The Hungry Immigrant

The Hungry Immigrant podcast, hosted by celebrity chef, cookbook author and educator Abang Brian, is dedicated to preserving Asian food culture and heritage. Through insightful conversations with chefs, food historians, and culinary innovators, the podcast explores traditional dishes, culinary techniques, and the cultural significance of food. Each episode celebrates the power of food in preserving identity and heritage, with the goal of keeping Asian culinary traditions alive for future generations.

The Hungry Immigrant is a arts podcast hosted by Abang Brian, with 51 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 81.

Abang Brian hosts The Hungry Immigrant, a arts show with 51 episodes published.

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  Episode #15

  The Foods We Left Behind Could Save Our Future | Paul Newnham

  Sep 23, 202647 minS3

  What if the foods we left behind could help feed our future? Recorded during Climate Week in New York, Dr. Abang Brian speaks with Paul Newnham, CEO of the SDG2 Advocacy Hub and founder of Beans Is How, about the missing role of culture in solving hunger, nutrition and climate challenges. They explore why immigrants sometimes abandon ancestral foods, how ingredients such as beans and lentils became associated with poverty, and whether traditional dishes can evolve without losing their identity. From refugee communities and global food policy to dal, bean burgers and the Sambal Survey, this conversation asks us to look back at our food heritage as we build what comes next. Because preserving culture does not have to mean rejecting change. It is not “either/or.” It can be “and.” The Hungry Immigrant: Heart, Heritage and the Unexpected.

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  Episode #13

  Why Bahn Mi Bread is NOT a Baguette

  Aug 30, 202640 minS3

  Jill Nguyen left Vietnam at 14 with two suitcases. Seventeen years later, she has become one of DC’s most beloved bakers. In this episode of The Hungry Immigrant , Abang Brian sits down with Jill, the Vietnamese-born baker behind Capital Jill Baking. Jill never baked before 2020, but what began as pandemic restlessness turned into a life of sourdough, cakes, community, and a starter named Scarlett Dough Hanson. They talk about leaving Hanoi, building a life in America, the real banh mi bread, why it is not a baguette, tamarind caramel, Milo, sambal, snail sausages, and the beautiful madness of gathering almost 300 cakes in one room. This is a story about migration, reinvention, and how flour, water, time, and stubbornness can become a new home.

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  Episode #12

  You’ve Been Using a Wok Wrong! The Secret to Better Stir-Fries with Eleanor Hoh

  Aug 11, 202636 minS3

  Are you using your wok correctly? Eleanor Hoh, better known as the Wok Star, joins Dr. Abang Brian to reveal what most home cooks misunderstand about wok cooking. They explore how to choose, season and care for a wok; why heat and BTUs matter; what creates wok hei; and the mistakes that may be holding back your stir-fries. Eleanor also shares her journey Hong Kong to the United States, how food helped her build community, and how the wok became central to her life and work. Listen to the episode, then visit @hungryimmigrant on Instagram for your chance to win a Wok Star Kit worth $159+. Giveaway closes at 11:59 p.m. ET on August 19, 2026. US only. Terms and conditions apply. Follow @wokstar, @hungryimmigrant and @abangbrian on Instagram. The Hungry Immigrant celebrates the people, stories and food traditions shaping Asian food culture around the world.

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  Episode #11

  Authentic to whom?

  Jul 23, 20261h 6mS3

  Who gets to decide whether food is “authentic”? Recorded live at the 2026 Kalamazoo Foodways Symposium, Chef Dr. Abang Brian is joined by Peecoonn Allen, Thai-born founder of Umami Ramen, and Shane Bernardo, a Filipino food justice organizer and co-founder of Food as Healing. Through stories of carrot som tum, a grandmother’s lugaw, adobo, rendang and nasi lemak, they explore how migration, colonization, displacement and adaptation shape the food we inherit. Is a dish less authentic when it changes—or is adaptation how its meaning survives? It is a conversation about food as love, healing, memory and belonging—with a fiery Sambal Survey along the way.

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  Episode #10

  Lao Food Is Not Thai Food | Saeng Douangdara on Refugees, Identity & The Lao Kitchen

  Jul 15, 202638 minS3

  Lao food is not Thai food. Yet for decades, one of Southeast Asia's oldest culinary traditions has been misunderstood, hidden behind restaurant menus, and overshadowed by history. In this episode of The Hungry Immigrant , Dr. Abang Brian sits down with chef, food educator, and author Saeng Douangdara to explore the story behind Lao cuisine, the legacy of refugee families, and the release of his landmark cookbook, The Lao Kitchen . Born in a refugee camp in Thailand and raised in Wisconsin, Saeng shares how his parents carried Laos with them through recipes, sticky rice, and padaek. Together, we discuss the history of Thaification, what truly defines Lao food, growing up queer and Lao in America, and why preserving food culture is about far more than recipes. Because sometimes, the most powerful thing immigrants carry with them isn't what fits in a suitcase—it's what lives in their kitchens.

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