Lidia Celebrates America

(gentle guitar music) -

Lidia Voiceover

For the Hmong communities of Wisconsin, a garden is more than a place to grow food. It's a crucial link to the American rural way of life, and to the land they once knew in Laos. It's a tradition. (Latricia laughing) To me I think it's a tradition, because even if you don't have a big one, you still have a little one, and it's something that we, I wanna say that we connect to, because it's something that we grew up with. Maybe if you don't have a big gigantic one, you still have a little one to plant your herbs and so forth. We don't usually eat it when it's all seeded out like this, but something like, -

Lidia Voiceover

We pick some mustard greens to prepare a favorite Hmong dish. This whole thing is very tender, so what we normally do is we just. Pork and greens is like, one of the staple ceremonial food. (laughing) The special pork with mustard greens, you see it at weddings, you see it at funerals, you see it at New Year's celebrations. And then we just take off this top part. Oh, okay, and this is no good. Yep, that's kinda woody. Well this you throw away? Mm-hmm, throw it away. (plant stalk peeling back) (pork sizzling) -

Latricia

All of that goes in the pot. We're gonna put some water in. (water trickling) (spoon knocking against the pot) (water splashing into the pot) Alright, and we're just gonna keep adding water until the water is above the meat. Just lined up? Yeah, just like that. -

Lidia Voiceover

Next, the ginger. (knife chopping) Alright! -

Latricia

Just stir that right in. -

Lidia

Okay. Oh good, all of this goes in here, huh? -

Lidia Voiceover

And finally, the mustard greens go in, and then, we bring it all to a boil. (pot lid clicking) Once our feast is ready, I join Latricia's extended family to taste this traditional holiday meal. Hot plates, and this is yours. Did we get everybody? (plates and silverware clattering) Okay. -

Lidia Voiceover

Jim and Marty Harris also join us. I just want to take this opportunity to really, really thank you for embracing me and sharing your culture with me. It's so wonderful for me, I am an immigrant. I came here when I was 12. I know what I went through, the camp and all of that, and so I really understand how people escape persecution, ultimately. They'd do anything to find a place just to rest their head, to sleep, and then to possibly be free.