauce with charred tomatoes in it."
    Photographs by Stephanie Rau

    Vang’s recipe for Pan-Seared Cornish Game Hens captures the essence of his cooking—it’s comforting, it connects with the produce of the land, but its flavors are deeply layered and anything but simple. A Copper Core All-Clad sauté pan puts a nice sear on the poultry that gives it great flavor and a crisp texture. “I always tell people, once you go All-Clad, it’s hard to go back,” says Vang.

    Like everything he makes, Vang’s game hen recipe connects back to his Hmong roots, and his parents. “Life’s pretty simple for me, man. Tell their story through the food we make, and the food we make is actually the food they’ve made for us."

    See below for the full recipe.

    Pan-Seared Cornish Game Hen with Sautéed Hmong Mustard Greens and Cherry Tomato Chili Sauce

    <p>Yia Vang shares a unique interpretation of one of his favorite childhood dishes with step-by-step instructions for home cooks.</p>
<p>Suggested cookware: <a href="https://www.all-clad.com/c/COPPER-CORE%C2%AE-3-Qt-Saute-Pan-/p/8700800035?utm_source=National%20Geographic&amp;utm_medium=banner&amp;utm_campaign=US%2FEN%2FCLAD%2FAttention%2FDIS%2FDIR%2FPublisher%2F_%2F2019-07%2F_%2FLI%2FCOOKWARE_AND_BAKEWARE%2FPots_And_Pans%2F_%2F_%2FBurst%2F_%2FNAT_BAN%2F&amp;utm_content=%25epid!" target="_blank">All-Clad Copper Core 3-quart sauté pan</a></p>
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
    <p><b>For the Hen</b></p>
<ul>
<li>4 whole Cornish game hens or one large whole chicken, spatchcocked</li>
<li>1 teaspoon cumin</li>
<li>1 teaspoon coriander</li>
<li>1 teaspoon ground star anise</li>
<li>2 teaspoons canola oil</li>
</ul>
<p><b>For the Sauce</b></p>
<ul>
<li>10-12 cherry tomatoes</li>
<li>4 limes, whole</li>
<li>6-8 Thai chilies</li>
<li>3 cloves garlic</li>
<li>2 cups cilantro, chopped</li>
<li>2 tablespoons fish sauce</li>
<li>2 tablespoons oyster sauce</li>
</ul>
<p><b>For the Greens</b></p>
<ul>
<li>4 cups mustard greens, chopped</li>
<li>Salt</li>
<li>Ground black pepper</li>
</ul>
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
    <p>Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spatchcock the hens by using poultry shears or kitchen scissors (or a sharp knife) to cut along one side of the backbone until the hen opens.</p>
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
    <p>In a small bowl, mix together cumin, coriander, ground star anise, salt, and pepper. Smear the mixture all over the hens.</p>
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
    <p>Heat two teaspoons of canola oil in an oven-safe sauté pan (or two pans if needed to accommodate your birds), over high heat. When the oil is shimmering, lay each hen skin-side down in the pan. Cook without moving until the skin is deeply golden brown and releases easily from the pan, 5 to 6 minutes.</p>
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
    <p>Carefully flip the hens and transfer the pan to the oven. Cook until the juices run clear and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the hen registers 160 degrees, about 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the hens. Remove the hens from the oven and transfer to a cutting board to rest. Carryover heat should bring the hens to 165 degrees before they cool.</p>
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
    <p>To prepare the sauce: While the hens cook, heat 1 teaspoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes and cook until they burst, turn golden at the edges and shrivel up slightly, about 10 to 12 minutes.</p>
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
    <p>Use a mortar and pestle to pound and grind the chilies to a fine paste. Add the garlic, and pound until smooth and integrated. Add cilantro to the mixture along with a pinch of salt, which will help break down the leaves. Continue pounding and grinding until the cilantro breaks down completely. Add the tomatoes.</p>
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    <p>Once the chilies, cilantro and tomatoes combine into a thick paste, stir in fish sauce and oyster sauce. Taste, and adjust seasoning as needed. Add the juice from the four limes.</p>
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
    <p>To prepare the mustard greens: heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large sauté pan set over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add mustard greens to the pan, then cook for approximately 10 minutes, until it is soft and wilted, but still quite green. Season to taste with salt. Arrange hen halves around mustard greens and serve topped with the sauce.</p>
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    <p>Yia Vang shares a unique interpretation of one of his favorite childhood dishes with step-by-step instructions for home cooks.</p> <p>Suggested cookware: <a href="https://www.all-clad.com/c/COPPER-CORE%C2%AE-3-Qt-Saute-Pan-/p/8700800035?utm_source=National%20Geographic&amp;utm_medium=banner&amp;utm_campaign=US%2FEN%2FCLAD%2FAttention%2FDIS%2FDIR%2FPublisher%2F_%2F2019-07%2F_%2FLI%2FCOOKWARE_AND_BAKEWARE%2FPots_And_Pans%2F_%2F_%2FBurst%2F_%2FNAT_BAN%2F&amp;utm_content=%25epid!" target="_blank">All-Clad Copper Core 3-quart sauté pan</a></p>

    Experience Hmong cuisine at home

    Yia Vang shares a unique interpretation of one of his favorite childhood dishes with step-by-step instructions for home cooks.

    Suggested cookware: All-Clad Copper Core 3-quart sauté pan

    Photograph by Stephanie Rau
    James Norton is the food editor for The Growler Magazine in St. Paul, MN.


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