About Mo-Thuk
The word Mo-Thuk is a portmanteau formed by combining two words - "Mo" from "Momo" (Dumpling) and "Thuk" from "Thukpa" (Noodle Soup). Mo-Thuk, as the name suggests, is a soupy dish comprising traditional Tibetan hand wrapped dumplings or momos served in a delicious (often meat based) broth. A quick glance at the dish gives an illusion that the dumplings are floating in the broth. That's why, sometimes, it's often called "Swimming Momo" by westerners.
Nothing can beat the wonderful taste of juicy dumplings served in a bowl of warm soup on cold winter evenings. The flavour of the delicious broth permeates into the soft skin of the momo as it cooks and this greatly enhances the taste of the dumplings. Perhaps that's why, although the ingredients may be the same, the momos in the Mo-Thuk taste much more delicious compared to the steamed ones.
A good Mo-Thuk requires three important things - a tasty filling, a delicious and complimentary broth, and most importantly, well kneaded and correctly flattened dough for the wrapping so that the dumplings do not fall apart when they jostle in the boiling broth while being cooked. When all these three essential elements come together nicely, a great Mo-Thuk is ready for the "bowl" (pun intended)!
The design of the momo in this dish and the stuffing used vary (from chef to chef). However, the most popular design is the teardrop shaped dumpling with its intricately interwoven folds. Tibetans call this momo design the"Tsi Tsi Momo" or the mouse shaped momo which (of course) is not so mouth water inducing unless one happens to consider mice a delicacy. So let's stick to calling this design, the teardrop shaped momo to make the dish sound more palatable.
To make teardrop shaped momos for Mo-Thuk, the chef, while flattening the dough, purposely keeps the centre part slightly thicker to support the filling's weight. After placing the filling at the centre, a slight inward fold is made from one section of the circular dough to form the shape of a waxing gibbous moon. Then, the remaining two sides of the semi-circle are interwoven towards the top centre direction and thus, in the process, the filling is wrapped inside the skin.
Since the preparation of this dish takes longer time and needs much more effort and technique, it isn't made as often as the momo is in most Tibetan homes. Therefore, it is a delicacy that every Tibetan looks forward to with great relish when it's cooked!
However, at #NomadTibetanRestaurant, you can savour this classic Tibetan delight every single day of the week - fresh and flavourful as it should be. The Nomad Mo-Thuk comes with your choice of meat filling (beef or chicken) served in a delicious house-made broth with tomatoes and bok choy.
So what are you waiting for? See you soon at #Nomad Restaurant!
