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For me, cooking is like art.
Instead of using ink or oil to paint a canvas,
for me, cooking, my pan, that's my canvas.
And then my ingredients, that's my ink.
When I think about food in my early childhood,
food was a really big deal in the Hmong community.
I just chose these recipe because they're simple.
They're delicious and in the Hmong cuisine,
if you work all day when you come home,
you just want a nice bowl of rice
and just something delicious.
Pork and collard greens with some peppers,
that'll just do you justice.
My parents, their identity back in Thailand --
we came here in America in 1992 in September.
My parents used to be physicians.
When I was a little kid, I was actually born a boy.
The name that my parents gave me is Chia.
I always knew that I was more feminine.
There was three boys including me back then and three girls.
So now I'm part of the girls' side.
I'm just happy.
I'm just very happy.
I felt free.
Food did help my parents where my family accepted me more.
I can ask about how their day is going.
That was my way I can talk to them
instead of being angry at them.
That's was my way to reach out to my parents is through food.
Cooking for them.
Certain foods I will do it so much different
than traditionally how it would be made.
So cooking in my kitchen, it's like therapy to me.