Feast Portland Preview: Nong's Khao Man Gai

Guys!

With the city's famed food festival, Feast Portland, coming up in about a month, I thought it would be fun to do a little series on the different local restaurants and chefs who will be participating in the event. Expect a few more posts featuring local places and vendors within the next few weeks as I start my countdown to the event (also known as, the four days in which I do nothing but eat and stuff myself).

Let's start with Nong's Khao Man Gai, shall we?

Nong's Khao Man Gai has been on the city's Eater 38 lists for as long as I can remember, marking it as one of the MUST-EAT places in Portland, Oregon. It always struck me as an odd choice — up against established brick-and-mortars, often times it was the lone food cart on the list. Even stranger was that it was a food cart that served only one dish: khao man gai, a Thai rendition of Hainanese chicken rice. That is, chicken poached and simmer in chicken stock and a variety of herbs, sitting on a generous bed of white jasmine rice with a sauce made from fermented soybeans, ginger, garlic, Thai chiles, vinegar and say sauce. The chicken and rice is garnished with herbs and vegetables, and is accompanied by a smoky chicken stock.

But Nong Poonsukwattana, the chef and namesake of Nong's Khao Man Gai, is somewhat of a legend in Portland's local culinary scene. In 2003, Nong arrived from Bangkok with two suitcases and $70. She worked as a restaurant server for a few years (including a stint at my pictures of the event from last year for a preview — I'll be there this year too!

Don't live in Portland and/or can't make it to Feast? Try making Nong's khao man gai for yourself at home. You can also order her famous sauce online!

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