A Culinary Trip to the Hmong Kitchen The Splendid Table

This week on Splendid Table, Lynne Rossetto Kasper took us on a mini culinary escape into Hmong cooking. Among all the Asian cuisines that have taken hold in the United States, that of the Hmong still remains relatively unexplored and unknown - making this brief glimpse all the more fascinating!

We were really interested to learn that part of the reason we don't know more about traditional Hmong food is because the Hmong people didn't have a written language until relatively recently. In other words, the only way you could learn Hmong cooking was by growing up in the culture or convincing a Hmong cook to give you a lesson.

Which is exactly why this new book, Cooking from the Heart: The Hmong Kitchen in America, is so fantastic! Authors Sami Scripter and Sheng Yang interviewed dozens of Hmong cooks and compiled the first cookbook documenting their recipes. They describe Hmong cuisine as "simple, earthy, fiery, and fresh," and round out the recipes in the book with anecdotes and lessons on Hmong culture.

Back in Lynne's kitchen, these same authors sliced and diced, preparing the national dish of Laos: Chicken Larb (pictured above). This dish - and, it sounds like, many Hmong dishes - is heavy on the fresh herbs and stretches a little bit of protein into a dish that will feed many. It's served with sticky rice, and Lynne's exclamations as she sampled her portion make us want to make it for ourselves as soon as possible!

While the authors say that many of the recipes have been adapted to the American kitchen, they also recommend finding and using Hmong herbs and vegetables whenever possible. We know that a Hmong farmer used to have a stand at the Copley Square farmer's market in Boston (haven't made it down yet this summer). Do you know of a source for Hmong produce near you? What other experiences have you had with Hmong cuisine?

• Definitely take a minute to listen to the entire interview. You can listen to it and rest of the episode right on the Splendid Table website.

• Also, check out the book, Cooking from the Heart, and more recipes on the author's website.

(Image: Flickr member Stu_Spivack licensed under Creative Commons)

Comments (6)

The Hmong also live in northern Thailand, so the cuisine bleeds between both Hmong, other hill tribe groups in the north, and "Thai" people. When I was working in the north, many of the hill tribe peoples (Hmong, Lahu, Lisu) cooked similar food, much of which was dictated by what was available in the forest as most of them were poor. Lots of wok-scrambled eggs, plain green papaya boiled with salt or MSG, rice porridge (jok in Thai), lots of edible ferns and other wild greens. It was all made much more exciting by making chile condiments to go with it. One of the families I stayed with made their's by fire roasting chiles, tomatoes, onion, garlic and then pounding them all with plenty of salt and dried fish or shrimp if there was some around. I didn't experience a lot of fish sauce though, unlike, of course, Thai cooking.

mmm...

wish we were having that for dinner!

I spent a couple of weeks in Laos and left with a fierce addiction to larb. I'm ecstatic to have a good recipe for it--can't wait to try it!

It's actually similar to northern and northeastern Thai food from the hill tribe areas, which I do cook a fair bit, and like very much. Looks like an interesting book.

I actually made turkey larb last night, with a vietnamese-esque noodle soup. Larb is just so refreshing and fragrant, with mint, basil, chili, and fish sauce. Leftovers are fantastic rolled into fresh springrolls with the leftover chopped veggies from the soup.

I bought this cookbook as soon as it came out. It is so wonderful.

An interesting aside... The cookbook talks a lot about the chicken soup that mothers eat as their first meal after giving birth. Our local hospital, Hennepin County Medical Center, is now growing the traditional herbs needed for the soup on their roof garden for their new Hmong mothers.

Also, I haven't made it yet from the book, but have many friends who have made me their version of stuffed chicken wings. Amazing.