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<\/a><\/p>\nXiong carried her love for cooking and food with her as she grew older. She said it makes her feel like she can \u201ccreate my own little worlds on plates.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Taste of Tradition<\/p>\n
When Xiong started working at the Fresno-based nonprofit\u00a0A Hopeful Encounter<\/a>\u00a0that focuses on serving the local\u00a0Hmong\u00a0<\/a>community, she knew exactly how to use her skills to uplift Hmong youth \u2013 a class that teaches them how to cook authentic foods called\u00a0Taste of Tradition<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis class is really about getting the next generation to pick up our traditions and not lose who we are,\u201d Xiong said.<\/p>\n Taste of Tradition is a year-long, monthly class open to local youth. Xiong leads two sessions, one for younger chefs from ages 8-11 and for older chefs from 12-18.<\/p>\n Xiong said it was important to her that students become comfortable in the kitchen earlier in life. She also emphasized the need for parents to allow their children the opportunity to practice their skills at home.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead of just saying \u2018no, no, no, don\u2019t come to the kitchen,\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018why don\u2019t we spend that time bonding together and teach and pass on my skills?\u2019 Because we\u2019re losing our own identity, we\u2019re losing our own dish,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Hmong Roots in Fresno, the Valley<\/p>\n Hmong immigrants came to the U.S. from Laos, Thailand and Vietnam after the Vietnam War in the 1970s.<\/p>\n During the war, the CIA covertly recruited indigenous Hmong soldiers to\u00a0fight against the spread of communism<\/a>\u00a0in the Secret War. According to the Minnesota Historical Society, an estimated\u00a050,000 soldiers died in the war<\/a>, and over 200,000 Hmong fled their home countries as political refugees. The federal government allowed the\u00a0Hmong to resettle in the states<\/a>\u00a0with the aid from world relief organizations.<\/p>\n Fifty years later, 360,000 Hmong live in the U.S. with large populations spread across the country, according to census data.<\/p>\n An estimated 360,000 Hmong live in the U.S. today \u2013 with a third in California. The city of Fresno is home to the second largest Hmong community in the U.S., the first being Minneapolis, Minnesota, according to the\u00a0Pew Research Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hmong have a\u00a0rich history in the Central Valley<\/a>. Over 80,000 call the region their home, with vibrant communities in\u00a0Fresno, Merced, Stockton and Sacramento counties<\/a>, according to Nielsberg Research.<\/p>\n Back in the kitchen, Xiong gathers her ingredients and instructs her young chefs in how to make a\u00a0sweet treat<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 coconut sticky rice with purple yam (known as taro) wrapped, steamed and grilled inside banana leaves.<\/p>\n She sprinkles phrases in both English and Hmong throughout the class. For Xiong, the passing on of language is essential because it\u2019s\u00a0at risk of disappearing<\/a>\u00a0after decades of assimilation. Her main goal, she said, is to teach her students the name of the dishes in Hmong.<\/p>\n \u201cAnywhere we go, it\u2019s just English. Our own language is not being used enough for them to learn and speak it. For some, this is the only chance they get to practice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI want them to remember it,\u201d she said. \u201cThe youth can still learn.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018They Learn Things I Won\u2019t Be Able to Teach Them\u2019<\/p>\n After Xiong\u2019s finished with the demonstration, she sent the students to their cooking stations to attempt making the dish on their own.<\/p>\n Ten-year-old Evelyn focused hard on getting the intricate banana leaf fold just right for her sticky rice. She talked through the steps, furrowing her brows as the leaf unfurled and she had to start over.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty tricky here. But if you keep doing it, you\u2019ll finally get the hang of it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n A few tables over, 8-year-old Yulia beamed with excitement after nailing her fold.<\/p>\n \u201cThis reminds me of a lily pad,\u201d she said as Xiong reviewed her work.<\/p>\n \u201cThis class is really about getting the next generation to pick up our traditions and not lose who we are.\u201d \u2014 Kristy Xiong<\/p>\n Susan Xiong (no relation to Kristy) took Yulia\u2019s pockets and placed them onto a hot griddle to finish cooking. The room slowly filled with warm, early aromas. Xiong said the drifting smells transported her to Laos.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re eating it, you have this sensation of like \u2018oh my gosh, it\u2019s so sweet in my mouth\u2019 but like the smell of it\u2026it smells so like soul food,\u201d she said. \u201cIt just wraps you up, like it\u2019s home.\u201d<\/p>\n Susan Xiong\u2019s 10-year-old daughter, Ondine, is the one taking the class, but she felt like she was learning too \u2013 it was her first time making the dish. She\u2019s looking forward to taking the lesson home and making more with all of her kids.<\/p>\n \u201cI would have never gone through this process with them because the food that we eat at home, it\u2019s more of a blend of like American cuisine with some Hmong food,\u201d she said. \u201cBut now, at home, I get to say, \u2018Hey, remember that dish? You guys want to make it?\u2019 and that grows our love for our traditional food.\u201d<\/p>\n Preserving Hmong Culture<\/p>\n The biggest thing, Susan Xiong said, is that the class brings their culture to the forefront. So it won\u2019t be forgotten as generations pass.<\/p>\n \u201cThey get to come here and they get to learn things that I won\u2019t be able to teach them, but I know that yes, like this is part of our culture.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s one reason this class is in high demand and has a waitlist every year. Registration for the next season opens up in the fall.<\/p>\n For more information, visit the A Hopeful Encounter\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Facebook page<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n About the Reporter<\/p>\n![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-2026-06-18T161416.795-e1782322562966.jpg\")
Xiong and her students go over safety rules in the kitchen and basic ingredients for the dish. (CVJC\/Esther Quintanilla)<\/p>\n![\"Images](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-2026-06-18T161430.616.jpg\")
Xiong helps 8-year-old Yulia and her 10-year-old brother Donnie with filling their banana leaves. (CVJC\/Esther Quintanilla)<\/p>\n