Photography by Caitlin Abrams
Hmongtown Market
Hmongtown Market
“You have to take the drumstick. It’s for the favorite child!” says my friend Panhia Yang, proffering the semi-jellied chicken leg of koj thiab ntiv—Hmong chicken with herbs. “Or it’s for the youngest child,” cuts in Panhia’s sister, Amy. “But really for the favorite!” they both say at once.
We were on a mission to find the best of the best at this particular moment at the giant Hmong Village up on Johnson Parkway, and both agree that koj thiab ntiv from Grace Diner, one of almost two-dozen food stalls at the indoor marketplace, is a classic that any Hmong food fan must try. The drumstick in question is spectacular—jellied, minty, a little sour, a little salt-and-peppered, and definitely not a dish I’d have known to try on my own. Get it.
Hmong Village
Hmong Village
For those who need a refresher, many Hmong fled to the United States after the Vietnam War—especially to Minnesota and California. Today, the Twin Cities is one of the Hmong world’s cultural and economic capitals. There’s an estimated 80,000 to 150,000 Hmong here now.
In 2004, entrepreneur Toua Xiong had the idea of turning an abandoned lumber yard on Como Avenue near the state capitol into a sort of urban Hmong town square, calling it Hmongtown and subdividing the space into hundreds of stalls that individual vendors could rent by the year or the day, in the case of the outdoor farmers’ market stalls. Hmongtown soon became a center of cultural life. There’s a pharmacy, a tea shop, a tax service, traditional knife vendors, lots more. It’s where Hmong-speaking folk come to connect with each other and the world. This June, Hmongtown had a sort of Cinco de Mayo street festival of Hmong culture, and this winter they’re putting in an ice skating rink. There are also whisperings of expansion plans that would see Hmongtown become a larger district, like Los Angeles’s Chinatown.
Needless to say, success breeds success, and in 2010 an even bigger and unrelated spot called Hmong Village opened in east St. Paul, with six times as many restaurants. Catering to a younger, more citified clientele, Hmong Village is where you’ll find Hmong fusion cuisine such as steak with wasabi sauce, caramel apple pie boba tea, and a Latino mangonada mango drink variation made with charred Hmong chili peppers. Food explorers wanting to master the two Hmong markets have always faced one big obstacle: There’s so, so much to explore! Well, consider this your cheat sheet.
Top 10 Bites for Hmong Market Explorers
Both Hmongtown and Hmong Village
1. Barbecue
Roasted pork and chicken made in ultra-hot ovens are a specialty of both our Hmong markets. Beyond timing, there’s not much secret to getting the best—if you see someone hang something fresh or cut up something fresh, grab it. I like Santi’s, Long Cheng Bar-B-Q, Thai Ginger Deli, and Xieng Huong Kitchen at Hmong Village, and Mr. Papaya Kitchen, Hmoob Kitchen, and Golden Cuisine at Hmongtown. Hmong barbecue is served with a plain sauce of charred chili peppers ground with oil, but it’s worth searching for the condiment called Tomato Chili, basically a roast salsa of tomatoes, cilantro, fire-charred jalapeño, and a little fish sauce ground up in a mortar and pestle. It’s the best thing to add to barbecue.
Hmongtown
Rice and vegetables from Hmoob Kitchen
Purple rice and roast vegetables from Hmoob Kitchen
2. Roast vegetable, Hmoob Kitchen
A Hmong New Year’s dish made by cooking vegetables and on-the-bone pork together until both are fall-apart tender. It’s extremely mild, beyond rich, and knee-weakening wonderful.
3. Roast chicken laarb, Golden Cuisine
Of all the laarbs in the Twin Cities, this is the only made with whole roast chicken meat (not just ground, boiled chicken meat). That’s why it gets my vote for the best—those roast flavors sing when amplified with fresh lime and cilantro.
Hmong Village
4. Hmong chicken with herbs, koj thiab ntiv, Grace Diner
A must-visit for the plain-but-great chicken poached with herbs. Get extra to take home.
5. Hmong chicken noodle soup, khao piak sen, Moon’s Kitchen
What’s the chicken and matzo ball soup of Hmong life? Khao piak sen, a rich chicken broth made with lemongrass, then plumped up with thick tapioca noodles.
6. Spring rolls, Mom’s Kitchen
There are so many spring rolls coming apart at their seams in both markets, but the ones at Mom’s Kitchen are magic. Mom’s uses lettuce leaves just below the rice noodle exterior, rendering the whole thing ice-green, and leaving the fresh herbal flavors pristine.
Crazy steak at Santi's
Crazy steak at Santi's
7. Crazy steak, Santi’s
A thin, pounded, tamarind-glazed, very tender steak that’s a little Laotian, a touch Japanese and Mexican, and the definition of 21st-century Minnesota.
Mai's papaya salad
Mai's papaya salad
8. Papaya salad, Mai’s Deli
An elegant hand with a massive mortar and pestle, Mai’s lets you taste their ethereal papaya salad as they go, making it just right for just you.
9. Curry noodle soup, Long Cheng BBQ and Grill
This mild red coconut curry noodle soup with chunks of chicken and a wealth of silky rice noodles is nothing but a quilt of the coziest culinary comfort.
Boba tea from BlueBerry
Boba tea from BlueBerry
10. Boba tea, BlueBerry
Local Hmong market stall most likely to go national? BlueBerry, which makes next-level, ultra-creative bubble teas with fresh ingredients like strawberries and chewy ingredients like caramel, boba pearls, and jelly. Its goldfish bowl–sized specials are the La La Palooza sundae of Hmong food—and an absolute triumph of St. Paul cuisine.
Hmongtown Marketplace, 217 Como Ave., St. Paul, hmongtownmarketplace.com
Hmong Village Shopping Center, 1001 Johnson Pkwy., St. Paul, hmongvillageshoppingcenter.com
