Saturday, May 14, 2016

Shan Rice Salad that we will never forget

(Shan Htamin Chin)


We went to the Shan state of Burma in the December for winter vacation because of the bitter cold Minnesota winter. We have visited that place several times since we were young, but this time it was different. Why you might ask? It was a great family reunion in order to celebrate our parents' 50th anniversary of their marriage. All of our sisters live abroad and tried to make it back to our birthplace to be reunited with everyone. It was a fun, joyful vacation and we visited different places as our families' memorable trip.

Every place we visited, we would always try to find great local food from each different area. One place that we did have a funny moment was on Inle Lake, a large lake in the middle of Southern Shan State. In that place, my mom's appetite called for the rice salad that is unique, delightful, and locally famous. Therefore we asked the boaters who could lead us to the great restaurant in the lake. When we arrived at that place at lunchtime, we were asking whether we could get that food.
The owner said politely, they have other special foods in their restaurant but not rice salad.
Our group is actually upset about not getting that rice salad but we end up having lunch there with other great dishes from their menu.

Actually, we found out that restaurant is popular because of its own signature grilled fish. It also had clean restrooms and wash stations with running water. I was impressed by the restaurant's service and amenities were in the middle of Inle Lake. Customers at this restaurant are mostly foreign tourists.

One memory for this recipe, however, is not food. The place that we had that rice salad over 10 years ago when my son was younger and started to speak English fluently. There were many cats roaming around the table while we ate at a small restaurant near Inle Phaung Taw Oo Pagoda. My son would try to shoo the cats away by speaking in English, but the cats would not understand. With help from his aunt, he was finally able to shoo the cats away by speaking in Burmese. We realized that we needed to adapt our language depending on where we were.

This rice salad has the unique ingredient of dried fermented soybean flakes. It is a highly common staple in the Shan states and has its own flavor, playing a big part in this recipe.






Shan Rice Salad (5 serving)

Ingredients


2.5 cups    Japanese Sushi Rice
1 lb           White Fish fillet
2 cups       Chopped tomato
2 cups       Boiled potato mashed
1/2 cup     Chopped garlic (for garlic fragrant oil)
2 tbsp       Sliced Ginger
1 tbsp       Light Soy Sauce
7 pieces    Dried Fermented Soybean flakes ( Pe Poat)
1.5 cup     Chopped Garlic
1.5 cups    Canola Oil

Prep 1. Making Garlic Flavor oil or Fried Garlic topping

1. In the skillet with medium-high heat, add one cup oil and heat it up.
2. Then add chopped garlic 1 cup into and pan and stir fry till golden brown.

Prep 2. Poaching Fish Fillet

1. In the small pot, add fish fillet, ginger, salt or soy sauce 1tsp. with 1/2 cup of water.
2. Cook with medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes till fish is fork tender. Then cool it down.

Prep 3. Tomato Bean Paste Gravy

1. We need to grill that fermented soybean flake to make it crispy.
2. Then pound it in the pastel or grind it in the coffee grinder to make roughly chopped powder. ( set aside 3 tbsp for rice)
3. In the pan with 0.5 cups of oil on the stove with medium heat.
4. Stir fry the garlic till fragrant then add the bean flake powder and 1 cup of chopped tomato together and stir.
5. When all the ingredients are blended in together, add a cup of water and simmer for 10- 15 minutes. Season with salt to our taste.

Prep 4. Cooking Rice

1. In the rice cooker, add rice and 1 cup chopped tomato with water as instruction and cook.
2. When rice is cooked, add fish flakes, mashed potato, 2 tbsp garlic flavor oil and 3 tbsp soybean flake powder ( from step 2 of prep 3).
3. Put everything together in the bowl, then mix with hand or wooden spoon.
4. When everything is mixed scoop out with small bowl for individual serving and placed in the center of the serving plate.
5. On top of that rice add 1 tsp of garlic flavor oil and 2 tbsp of gravy.
6. Garnish with cilantro or spring onion or chives.

Note: We may enjoy this meal with clear vegetable soup.











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