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| Momos from Momo Dumplings |
Momos were the first thing I had at this month's Boise Urban Market, and it was also the first time I'd ever had them at all. According to the vendor, Momo Dumplings, they're the most popular fast food in Nepal. Nepal is in Asia, Asian fast food is usually street food, and this particular street food is dumplings so yeah, I'm going on about Asian dumplings and street food again. The main things that set these apart from your average dim sum fare is the choice of protein (turkey) and the chutney. I didn't care much for the chutney as I found it a little heavy on turmeric, but it could be because I just plain don't like turmeric. I ended up scraping off most of the sauce, leaving just enough to liven up the dumplings a bit, and I was very happy with the results.
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| Char Siu Bao from Chubby Buns |
Next stop, more Asian food. In this case, steamed barbecue pork buns from vendor called Chubby Buns. I'll wait until you're done tittering. To be honest, I'm not generally a big fan of this dish because it's usually made a little sweet for my taste, but these didn't suffer that problem. Delicate yet substantial, they struck a good balance between sweet and savory. I'd wolfed both down before I knew it. And the side of slaw provided a nice accent and palate refresher for the next course...
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| Khao Moo Daeng and Moo Krob combo plate from Nor-mai |
...even more Asian food, and a lot of it, courtesy of my beloved Nor-mai. I started with a combo plate of Thai red barbecue pork and pork cracklings over rice. It's pork, what's not to love, right? Except believe it or not, Gina had something up her sleeve that threw me for a loop.
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| Chai tow kway from Nor-mai |
Gina really surprises me sometimes. This time she did it by making a vegetarian dish that turned out to be my favorite item of the night by far, besting even her own two pork dishes! They call this a carrot cake, even though it bears no resemblance to the carrot cake we're used to in the Western Hemisphere. Oh, it also contains no carrot. It's just a lovely, stir fried, stick-to-your-ribs dish. I'm glad she posted the recipe, because I think I'm going to have to have this again soon, and the only way that's likely to happen is if I make it myself.
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| Maple Bacon Roll by Pam |
Pam, who really needs a cutesy vendor name, was back with her Maple Bacon Roll this time, albeit a full-sized version and a slightly different recipe. I didn't end up having this until breakfast the next day because I hit the wall a lot sooner than I expected to at this Market...hell, I didn't even get to try Saint Lawrence Gridiron's short ribs or the amazing looking sausages from the Boise Co-op. Anyway, a quick warm-up in the microwave, and this roll gave me the bacony, maple-infused decadence I needed to get my day started right.
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| Khao man kai from Nor-mai |
You thought you were done hearing about Nor-mai for the month, didn't ya? They had one other thing I had to have, so I got it to go and took it to work for lunch the next day. Chicken Rice is a dish that originated in China, became famous in Singapore, and this is the Thai version. Essentially a chicken is boiled, then the liquid is reserved and used to cook rice in. Served with condiments, chicken soup and some amazing cucumber slices, this was a very refreshing meal and has me wanting more than ever to try the Singapore version.
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| Chicken Broth/Soup served with Khao man kai |
Not quite as successful this time out, as I'm usually able to try pretty much everything I want but just didn't have the stamina on this occasion. It's all Gina's fault, I swear! Perhaps I'll have better luck at next month's Market?
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