On's Thai Kitchen Nam Thok: 100 Favorite Dishes, No. 59
Sure, On's Thai Kitchen on University Avenue offers the usual suspects: spring rolls, green curry, pad Thai. But it's worth exploring the further corners of the menu's authentic, home-style Thai cooking and considering lesser-seen dishes such as Pad-Phong-Ga-Lee (curried crab with scrambled eggs), Hu mok (a spicy fish custard), and, pictured here, the Nam Thok (a bolder, more satisfying version of the familiar Lao dish, larb).
An off-menu variant of Nam Thok at On's.
Nam Thok, a spiced meat salad with lettuce and fresh herbs, is made with sliced meat instead of ground, as the Lao version offers. This dish is actually the Nam Thok Kor Moo Yang, an off-menu variant of the traditional Nam Thok, and it's made with the same seasoning mix--roasted rice, fish sauce, lime, minced onions, shaved lemongrass curls, and plenty of chilis--and served with lettuces, cilantro, and mint to add a counterbalancing coolness. But the fattier cut of pork in this version lends to its succulence, and marinating the meat causes the flavors to seeps into all its crevices. This combination of grilled meat wrapped up in fresh herbs and lettuce tastes just as tongue-tingling as it were purchased from a Bangkok street vendor.
On's Thai Kitchen
1613 University Ave. W., St. Paul, 651.644.1444
Hungry for more? The dishes in our countdown thus far are linked below:
No. 60: Flamingo Restaurant's vegetarian combo
No. 61: Sea Change's brioche pain perdu
No. 62: Haute Dish's "steak and eggs"
No. 63: Tremblay's Sweet Shop's salt water taffy
No. 64: Bars Bakery's Turtle Bar
No. 65: Pizzeria Lola's Lady Zaza Pizza
No. 66: In Season's fried oysters
No. 67: Cave Vin's steak frites
No. 68: Everest on Grand's cabbage and potatoes
No. 70: Surly's Coffee Bender
No. 71: Quang's bun tom xao
No. 72: Maple bacon doughnut at YoYo Donuts
No. 73: Cupcake's mini cupcakes
No. 74: Willy D's ribs
No. 75: Salsa a la Salsa's fried chocolate truffles
No. 76: Anodyne's Artichoke Melt
No. 77: Origami's steamed duck
No. 78: B.T. McElrath's Salty Dog bar
No. 79: Mozza Mia's house-made limoncello
No. 80: Salty Tart Bakery's pastry cream-filled brioche
No. 81: Little Szechuan's bamboo tips with chili sauce
No. 82: Oceanaire's Jumbo Lump Crab Cake
No. 83: Aperitif's Nonni's Meatballs
No. 84: Christos's Saganaki
No. 85: Sesame seed bagel at Seven Stars Coffee House
No. 86: Lemon ricotta pancake at Hell's Kitchen
No. 87: Blackbird gourmet banh mi
No. 88: Tank Goodness cookies
No. 89: Gal Bee at Sole Cafe
No. 90: Porter & Frye's El Pelon
No. 91: Coffee News' fish and chips
No. 92: Bread & Chocolate's Fabulous Fudge Bar
No. 93: People's Organic panna cotta
No. 94: Sea Salt Eatery crawdad po' boy
No. 95: Fuji Ya's Tofu Don
No. 96: Ike's Food and Cocktails The Weekender Bloody Mary
No. 97: Punch's Toto pizza
No. 98: Stockholm Pie Company's peanut butter fudge cream pie
No. 99: Dogwood Coffee Co.'s macchiato
No. 100: Al's Breakfast buttermilk pancakes
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