When we recently met chef Yia Vang at Hmong Village Shopping Center in St. Paul for an interview, our profile story (see related story) morphed into a second story we weren’t expecting.

We asked what Hmong dishes Vang loves to order when here. After all, St. Paul has one of the largest Hmong populations in the country, and we were in one of the largest Hmong retail and food courts around. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Hmong Village Shopping Center, the spot off Johnson Parkway is a large gathering spot housing Hmong-owned businesses (While we’re at it, Hmongtown Marketplace off Como Avenue is another popular one in St. Paul).

Inside, the shopping center is lined with retail stalls selling items such as beauty products, fashion apparel, kitchen wares and home goods. There’s also a market for groceries, including a large selection of produce. And then there is our favorite feature — the food court with restaurants and delis dishing up everything from spring rolls to Hmong sausages and wings to stewed pork belly. Noodle soups such as pho and kapoon red curry are available, as are a wide variety of rice entrees. We could go on and on.

Vang has eaten at every counter in this expansive food court, and definitely had his go-to places. He nodded at what we usually liked to order — stuffed chicken wings, Hmong sausage and pho. But when it was time to eat, it was clear Vang wanted us to try things off our beaten path and he led the charge.

We were so delighted by his picks — and insider tips including off-the-menu items — that we had to share the experience and pass on his recommended dishes. This way you too can consider a stop at these food counters during a visit here:

SANTI’S

First and foremost, one of Vang’s must stops was at this grill spot. The Crazy Steak ($19), cooked to medium-rare with a nice char to it and brushed with a pepper sauce, was a must-order. The dish, which is sizable (seriously, like two pounds) and easily shareable, was served with two sauces on the side — a pepper paste and wasabi sauce — for even more kick. It was the Hmong version of a pepper steak. If you’re looking for something clean and lean, the Nine Spice Chicken ($8) was a wonderful plate of a tender half chicken cut into smaller pieces for easy serving and brushed with more of that pepper sauce that added flavor to the already aromatic spices. We rounded out these dishes with an order of Sticky Rice ($4), which was a giant helping that went perfectly with the family style meal we were about to dive into. It’s worth noting that the meat dishes took 15 to 20 minutes to prepare. No problem — we just gave them our table number, then went to the other counters to order other food items we wanted in the meantime.

MAI’S KITCHEN

Whenever we’re at a Hmong market, stuffed chicken wings, which are basically the fillings found in an egg roll stuffed into a de-boned chicken wing, are our standby. Instead, Vang insisted we try the chicken drumsticks version here. He prefers Stuffed Chicken Drumsticks ($2 each) over wings for the flavor and extra meat, and we’re still marveling at the technique required to completely remove the bone, leaving only the little nub at the end of the drumstick to hold onto. And we can back up Vang’s’s claim that they are unforgettably delicious. Mai’s Kitchen is also home to Vang’s favorite papaya salad at the marketplace, so we had to try this as well. And Vang shared this great tip: while there were three types of papaya salad listed on the menu board, you can order a Hmong Style Papaya Salad ($6) off-the-menu, which is a cross between a traditional Thai papaya salad and the more shrimp-paste laden Lao papaya salad. We ordered it, and could see why this was his favorite, especially since Mai’s Kitchen makes them to order for maximum freshness.

LUCKI’S KITCHEN

Part of the fun is you can try a bunch of entrees at this cafeteria-style spot. They included off-the-menu items and daily changing specials. Vang’s go-to here is the Sweet Meat, a sweet pork stew with soy, cinnamon, anise, sugar and whole boiled eggs that makes for a sweet and savory dish. We then ordered Braised Mustard Greens and Pork, reminiscent of collard greens. To round it off, Vang ordered a Pork Stew with innards that included tripe and tendon, for those at our table who wanted to try something on the adventurous side. Each entree was $6 for a 16 oz. container. We didn’t order it this way, but a sign advertised a special in which you could get three entrees with rice for $7, which we assume came in smaller portions.

HMONG VILLAGE SHOPPING CENTER