Relish

This program is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

- They say the best things come in small packages.

And sometimes you get a flavor that packs this much punch.

(screams) That's delicious.

You need more than two hands.

I'm Chef Yia Vang.

In my restaurants, I share my family's Hmong heritage in the food we serve.

Every bite tells a story.

And the most memorable meals not only reflect who we are, but connect us from field to table, mill to market.

Let's explore food from around the world and relish the cuisine and cultures of our neighbors.

(upbeat music) As a chef, I know that who's around in the kitchen matters just as much as what's being made.

On the line in my restaurant, everyone has their part to play in creating the perfect plate.

You know, the old saying, "Many hands make light work"?

Well, many hands also make great food.

(singer singing in French) - Some culinary traditions represent the best of the culture.

Togetherness, patience, and celebration.

But often these dishes take a lot of hard working time to build flavors worth savoring.

(singer singing in French) - In this episode, I'm unwrapping the story behind two of these pretty special foods made by the community for the community.

First up, the momo, a popular delicacy originally from Nepal.

- Namaste - Hi.

How are you?

- Hi, very good, thank you.

Welcome.

- [Yia] Meet Rashmi Bhattachan, who along with her business partner, Sarala Kattel, uses fresh ingredients and vibrant spices to bring the taste of Nepal and India to the Midwest.

- [Rashmi] Today we are making mushroom and cabbage momo.

To also we are gonna make the chicken momo for all the meat lovers.

- For those who don't know momo, besides being a really good name for a pet, Momo, by the way, one of my friend's daughter's- - Not to be confused with the monster.

I heard there's a monster Momo.

- There's a monster named Momo?

- Yeah.

- Oh.

- And then cabbage is also pretty important in our fillings 'cause it makes the momo feeling a little bit more juicy.

- Within our egg roll, it's the same thing.

Can you describe a momo?

- Well, momo is a steamed potsticker.

I feel like every country has their own version of a momo.

Like Japanese.

They have gyoza.

China, they have the jiaozi.

Koreans call theirs mandu.

Yes.

And empanada, pierogi.

So now we have the mushroom ready here.

- [Yia] Okay, what kind of mushrooms are you guys using?

- These are shiitake mushroom 'cause I really love shiitake.

We're gonna just saute right over here.

(upbeat music) (pan sizzling) A little bit of turmeric.

When we serve momo to our customers at MomoDosa, or even at to my friends here, I want them to feel like, "Oh, okay, this is part of Nepal.

The Nepali culture."

Just like Mount Everest, momo has become very synonymous with Nepal.

Hence, it has become our identity, not just a regular food.

The dumplings originated in China and then the Tibetans, when they migrated to Nepal, they brought the recipe with them.

- Nepal is a landlocked Asian country situated on the Himalayan mountains between India and Tibet.

It is home to the world's tallest mountain, Everest, and the world heritage site that is said to be the birthplace of the Buddha.

Tell me about the first memory you have about momo.

- Well, when I think of momo, I remember back growing up in Nepal when my mom and dad used to talk about, "Let's have momo."

Then we would be inviting all the, you know, the family members, you know, relatives who lived close by.

(people chattering and laughing) So I remember, you know, sitting in the kitchen helping my mom with, you know, either just cutting vegetables or using the pestle and mortar to, you know, grind the ginger, garlic.

Would be like a labor intensive project.

One person would be in charge of, you know, grinding the chicken on the butcher block.

The other person would be in charge of making the dough.

- [Yia] And then it's important to toast off all this seasoning, right?

- [Rashmi] Yes.

We toast them ahead and we grind them.

- When you cook it in the oil, the spices actually bloom and it's gonna actually, you know, season the vegetables.

- Exactly.

And the flavor gets distributed evenly.

Once the filling was ready and the dough was ready, we would just sit around the table.

It would be like an assembly work.

Alright, so now, I think we're ready to add the cabbage.

So now you can see why it's like, you know, teamwork.

(laughs) - [Yia] Yeah, yeah.

It seems like momos weren't like a, "Oh, it's Wednesday.

We make momo."

It's a special occasion, right?

- Yes.

Special occasions.

The reason momo to me is very special is, like I said, growing up, it used to be a little bit of a rare dish.

Now it's become so well known, so popular all over the world.

- [Yia] You two cook like sisters.

- Yeah.

- [Yia] This is like back in the kitchen with my mom and my aunt.

Yes.

- But most of the time she wins 'cause she is the chef.

Perfect.

- What's important about Nepali culture that you want people to know?

- Now we are going to work on the chicken filling.

So the main reason I'm into this business is because of my passion for food.

But Nepal, we have a saying, "Atithi Devo Bhava" which means treat the guests as royalty.

The remaining cabbage and the chicken, little bit of onion.

One of the important aspects of the Nepali culture is, you know, we are very warm and welcoming and very hospitable.

So I'm very proud of that.

- [Yia] That kind of hospitality is very infectious.

- Yes.

What about garam masala?

(Sarala speaking Nepali) - [Rashmi] So garam masala, which has cumin and coriander.

Plus the heat giving spices.

- [Yia] Oh yeah, I like that.

- Cinnamon - And then soy sauce?

Yeah.

- Okay.

Just tell me when.

- Little bit.

- Little more good.

Oh, sorry.

Okay.

- And then ginger, butter.

- Right here?

Yeah.

- Oh, we always love butter.

- Everything.

- Everything?

- Yeah.

(upbeat peaceful music) (food squishing) - [Yia] When you guys do this at the restaurant, do you still hand mix it or do you guys put it in the mixer?

- Hand mix it.

- Oh, you guys are so much stronger than us.

(Rashmi laughs) (flute folk music) (singer singing in foreign language) (Sarala speaking in Nepali) - So I, do have to go down with?

- Yes, yes.

- I'm scared.

Down like this?

And then- - Yeah slowly, no?

Yeah.

No, it's okay, bring.

- [Yia] Bring back?

- Yeah.

On the other side.

- Okay.

And then turn it this way?

- Yeah.

Done.

Done.

- Oh, is it too much?

Oh my, I messed up the first one already.

- Yeah.

- It's okay.

It looks good though.

- I do exactly what I was supposed not to do, okay.

- Not too much in, okay sir.

- Okay, okay.

- Yeah, yeah, perfect.

Yeah, yeah.

- Oh, okay, whoa, whoa, whoa.

- We're gonna now make the momo, which is the fun part.

- Let's do it.

- Sarala will show you how to make the veggie momo, the half moon shape, which is what I like.

- Oh.

What are some of the most difficult tasks for you to making momos?

Because I could tell you straight up, folding is not my thing.

So I was so nervous coming here, like, "You're gonna make fold!"

- Don't worry, we'll teach you.

Here you should try it.

- Okay.

- Wait, wait, wait, this is a lot harder than in my head.

- In Nepal, I would see my uncle, you know, grinding the chicken or goat meat, the mutton just, you know- - With the knife.

- With the knife.

Yeah.

We were kids, we would always do that.

That was like the boys' job.

- So I would just look at my uncles, you know, in awe like, "Oh my God, that must be the most difficult task."

Oh, that's not that bad.

- It's not that good.

I've made two.

She's made 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

Oh my gosh.

I think of my mom's steam buns and she makes hers cauliflowers.

Remember when I was a kid growing up, I could care less how it made.

Now I'm watching every step.

I feel like I'm actually just learning for the first time.

- You know?

Put this one.

- Yeah.

- No put in a middle, you know, every time put in a side.

- Okay.

I mean, you have to be moving all your fingers in unison.

It's not one move and then go.

It's actually the other ones have to catch, you know?

How fast.

(Rashmi laughing) (singers singing in Nepali) (flute folk music) - How did you get to here in Minnesota, 'cause I get asked that question a lot.

- You know, I first came to California at the age of 17 and studying in a community college, it was quite expensive.

And it was a two year college.

So we just thought, "Okay, let's move somewhere else where they have four year university."

Back then, Minnesota offered international students the in-state grant, which is kind of like a scholarship.

So we got accepted and we packed our bags and moved here.

And it's been a long time.

(laughs) One of my relatives in California said, "You know, Rashmi, it's a cold state, but with warm hearts."

And the moment I landed, I felt that there's no place like Minnesota.

The fun begins.

Yeah.

- Yes.

- Would you like some chutney?

- Oh yes, please.

Okay.

(Sarala speaking Nepali) - Oh, so now Sarala is saying there's also a technique of eating.

Best way to eat this is just the whole thing in the mouth.

- Yes.

That's what I was gonna do.

Yes.

- Oh great.

What do you think?

- Oh, it's so good.

- Is it juicy?

- Mm-hmm, the sauce is so great 'cause it matches very well with all the seasoning and the spices, you know, and it doesn't take away.

You know, one of the things that I noticed while we were putting this together was all the hands that were involved from the beginning 'til the end.

- You know, when you make things together, therein lies the, you know, absolute joy.

You know, you appreciate each other's efforts and you enjoy the food and the bond becomes even stronger.

So.

- Thank you so much for having me.

Thank you for- - Thank you.

- It's our pleasure.

- Yeah.

Thank you for teaching me how to, you know, wrap and roll.

I'll probably forget it.

- Next time you come over, we'll make you make all the momo and we'll just watch.

- You know, what I was thinking next time, I'll bring a machine over and just see like human against machine to see how, yeah.

- Just bring the meat grinder.

- Yeah.

Oh yeah.

I'll definitely bring a meat grinder.

Momos are definitely not the only wrapped food cooked and assembled by a large group.

Oh heck.

We did a whole episode that includes English pasties and Argentinian empanadas.

There's momo's food neighbor, Chinese bao, a stuffed bun made by steaming yeasted dough that's often packed with flavorful spiced pork.

In Italy, groups gather to make ravioli by filling thin egg-based pasta dough with all manners of goodness.

And in Somalia, the triangle shaped sambusa is a culinary mainstay, served fried with the side of sauce and enjoyed for the most special occasions, including weddings, Ramadan and Eid.

Hi, I'm Yia.

- I'm Mariam Mohamed how are you?

- Good.

Nice to meet you.

- Good.

Welcome to my kitchen and let me show you how to make sambusa.

- Awesome.

Meet Mariam Mohamed, the co-founder of Hoyo Sambusa.

Along with her sisters, Halima and Asha, Mariam is bringing this personal piece of their culture to the broader community one sambusa at a time Born and bread somebody gets my bread basket South side is where they laid my casket Dust to dust, ash to ash, no cash necessary All my knowledge is hereditary - Starting with our restaurant.

We used to work in a commissary kitchen.

So this brings back a lot of memories.

My mama raised me to be your visionary She said humble is the basics Home is where you make it The facts is how you face it - So tell me about this operation here.

- We start from here.

See, he has to do this because the mince- - Yeah because it has to break it up.

Do you need the meat to break up?

So then when they stuff it and it's not chunky?

Absolutely.

- Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

And then after that, they put the onion and the garlic.

We measure the flour.

So her job is to flatten.

She adds the small oil on top of each.

- Okay, so this is heated?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh, okay.

Yeah.

Yeah.

- This is what makes it crunchy.

Yeah.

We used to do it roll by hand.

And even many women at home.

- To get this thin?

- Yes.

- How long would it- - Oh, it takes forever.

(both laugh) - Man!

How many per day do they produce here?

- Saber (indistinct) can you tell them how many we produce a day?

- We produce around 2,500 to 3,000.

- Wow.

- This whole mission of creating this was to create jobs for refugee immigrants.

So this is why we're doing what we're doing.

Here is where they fry.

(sambusas sizzling) - [Yia] Is this kind of how you would do it at home?

- [Mariam] Similar.

But I would love to take you home and show you how to make it in my house.

- Great.

Because I've never made some sambusas before.

I'm really excited.

We should go.

- Absolutely.

We should go.

- Have you ever had Somali tea?

- [Yia] No.

Never have.

- [Mariam] Well, you'll have one now.

(uptempo drum music) - What do we have here?

- We have Somali tea.

It's very spicy.

- Okay.

- Okay.

And here is mine.

- Oh.

Cheers.

- Cheers.

- That's so delicious.

- In our culture, if you visit and come to a house, the first thing people will give you is tea.

And you have to have it.

So it's a symbol of welcoming and also a start of relationship.

- [Yia] What kind of sambusas are we making today?

- Today we are making beef sambusa.

I wanna introduce you to my two sisters.

My sisters' names are Asha and Halima.

My husband used to tease us and say, "Mariam comes up with the idea.

Asha knows how to entertain and Halima does the workout."

(laughs) Us three, me and my sisters.

- So it works.

- It works.

Exactly.

- It's a whole system.

It's a whole system.

It works.

- Chop the onions and the garlic.

You have to make it to the point that it's tiny, tiny.

I grew up in a rural Somalia.

I didn't grow up in the capital.

And so we own our own shop.

My mom owned a farm.

Everything was handmade.

Look how he did it.

That's exactly how you cut it.

- What are some of the memories you have growing up around your mother, grandmother's kitchen?

- We didn't grow up with a refrigerator.

And so every day you have to go to the farm, bring it, and then do the breakfast, lunch, and dinner from the farm.

- Garlic?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

- But, so my grandmother and my mom used to be the chefs in the house.

And I think in our culture, you start learning early.

And by the time we were in middle school, three girls have a day in the kitchen.

I hated to be in the kitchen.

And so when I was growing up- - You were more of a leader type, right?

Yeah, management.

- I don't remember.

- And I was so good in school, not because I like to study, because then I say, "I'm busy studying."

Oh, look at how he's doing.

- Yeah.

This is the easiest way.

- How do you do it?

Yep.

- Just give a little hit.

- Yep.

So today will be my day to cook and clean.

And then tomorrow will be my sister's.

Food, we will cook, will be determined by my mother.

- So Mariam, how many people does it usually take to make some sambusas?

- Well, it depends how many sambusas you are making.

My sister, Halima and Asha, they do it on their own.

Like they don't need anyone.

But usually I need someone.

- [Yia] How is sambusas important within Somali culture?

- We are Muslims and we fast once a year during Ramadan, so that's when we make it.

When you are fasting all day and you are breaking your fast, you cannot start with just starch.

So the sambusas offer protein as well as carbohydrates.

So that's how symbolic they are.

It's for the body to be nourished at a time when you're hungry.

- Sambusas aren't just a savory treat, they're a vibrant celebration of Somali culture, especially during Ramadan.

This holy month observed by Muslims worldwide is a time for fasting, spiritual growth, increased devotion, and building community.

Each evening during Ramadan, Muslims gather to break their fast, often sharing a meal that includes delicious, homemade sambusas prepared using mom's special recipe.

The holiday that marks the end of Ramadan is Eid al-Fitr.

It's a time of gratitude and togetherness, commemorating a month of deep spiritual reflection and growth.

Sambusas are delicious.

I've had fair share of my own sambusas.

For you like growing up, it's like you're fasting and here's all this wonderful smell and everything.

- Well, there are many days that I cheated, you know, like we would cheat and cheat.

(Yia laughs) - We won't tell anybody.

Shh.

- With the meat, the garlic, the onion, it tasted so good without the cover.

- I know.

And so we will just look around and just, you know.

- Yeah, don't tell Grandma.

Don't tell Grandma.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, I remember growing up, how we didn't want to fast, but you fasted so you can have the sambusa.

(singer singing in Arabic) - So what's the next steps?

- The next steps is then we take those stuffings and we put it in the triangle.

And to do that, then we create some glue and it's made of flour, add water, kind of paste that's kind of more liquid.

Take the triangle.

And when you tuck the triangle, use the glue.

Make sure that there's no hole.

- [Yia] Oh, it's like a cone.

You making a cone.

- Yeah.

A cone.

And then you make sure that the meat stays and you wrap it.

Yes.

And then it becomes a triangle like that.

- Oh.

- Let's make them.

Halima, make.

- Hold on.

Trials and tribulations got me keeping pace But running out of patience - Your company called Hoyo Sambusa.

What does "hooyo" mean?

- Hooyo means mother in our language.

When many politicians were really pushing back the Muslim woman and some of them lost their jobs because people did not want to see them.

And so I had been thinking weeks to see how can I help them?

I have to be honest, it was a young American white woman who came up with the name Hoyo.

Not me.

Her name is Rachel, the co-founder of Hoyo Company.

Her husband's name is Matt Glover.

- It's falling apart like my life.

- So add more glue.

- Oh my gosh.

- No matter how it looks.

- Oh.

Oh, okay.

- I think it'll be great idea to create a company that produces something that this woman has already know how to make.

- I cannot imagine doing this while fasting and being hungry.

- Yes.

- I would move a lot faster.

- So they have that strength already.

You don't train them.

They train us.

- Yes.

That's what I was saying.

- You have like five over here already.

And I'm still working on one.

- When I came to America, and I remember people thinking, if you are Muslim, you are trapped.

You know, in America you don't want, you go and walk behind your husband.

And I was like, "Where did they find this?"

I mean, they should go to Somalia.

All women are working.

We went to school with men, we competed with them.

That I wanted to make sure that my daughter and my two boys are equal.

To make change Yet it feels strange Living day to day It's hard to maintain - Ah, you guys are done with all the meat!

- In every culture, when women come together, that is when they talk about, you know, what makes them happy, what they're struggling with.

If it's their marriage, if their kids.

- Mostly therapeutic, right?

- Yes.

Yes.

- Yeah, that, you know, little therapy happens when you're working with your hands too.

- I tell you a story of when my son was finishing high school, he was working at Burger King and he came home so happy and I said, "Why are you so happy?"

And he said, "Oh mom, I served a marine today."

And I said, "A marine?".

Yeah.

"A guy with a uniform who came back from Iraq and I'm so proud of him and I wanted him to bring his food because he defended my country, America."

And I was against Iraq war.

And I'm like, I really looked at him and I said, " But this child is Americanist.

He's not my child anymore."

- The Hmong people, we deal with that.

I will tell you this, when I was a little boy, we grew up around white people.

All it is, Central Wisconsin.

And I was really mad because I was just like, "Dad, I don't want to be Hmong," 'Cause we were the only few Hmong family.

And he looked at me, he says, "Son, no matter where you go in the world at night, before you go to bed, you have to look in the mirror."

And you know what my father did?

He let us go explore the world.

I'm 40 now.

The thing that I go to bed at night in my heart is like, I know I'm always gonna be Hmong.

You know?

So when you're talking about your kids, all I'm saying to you is let 'em explore a little bit.

But the voice of their mother will bring 'em back home because you know- - Good to know.

- what brought me back?

My mom and dad's food.

This whole restaurant.

What is a love letter to my mom and dad.

- Oh, good.

Reality in America, it's a culture that has been systemized by becoming, if you are white, if you come from Russia and you come two months ago and you speak good English, you're American.

Nobody will doubt you because you're a white person.

But if you are a hundred years here and you are a person of color, people know you come from somewhere.

And so if that is the case, then honor that.

(peaceful music) So this is my mother.

(Mariam's mother speaking Nepali) - Her name is Hawa Jama.

(Mariam's mother speaking in Nepali) - And Aisha, you introduce yourself.

- Yes.

My name is Aisha Galadh and Mariam Mohamed is my mother.

- I think it's really cool to have three generations, you know, right here.

Right away when I eat it, all that seasoning.

- Yes.

- But the way that I would describe it is, it's robust.

Ask your mom what her thoughts are.

Having this being named "mother".

(Mariam's mother speaks in foreign language) - So she said it's a good name.

It's a name that across the globe, everyone knows hooyo, mother.

And so it's something that everybody loves and it's a wonderful thing.

- When my mom had this idea, I think it started out as a way of how can we support so many mothers.

Just to see how much they've grown, it's been very remarkable.

They're are a lot of, they're very like strong, resilient women, so.

- Even though I'm here sitting at a Somali table, I feel like I'm still sitting on my table at home.

This isn't like a Hmong thing, a Somali thing, an American thing.

This is is a human thing.

- Yes.

- Where all the hands come together to build a community.

- Yes, that's true.

- You know?

- Thank you so much for coming to our house and spend the whole day with us.

Thank you.

- Food is a labor of love.

So the more hands that assembled your food, the more love you'll find in every bite.

Sometimes it's all right to slow down a bit, savor every flavor, and feel the extra gratitude.

After all, it takes a family to feed a family and a community to feed the community.

Strive for celebration, enjoy guests occasions Join us, suddenly get the side of lifelong vacations Life's filled with hazards with no hesitations Generations devastated, no motivation Falling on the streets Bust face on concrete Chipped tooth, won't concede defeat Now I feed myself success and bittersweet This program is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

(ambient music)