The Three Sisters: Corn, Black Beans and Squash | Relish with Yia Vang

Diné and Native American chef Brian Yazzie teaches chef Yia Vang his version of the Three Sisters. The Three Sisters dish features corn, black beans and squash, ingredients that not only grow well together, but are also indigenous to the Americas. Chef Brian Yazzie first stepped into the kitchen as a young child while living on the Navajo Nation in Arizona. He says, “I started cooking at the age of seven, helping my mom in the kitchen.” The youngest of eight kids, Yazzie was often the only one at home with his single mom. “One day I heard that the knife tapping on the cutting board and smelled the aromatics coming from the kitchen. It’s that curiosity that brought me into the kitchen. I was too small for a knife, so I was helping her set up the tables, do the dishes, you know, stir the soup or bringing the food out, whatever I could do to help. I just had that mentality, that unconditional love because, you know, I didn’t see a father figure around.” 𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙎𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚: Relish shares stories of cultural heritage in Twin Cities communities through the universal language of food. In each episode, host Yia Vang (Union Hmong Kitchen) takes viewers inside the home kitchens of local chefs as they serve up an ingredient or dish that has personal and cultural meaning to them: #food #pbsfood #relish #twincitiespbs #yiavang #chefyiavang #brianyazzie #threesisters #navajonationrecipes #navajo #navajonation #diné #Yazziethechef 00:00: Making corn mush 00:30: Introducing Chef Brian Yazzie 00:32: Indigenous American ingredients 00:47: Why is corn important in Native American cooking? 2:03: What are the Three Sisters? 2:23: Making an earth oven 4:51: Eating bison and the Three Sister dish