Fresno County has the largest contingent of Hmong in the United States and more than five hundred of these Southeast Asian refugees are farmers. Pat McConahay found that the road to farming hasn't been an easy one for these primitive people. The Hmong helped the U.S. military fight the Communists in Laos in the 1970's. After the war they came to America to escape oppression. Since they arrived with few skills, the University of California's farm advisory program is helping them make a go of farming specialty crops, including daikon radishes and lemon grass. The goal is to move the Hmong from primitive slash-and-burn farming techniques to modern methods of planting and managing pests. While the Hmong have a long way to go to make a living at farming, Yee Li is showing there is hope for the future. He is successful in that he also packs and ships the produce he grows. Establishing markets for Hmong crops is the next challenge. Lemon Grass recipe One of the Hmong's common specialty crops is lemon grass. To find out how to prepare it we visited none other than the Lemon Grass Restaurant in Sacramento. Owner-chef Mai Pham's award-winning cuisine is a combination of Thai and Vietnamese from her native countries. Mai came to the U.S. after the fall of Saigon in 1975. "I like the very citrusy, very wonderful, aromatic fragrance that you get from cooking with it," Pham said. She added that it adds a special flavor to many types of dishes. One of her favorites is a shrimp soup she prepared for California Heartland. Ingredients: 2 cloves garlic, sliced 1 shallot, sliced 1 teaspoon ground chili paste 1 fresh red chili 1 tablespoon chopped, fresh cilantro 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1/3 pound raw medium shrimp peeled and deveined (reserve the shells) 5 cups homemade unsalted or canned low-sodium chicken stock 1 stalk lemon grass cut into 1-inch pieces and bruised with the back of a knife. 3 thin slices galanga 3 kaffir lime leaves cut into thirds 3 tablespoons fish sauce 1 tablespoon brown sugar ½ cup drained canned straw mushrooms or sliced white mushrooms 2 red ripe tomatoes cut into thin wedges ½ cup fresh lime juice 10 fresh Thai basil leaves 5 fresh cilantro sprigs chopped Preparation: Place the garlic, shallot, chili paste, chili, cilantro and peppercorns into a mortar and pound into a paste. Heat the oil in a soup pot over moderate heat. Add shrimp shells and brown until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the spice mixture to the pot and stir until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the chicken stock and let simmer for 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove shells and discard. Add the lemon grass, galanga, lime leaves, fish sauce, brown sugar, mushrooms and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add the shrimp and cook until almost done, about 2 minutes. Shrimp will continue to cook in the hot broth. Remove from heat and add the lime juice, basil and cilantro. Serve piping hot. Makes four servings. If you have comments or questions about this story, please E-mail Producer/Reporter Pat McConahay at pmcconah@kvie.org.