Post by billhammond on Feb 17, 2024 10:30:40 GMT -5
The Strib runs a weekly feature wherein our food writers show and tell about their favorite food samplings from the previous week. It's an enormously popular article each week. Here are two from the latest installment.
Yia Vang is launching his first full brunch at Union Hmong Kitchen on W. Lake Street. "This is a neighborhood restaurant and we want to give people a reason to wake up and come in on Sundays," he said over a spread of egg dishes punctuated by chile sauce, fresh herbs and UHK's signature sausage dressed up for brunch with a hint of maple syrup. Brunch launches this weekend, and he's cooked up compelling reasons for getting up and going out on the weekend.
There's a chimichanga doused in creamy coconut red curry sauce and a breakfast bành mí loaded with eggs, sausage, herbs, pickled radish and carrots graced with Maggi sauce. But the first dish I'll be ordering when I go back is the shrimp and tomato omelet ($16).
"This isn't like a Marco Pierre White-type omelet," Vang said. "You know, when the French colonials left, they left some things behind — including the name." So, we'll call it an omelet, but the preparation is entirely different. Eggs are whipped up and cooked in a hot wok with oil until puffy. The result is tender, light and served like a blanket over a mound of rice and topped with an herb salad. The succulent little nubs of seasoned shrimp and sliced cherry tomatoes punctuate the dish, and the salad makes the whole affair feel downright healthy and springy.
The owners of Abi's in Minneapolis pay tribute to the national dish of El Salvador — thick corn tortillas filled with cheese and meat/vegetable fillings and then cooked on a hot griddle — with a from-scratch family recipe. Filling choices such as chicken, pork belly or beans were tempting, but we ultimately went with the marinated beef birria ($4.50 each; three for $12).
We were happy campers as we tore the corn cakes into bite-size pieces and topped them with fresh slaw and salsa. Like when ordering birria tacos, the pupusas also came with an au jus-type broth for dunking. So we obliged, and it took us further into the depths of this flavorfully layered dish.
Yia Vang is launching his first full brunch at Union Hmong Kitchen on W. Lake Street. "This is a neighborhood restaurant and we want to give people a reason to wake up and come in on Sundays," he said over a spread of egg dishes punctuated by chile sauce, fresh herbs and UHK's signature sausage dressed up for brunch with a hint of maple syrup. Brunch launches this weekend, and he's cooked up compelling reasons for getting up and going out on the weekend.
There's a chimichanga doused in creamy coconut red curry sauce and a breakfast bành mí loaded with eggs, sausage, herbs, pickled radish and carrots graced with Maggi sauce. But the first dish I'll be ordering when I go back is the shrimp and tomato omelet ($16).
"This isn't like a Marco Pierre White-type omelet," Vang said. "You know, when the French colonials left, they left some things behind — including the name." So, we'll call it an omelet, but the preparation is entirely different. Eggs are whipped up and cooked in a hot wok with oil until puffy. The result is tender, light and served like a blanket over a mound of rice and topped with an herb salad. The succulent little nubs of seasoned shrimp and sliced cherry tomatoes punctuate the dish, and the salad makes the whole affair feel downright healthy and springy.
The owners of Abi's in Minneapolis pay tribute to the national dish of El Salvador — thick corn tortillas filled with cheese and meat/vegetable fillings and then cooked on a hot griddle — with a from-scratch family recipe. Filling choices such as chicken, pork belly or beans were tempting, but we ultimately went with the marinated beef birria ($4.50 each; three for $12).
We were happy campers as we tore the corn cakes into bite-size pieces and topped them with fresh slaw and salsa. Like when ordering birria tacos, the pupusas also came with an au jus-type broth for dunking. So we obliged, and it took us further into the depths of this flavorfully layered dish.
