JAMIE YUCCAS:
00:00:34
Even with a name that means iron skillet in his native tongue, Hmong-- Thank you, Chef.
JAMIE YUCCAS:
00:00:40
--Yia Vang's dream was to cook up something bigger than he ever could in the kitchen.
YIA VANG:
00:00:46
We want to create a great atmosphere where people feel like they belong. You want a community? Absolutely.
JAMIE YUCCAS:
00:00:53
Something Vang sought ever since he moved to America at age four. The name of his award-winning restaurant, Vinai, goes back even further to this place, the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp in Thailand, where Vang was born. His parents met there, Hmong refugees forced to flee their homeland during the Vietnam War but tied to the earth by their cuisine, cooked over an open fire. All right, so the fat side's going on? Yep. Bring it up a little bit.
JAMIE YUCCAS:
00:01:22
Like Vang learned from family long before it was trendy, he calls his restaurant a love letter to his parents. Five years ago, I literally wrote a letter to my parents and never showed it to them because we're Asian men. We keep our emotions ourselves. Have you showed it to him yet? No, no, no, no, no.
JAMIE YUCCAS:
00:01:39
But he did show it to the designers of the restaurant.
YIA VANG:
00:01:42
They created this space, and all these little areas in here represents part of that letter.
JAMIE YUCCAS:
00:01:49
There was a time as a child in rural Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that Vang felt embarrassed to be different. I remember when I was a kid, I would go to bed, and I would kind of cry, and I would pray. And I'd be like, can I wake up tomorrow with white parents? I want to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and stuff like that. I never wanted to cook Asian food in general, to be completely honest. You wanted peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Oh, I want my peanut butter and jelly.
JAMIE YUCCAS:
00:02:13
You won't find peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the menu here at Vinai--
WAITER:
00:02:17
Then we have our cauliflower.
JAMIE YUCCAS:
00:02:19
--where Vang blends his Hmong heritage and Midwestern upbringing to create innovative dishes that honor his family. I truly know what my true north is. What is it? It's mom and dad. I don't know. It's kind of dorky, but like my dad, he always said, don't be like me, but I've gotten everywhere I am in life because I want to be like him. To me, it only matters what they say. How proud are you of your son? [SPEAKING HMONG]
JAMIE YUCCAS:
00:02:53
"It's hard to imagine," Vang's mother, Pang, told me, "that something this big was possible." And Vang insists it wouldn't be possible without them. Mom and them, they harvest all the [INAUDIBLE]. This is all from your mom's garden? Yeah, and this is mom's hot sauce.
JAMIE YUCCAS:
00:03:08
For other authentic ingredients, Vang comes here to Hmong Village in St. Paul, the largest Hmong market in the country, where he's something of a celebrity. At Hmong Village, we've got these pea tenders, which I love pea tenders, right?
JAMIE YUCCAS:
00:03:24
Vang pairs them with chicken. That seems simple enough. Absolutely. It's one of the most delicious dishes ever.
JAMIE YUCCAS:
00:03:30
As I was about to find out.
YIA VANG:
00:03:32
So we have the chicken here. I can use my hands.
YIA VANG:
00:03:35
Oh, that's my girl! The spice and the garlic and the skin and the fat, oh my gosh. Here's what I tell people because when people go, hey, man, we want to come to this Hmong place, but is it too exotic for us? I'm like, this is chicken, vegetables, sauce. It's not too far out there.
JAMIE YUCCAS:
00:03:54
And after such an adventurous journey, Vang finally feels right where he belongs. Gracias, amigo.
JAMIE YUCCAS:
00:04:02
For CBSMornings, I'm Jamie Yuccas in Minneapolis.
