Posts Tagged: Hmong

Upscale magazine celebrates Hmong cuisine

A brief article in this month's issue of San Joaquin Magazine gave readers a glimpse of one of the more unusual research plantings at the UC Kearney Research and Extension Center by UC Cooperative Extension small farm advisor Richard Molinar and his assistant Michael Yang.

The publication, which the title page claims "is found in affluent homes of Stockton, Lodi, Tracy, Ripon, Manteca, and Mountain House," said "evocatively-named" herbs Siberian motherwort, Vietnamese coriander, Black nightshade and Jewels of Opar and others are grown in the UC "garden" to celebrate Hmong culture.

"We want to enlighten people about these herbs," Molinar was quoted in the story.

Yang, an immigrant from Laos, explained that the preparation of chicken soup has a special significance in Hmong kitchens.

"We prepare a bundle of at least five different herbs, usually including such herbs as koj liab and pawj quaib, and simmer in chicken soup stock. It is a common practicie for Hmong women to drink this soup for the first month after they give birth," Yang was quoted.

San Joaquin Magazine.

UC ag research seasons Hmong cooking feature

A plot of Southeast Asian medicinal and culinary herbs at the UC Kearney Research and Extension Center made an appearance in a Fresno Bee food story published yesterday.

The article centered on "Cooking from the Heart: The Hmong Kitchen in America," a cookbook for Americans who wish to try the exotic cuisine introduced by Hmong immigrants. A large population of Hmong settled in the San Joaquin Valley after the Vietnam War. The Hmong collaborated with the CIA during the conflict and were promised protection in the event of a loss. They were ultimately relocated to enclaves in California, Minnesota and other areas.

Writer Joan Obra says some of the recipes in the new cookbook evolved from Southeast Asian traditions and others as Hmong families assimilated to American life.

The plot at Kearney, she noted, is the collaborative effort of UC Small Farm Program advisor Richard Molinar, based in Fresno, and his Hmong-descended research assistant Michael Yang.

Obra says the Hmong garden, which she recently toured, may be the only such research collection in the United States.

In fact, "(The plants) are not really common on California farms," the article quotes Molinar.

Michael Yang, left, and Richard Molinar, center, talk to a Southeast Asian farmer.

Fresno's Hmong farmer outreach on California Gold

The tireless efforts of UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Richard Molinar and agricultural assistant Michael Yang to aid Fresno County's immigrant farmers are featured on the PBS program "California Gold" this month.

The program was previewed in the Fresno market in April, and will be aired statewide as follows:

KPBS - San Diego 8 p.m. May 7 5:30 p.m. May 9	KVIE - Sacramento 9 p.m. May 7 7 p.m. May 19	KVPT - Fresno 9 p.m. May 7 7 p.m. May 18
KEET - Eureka 12:30 p.m. May 10	KVCR - San Bernardino 9 p.m. May 7

According to the California Gold Web site, the program's host, Huell Howser, visits "two farms that are growing some of the most interesting and unusual produce in California. From a small family farm to the largest Hmong farm in the county, it’s a wonderful day."

The show is currently only available for purchase on the Web site (about $30 for video or DVD), but it appears Howser is beginning to post some of his programs for free viewing online. I'll post a link when one becomes available.

 

Richard Molinar, left, and Michael Yang, center, with farmer Ka Neng Vang.

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