Sahan Journal staffers Katrina Pross, Cynthia Tu, Gabriel Kwan and Dymanh Chhoun attended opening day of the Minnesota State Fair on Thursday to review all the official new foods from immigrant and BIPOC vendors.
There are nine new vendors at the fair this year, including Saturday Dumpling Co. and Jive Turkey BBQ. There are 36 new foods, including Union Hmong Kitchen’s Hmong corndog and El Burrito Mercado’s Tacos de Mole.
A full list of the fair’s new foods and vendors can be found here.
Chan’s Eatery: Mango Sticky Rice Refresher
Mango and sticky rice is a ubiquitous dessert at Thai restaurants, but how does it fare as a beverage?
This year, Chan’s Eatery introduced its Mango Sticky Rice Refresher: coconut milk, evaporated milk and condensed milk poured over ice and a dried mango sugar rim, topped with a slice of fresh mango. Unlike the dessert, no rice was found in the refresher.
Creamy condensed milk is a huge part of Southeast Asian cuisine, which gave Dymanh a nostalgic feeling as he chugged the beverage.
“Condensed milk has been part of my life since I was a kid,” he said.
Though most staffers complimented the drink for being “not too sweet,” Cynthia thought the sweetness should have been toned down a notch for a refresher. The team also did not pick up on the flavor of mango in the drink besides the mango slice sitting in the cup, which was a disappointment.
- Review: 3.75 of 5 stars
- Location: East side of Underwood Street between Murphy and Lee Avenues
- Cost: $13
Jive Turkey BBQ
North Carolina-based Jive Turkey BBQ is a new vendor at the fair this year. Their Crack-n-Cheese bowl consists of macaroni and cheese, hickory-smoked turkey barbecue, deep-fried turkey cracklins and Jive’s signature sauce.
When the Crack-n-Cheese first arrived at the table, the taste team was skeptical that they would be able to finish it at all.
“The grease on top doesn’t look that appetizing,” Katrina said. Cynthia echoed her sentiment.
Then, their impressions shifted with every bite.
“The mac and cheese is chewy, the turkey is heavily seasoned,” Cynthia said. “It’s a good blend of flavors. It’s just a lot.”
And yet, the team kept going back for more. The turkey cracklins on top offered good crunch, and the sweetness in the hickory-smoked turkey counterbalanced the heavy mac and cheese.
“I’m still eating it, so I must like it!” Cynthia concluded.
By contrast, the team thought the Soul Roll failed to be more than the sum of its parts.
“Eaten separately, the mac and cheese and collard greens are great,” Katrina said. “But when you put them together in a spring roll and deep fry it, it gets to be a bit much.”
The addition of a sweet and creamy dipping sauce added to a confusing melange of flavors.
“There’s a dash of sweet and sour sauce in the roll that does a lot of heavy lifting,” Gabe said. “But there’s just a lot to lift.”
- Review:
- Crack-n-Cheese Bowl: 4 of 5 stars
- Soul Rolls: 1.5 of 5 stars
- Location: North side of Lee Avenue between Underwood and Cooper Streets.
- Cost: Crack-n-Cheese Bowl: $17 Soul Rolls: $8.
Lumpia City: Longanisa Cheese Curd Lumpia
Lumpia City’s new offering this year paired Filipino longanisa pork sausage and garlic cheese curds with a side of sweet chili sauce.
Gabe said he liked the crunchy lumpia wrapper and the pork’s similarity to a Chinese sausage.
“It pairs well with the chili sauce,” he said.
But Sahan staffers found all the flavors in the lumpia to be overpowering and salty when combined. They all reached for a drink of water after tasting it.
“It’s OK, but I wouldn’t get it again,” Cynthia said.
Katrina was disappointed with the curds, which reminded her of Kraft American cheese or Velveeta.
“It doesn’t taste like a cheese curd to me,” she said.
- Review: 2.4 of 5 stars
- Location: West side of Liggett Street between Carnes and Judson Avenues
- Cost: $14
El Burrito Mercado: Tacos de Mole
El Burrito Mercado debuts its Tacos de Mole at the State Fair this year. For $15, fairgoers get two deep-fried flour tortillas stuffed with shredded chicken, cheese and house-made mole sauce, garnished with queso fresco.
The deep-fried taco shells were pleasantly crunchy, while the chicken filling in the taco preserved its juice and softness.
Gabe appreciated the tanginess and depth of the mole sauce, though Katrina felt the dish was missing a bit of acidity. “A lime would take it to the next level,” she said.
The crew also agreed that $15 for two tacos was overpriced.
- Review: 2.25 of 5 stars
- Location: International Bazaar, south wall
- Cost: $15
Midtown Global Market’s Irie Jamaican Express: Jamaican Jerk Chicken Loaded Fries
Irie Jamaican Express’ new offering this year was a hefty boat of french fries topped with Jamaican jerk chicken, melted cheese and green onions, drizzled with ranch and jerk sauce.
Overall, the taste team liked the combination of chicken, sauce, and carrot garnish.
“The carrot gives a fresh kick that complements the loaded fries, which are typically heavy,” Cynthia said.
Despite the abundance of sauce, the team noted that the fries kept their crunch.
“They picked the right kind of fries for the job,” Gabe said.
Dymanh took an extra bite before adding his thoughts.
“I don’t like to be surprised, so I appreciate that it doesn’t stray far from the jerk chicken flavor,” he said.
But Katrina and Gabe both wanted more jerk chicken flavor.
“When I think of jerk chicken, I think smoky, charred spice. This is falling short of that a little bit,” Gabe said.
“It’s a very Minnesotan take on jerk chicken,” Katrina said.
- Review: 3.8 of 5 stars
- Location: In the Taste of the Midtown Global Market booth at the International Bazaar, east wall
- Cost: $15
Iemochi Japanese Confections
Iemochi operates as a tent at local fairs and festivals, selling its handmade and small batch treats. This year is Iemochi’s first year at the fair, where they are selling four different types of tanghulu, a traditional Chinese snack featuring skewers of fruit covered in a crunchy sugar shell.
Iemochi sells four types of tanghulu: strawberry, grape, mandarin orange, and a combination of grape and strawberry.
Overall, Sahan staffers enjoyed the tanghulu, especially the strawberry.
“It’s hard to find sweet strawberries, and these are juicy and sweet,” Cynthia said. “You can tell they put thought into their fruit sourcing.”
Gabe said he’s glad to see tanghulu sold at the fair, which he said exposes more people to a new cultural food.
But he and other Sahan staffers found the price point at $12 each to be too much.
“At its core, tanghulu is a very simple treat that is meant to be cheap,” Gabe said. “The price point is a little bit hard to justify.”
Gabe said if Iemochi returns to the fair, he would like to see them sell more traditional tanghulu fruits, like hawthorn.
- Review: 3.75 of 5 stars
- Location: International Bazaar, south wall
- Cost: $12 each
Union Hmong Kitchen: Hmong corndog
Union Hmong Kitchen, run by chef Yia Vang, often debuts a new food at the fair. This year’s creation is a collaboration between Vang and Kramarczuk’s Sausage Co.
The Hmong corndog is a pork sausage flavored with ginger, garlic, fish sauce, chili and lemongrass, dipped in a cornmeal batter and fried. It comes with a citrus Kua Txob sauce.
“If I knew [the Hmong corndog] is going to be at the State Fair, I’ll come back every year!” Gabe said. He appreciated the lemongrass flavor that came out right out the gate as he took the first bite. The herbal taste of the sausage is a nice balance of flavor and aroma. The spicy Kua Txob sauce also provided a good pairing with the corndog.
Dymanh, on the other hand, thought the Kua Txob sauce lacked authenticity. “The sauce doesn’t look good compared to the ones I see at the Hmong markets,” he said, finding it too thick.
- Review: 3.6 of 5 stars
- Location: International Bazaar, south wall, west corner
- Cost: $16
Saturday Dumpling Co.
Saturday Dumpling Co. is new to the State Fair this year, and is owned by a husband-and-wife duo Peter Bian and Linda Cao. The business began selling small batches of frozen dumplings and has expanded into three locations across Minneapolis.
The Chinese sausage and provolone poppers, at $10 come in a set of five, and are paired with a glossy sweet and sour sauce. The team was pleasantly surprised with the amount of cheese in the popper, although they didn’t taste much of the sausage. The flakiness of the crust, the balance of seasoning, and the freshness of the poppers themselves were unanimously well-received.
“I can eat 10 more,” Dymanh said.
If the poppers are endlessly eatable, however, ube cream cheese wontons are the heavy hitters. Cynthia remarked on how many flavors there are.
“My taste buds are a little confused here,” she said. “There’s so much going on.”
Katrina liked the vibrant colors of the ube and the biscoff dusting on top. But she said she could only eat one.
“If I bought these for my kids,” Dymanh said, “I would tell them to save it for dessert.”
After the poppers and wontons, Katrina said she was feeling parched, and was looking forward to the yuzuade. And it delivered.
“It’s not too sweet,” she said. “Very refreshing on a hot day at the Fair.”
- Review:
- Chinese Sausage and Cheese Poppers: 4 stars
- Ube Cheesecake Wontons: 3.5 stars
- Salted Mango Yuzuade: 3.6 stars.
- Location: Food Building, east wall
- Cost: Chinese Sausage and Cheese Poppers: $10; Ube Cheesecake Wontons: $10; Salted Mango Yuzuade: $8.
Afro Deli: Peri-Peri Bowl
Afro Deli’s Peri-Peri Bowl consists of two beef sambusas, fried peri-peri spiced chicken, and plantains, served with basbaas, a spicy green chili sauce.
Dymanh and Gabe found the sambusa filling a bit dry. But they liked the overall flavor.
“It tastes like taco meat,” Dymanh said.
“There are some herbs in there, but they’re not coming out as strongly as I would like,” Gabe said of the filling.
Cynthia said the basbaas sauce had an authentic level of spice.
“It’s not a Minnesota-level spice,” she said.
As far as the peri-peri chicken, Katrina thought it wasn’t as crispy as she would have liked.
The per-peri sauce reminded Dymanh of a buffalo sauce, which he didn’t expect.
“I wanted to experience something different,” he said.
For the plantains, Sahan staffers liked the taste, but it didn’t stand out.
“I like it for what it is, and it’s a plantain,” Gabe said.
- Review: 2.5 of 5 stars
- Location: Food Building, east wall
- Cost: $15
