Pangnou Vang’s face is mostly hidden under the bill of her ballcap as she works, angling the blade of her long, wooden handled knife horizontally along a block of salmon belly. The fingers of her other hand rest lightly on top of the fish, following the shape of the knife like a peaking wave as […]
Hmong
Posted inNews
NCJ Preview: Providence’s Brutal Billing, Yang’s Wings
This week we’re talking about the New York Times‘ exposé on how Providence Health has accepted $1 billion in tax breaks to care for the poor but has hounded those qualified for free care with sometimes devastating bills. It’s an issue that hits Humboldt via St. Joseph Hospital and its clinics. We’re also getting to […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Hmong American Entrepreneurship at Yang’s Kitchen
The circular Yang’s Kitchen tent set up in Old Town for the last Friday Night Market of the year resembles a beehive. Owner Thao Yang and his wife, Mai Vang, dart around and past one another from the bubbling fryers to the stainless steel bowls of sauce and up to the front window to pass […]
Posted inNews
NCJ Preview: Cal Poly Humboldt Plans, Feeding Lao and Hmong Families
What does the shift to Cal Poly Humboldt mean beyond a run on HSU hoodies? We’ll break down the infrastructure, curriculum and housing impacts on the university, the city of Arcata and Humboldt at large. We’ve also got a story on how Hmong and Lao community members are working with Redwood Coast Regional Center and […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Looking Out for Each Other
A little after 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 22, the curb of Alice Birney Elementary School in Eureka is lined with boxes of food: sweet rice, fish sauce, leeks, eggs and tied bags of greens. Sacks of rice are piled on a pallet and cases of Mama noodles stack up shoulder high by the fence. A […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Rice Sacks and Blessings
Every April the Humboldt Grange fills with music, prayer, the chanting of Buddhist monks and Lao food — tables laden with aluminum trays of fried fish, spring rolls, rice cakes and pungent salads — some of which families bring up in silver chalices as New Year’s offerings to their ancestors. But this year, under the […]