Episode Details

Steven Rinella talks with Yia Vang, Jordan Vold, Ya Yang, Janis Putelis, Ryan Callaghan, Chester Floyd, Phil Taylor, and Corinne Schneider.

Topics discussed: MeatEater’s Live Tour is coming; 75,000 Hmong people in the Twin Cities; dowry; Steve’s friend’s mobile bar business; when a skunk wins over a mountain lion kitten; feline favoritism; how Hmong sausage cannot be made vegan; hurt people hurt people; changing your name to get healthy again; how Yia translates to “iron skillet”; Optimus Prime Vang; growing up in a refugee camp; how every dish has a narrative; waiting for the sticky rice before you eat; how your word means everything in an oral culture; how Hmong love the mountains; Faithful, Available, Teachable; Hmong Facebook; catering Bar and Bat Mitzvahs; how your uncle always remind you who you are; go eat at Yia’s current restaurant, Union Hmong Kitchen, and his new restaurant, Vinai, in Spring 2024; watch Yia’s invasive critter hunting + cooking show, “Feral”; and more.

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