Spicy Fruit Preserve

Spicy Fruit Preserve 

(The Treat that we never get tired of eating)

At Halloween,  children are treated with candies or chocolates for the trick or treat festivities. In Burma, when we were little, the candies and chocolate were imported from overseas and were expensive. As for me, I love the Burmese traditional fruit preserve.
The fruit preserves are always available at school snack shops and movie theatre.

Last month, because of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday celebration, the cranberries are available at groceries till now. It is quite similar to the prunes and it tastes sour. One of my friends made that fruit preserve once and it made me tempting to try out.

In Burma, there are also tropical fruits available so sour fruit like mango, prunes and Marian plum are our best choice of fruit preserves as snacks. Most of them are made with chili powder and brown sugar or plum sugar. In Burma, mangoes are available everywhere. There are a lot of traditional Mangoes related food and salad are also fun to have as side dishes.

Every summer time, my mom made salted dried mango for a year-round supply of kitchen ingredients. We use dried Marian plum are also used in meat dishes. Dried sour fruits are suitable to cook with pork as Burmese traditional meat curry.

As I have some dried Marian plum and cranberry this year, I am going to make two types of spicy fruit preserve with cranberry and dried Marian. I am thankful to my Mom in law for bringing dried Marian plum as she knew that I am very interested to cook and try the new recipe. Cranberry is also very tender and soft as compared to prune preserves.

Cranberry Fruit Preserve Snack 

Ingredients

1 lb.  Cranberry
1 lb.   Brown Sugar (or) Jaggery
1 tbsp Salt
1 tbsp Red chili powder
1 tbsp   Cumin powder
1 tbsp   Curry powder (or) Masala Powder
1 cup   Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
2 cup  Water

Instructions

1. In the 4 qt. size dutch oven, add sugar or Jaggery and water, then heat with high heat till it boils and is bubbly.
2. Stir till the water evaporated and add orange juice and salt.
3. Stir it till thicken the syrup. When the syrup starts to thicken, add the cranberry together with chili powder, cumin and curry powder. We may skip the curry powder since we are using the cumin powder.
4. After adding the cranberry, it may be a little watery but stir until all the water evaporated and the fruit preserve thicken.
5. Taste it then add salt or chili powder to adjust our own taste.
6. We may also enjoy this fruit preserve with cracker and cheese as the appetizer condiment too. Enjoy it with the green tea also great.

(Note: We may use the same procedure to make the Marian plum or Maprang plum( Botanical Name: Bouea macrophylla)

 Calamari (Squid) with Water Spinach (Ong choy) Salad.

This is one of the popular Vegetable dish in Rangoon  China Town. It is really appetizing and satisfying dish every time we have dinner at the downtown Yangon ( Rangoon).

When my father visited here, he patiently cook some of the favorite food for us. He liked to try different kind of food here too. Because of him, we had a chance to try variety of food around the world. Oh! may be I am saying too much. There are also a lot of different varieties in this world we don't know. But because of him, we learn to love and try different types of food.

 Squid is the name that we use to call this seafood,  but it is known as Calamari ( name of Mediterranean cuisine with squid)  in USA. It is like Okra ( in USA)  also known as lady finger as in Asia. In some Chinatown Chinese restaurant in downtown Rangoon, it is usually available as stir fry dish cooked the Chinese way.  Some weekends, my dad brought us to that place for dinner treat. When my dad was here, he showed me how to make that dish.  We could adjust our own taste by using our own choice of sauce as we like. Thanks to the world by letting us to have the option of our own choice of sauces.

When we arrived in Minnesota, we couldn't find this type of Asian water spinach because of the authority didn't allow to grow in the lakes and ponds.  Our state protect the ponds and lakes as nature preservation. With more diversity and growth of Asian population, some farmers start growing that vegetable on ground instead of growing in the water . In Burma, it is one of the cheapest vegetable and most people define as a "poor man's food".

I never think it in that way, and consider it the same as others, because it has its own nutritional value. That is why I love summer, we could easily buy this Asian water spinach  with good value and great quality in Farmers Market.

Water Spinach with Calamari

Ingredients

1 bunch  Water Spinach (cut into 1 inch & rinse  thoroughly)
1 cup      Calamari ( either frozen or fresh ) ( cleaned and cut bite sizes)
3 tbsp     Garlic (Chopped)
2 tbsp     Cornstarch
1 tsp       Dark Soy sauce
2 tbsp     Light Soy sauce
1 tbsp     Oyster sauce
3 tbsp     Canola oil
1/2 tsp    Pepper
1 tbsp     Sriracha (Samba Oelek)( For spiciness)

Instructions

1. On the stove top, Boil the water with 1/2 tsp of salt. Blanch the cut vegetables for 5 minutes. Then, strain , let it cool in iced cold water to safe the green color.
2. In that pot, boil the cut calamari for 5 minute (or less) take it out from boiled water and set it aside in the clean and dry bowl.
3. In the pan, add oil and heat with medium heat to make the garlic oil.
4. When the oil is heated add chopped garlic and stir till golden brown color. To get the perfect golden brown color we should remove the pan from heat when the garlic pieces start turning yellow but stirring is needed. Then transfer that garlic oil in dry bowl and let it cool.
5. In a small the bowl, add dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, oyster sauce and corn starch as measured and add 3 tbsp of water and mix it well.
6. In the pan,  ( previously fried the garlic oil) add that mixed sauce and heat with medium heat till thicken. Then add Samba Oelek and stir ( about 5- 10 minutes)
7. When the sauce is ready, mix altogether in one big bowl ( boiled water spinach, Boiled calamari, fried garlic and sauce)
8. We may enjoy it with any main course . Or  with noodle soup too.

Condiment that is also the snack

Condiment that is also the Snack

Fall is the season of school starting. Most parents are getting used to the routine. Unlike summer, parents put their children into bed early to prepare for next day. School season also herald the colorful leaves of autumn in Minnesota too. It also reminds me of my olden days when we went to college in Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar (Burma) .

At that time, I wanted to find out the dormitory life of college students as most of them came from different part of Myanmar, far away from Rangoon (Yangon). Sometimes I visited my cousin's dormitory room after class. Her home was also the same hometown as my parents'. Traditionally, Most parents support their kids financially, and whatever way they can. And in some families no matter how bad their financial situation, as they are proud of their kids going to college. The beauty of their parents' caring action are fantastic. Some parents would send ready-made or preserved food to eat with meals provided at the college dormitory. From that part, I would like to say about some condiment food that will never get bored of eating together with rice dish.

Most of the homemade food are spicy with chili and garlic, Some are made with dried fish or dried shrimp. Some are vegetarian and condiments that one never get tired of eating. It was also fascinating to see the different varieties of specially-prepared homemade food from different part of Myanmar. Among the variety of that condiment, I would like to make the fried dried anchovies with chili and potato.

This fried anchovies dish varies among different countries and some country they add sugar as their county's favorite taste. In Burma, most dish are not really sweet but savory with fish sauce.
I made this recipe in honor of my lovely Indonesian friend. She always makes that snack as a return favor every time I send her Myanmar home-made food for her family, to show how much she appreciates and cares.

                           
                           

Crispy Fried Anchovies with chili and garlic

Ingredients

1 cup    Anchovies (Deep Fried)
1 cup    Roasted Peanut
2 cup    Shoestring Potato Sticks
2 tbsp   Sliced Garlic
1/2 Cup Sliced Shalots
1/2 Cup Canola Oil
1 tbsp   Kaffir Lime leaves
3 tbsp   Sriracha Sambal Olik
1 tbsp   Fish Sauce
1 tbsp   Cracked Chili Pepper
1/2 tsp  Turmeric Powder

Instruction

1. In the skillet, add oil and turmeric powder and heat.
2. Deep fry the thinly sliced shallot and garlic in the pan. When golden brown and crispy, strain on paper towel.
3. Roast the peanut with a tea spoon of oil and let it cool.
4. In the 3 spoon of oil in the pan with medium heat, fry the rinsed anchovies till crispy.
5. Strain the fried anchovies on the paper towel.
6. In the pan with the rest of the oil, fry the sracha sambal olik and cracked chili together.
7. Stir for a few min till all the liquid are evaporated.
8. Sprinkle with fish sauce.
9. Add the crispy fried anchovies.
10 . Cool it down completely. Then mix with the peanut, shallot and garlic, Kaffir lime leave.
11. Strain it again in the paper towel to soak up all the oil residue.
12. Serve with rice porridge or fried rice ( also a good combination).

( Note. It can be stored in the air tight glass jar for 2 months in the fridge to keep the crispiness.)

Bitter But ...Bitter Sweet

Bitter..But..Bitter Sweet

We are enjoying summer with warm sunshine, loving friends, families, relatives and farmers markets. It is like a tradition to meet all the families every summer. One morning, It was last summer at the farmers market, a lady was asking about how to cook that biter gourd ( Bitter Melon). At that time, I would love to explain, should she believe me. But I stayed quiet as she was asking the shop owner and my instinct of being a teacher had to stop at that moment.

  Actually, that type of vegetable is really bitter and we were not able to eat when we were  small because of its bitterness. Our mom cooked this dish frequently as a side dish to pair with Fish curry for the family.

As we get older, we can bare the bitter taste and sometimes love to consume. For me, I love the way my mom cook that bitter melon into two methods.  It can be cooked in different methods depends on the  different country.There are two types of bitter melons.  One is more bitter than the other. Both are available at asian store.

Bitter Melon has different natural medicinal value . We could google it anyway. It is a common belief that this vegetable can control the blood sugar level and good for the diabetic patients. It can also be used to treat respiratory infection and chronic cough. But whatever it is, may be one day, medicine can be manufactured from bitter melon.

As for me, I will make two types of side vegetable dish for main entry. One type is stir fry with dry shrimp . The other one is meat stuffed Bitter melon . Hope you can come up with  your own idea to make fusion bitter melon dishes to stimulate your own taste bud.

Wish you all have a sweet life forever.

 Stir Fry Bitter Melon ( Serves 2)

Ingredients

2 cups  Sliced Bitter Melon
1/2 cup Chopped Sweet onion
1 tsp     Chopped garlic
1 tsp     Chopped green chili or red chilli
1 tsp     Fish sauce
1 tbsp   Chopped raw shrimp or dried shrimp
2 tbsp   Canola oil
1/2 tsp  Turmeric powder

Instructions

1. In the stir fry pan, add oil and heat the pan on the stove top with medium high heat.
2. Add chopped onion and garlic then stir till translucent.
3. Add shrimp and fish sauce, stir for one minute and make it fragrant.
4. Add Sliced Bitter mellon and add just enough water. Then cover the pan to make vegetable be soften.
5. Add salt to your own taste. When the water are evaporated  and the vegetable is soften t it is ready to serve.

Meat Filled Bitter Melon.

Ingredients

1 cup Ground Meat ( either Chicken or Pork)
1/2 cup Ground Shrimp
1 tbsp  Chopped Garlic
3 tbsp  Fine Chopped Onion
1 tbsp  Corn Starch
1 tsp    Ground Black Pepper
2 Tbsp  Canola Oil
1 Tbsp  Light Soy sauce
1 tsp     Salt
1 tsp     Fish Sauce
1/2 tsp  Turmeric Powder

Instructions

1. In the mixing bowl, add meat and ground shrimp.
2. Add Salt, ground black pepper, corn starch, soy sauce,chopped garlic, onion leave one tbsp for cooking. Mix it well to blend everything together.
3. Cut the bitter melon into crosswise, cut 1 inch thick and remove the seeds.
4. Fill that bitter melon slices  with meat mixture.
5. After preparing all the vegetable, add into the pan( 2 qt size ).
6. Add the rest of the chopped onion, fish sauce, turmeric powder, oil and 1 cup of water.
7. Cover the pan and Cook on the stove top with medium high heat.
8. When the water is evaporated , see if the vegetable is soft.
9. Cook all the water are gone and fragrant.
10 . It is ready to serve.

Summer is Here ... Farmers are Happier

As I have been living in Minnesota for more than 15 years, I feel at home and I do not really mind the season changes or hash cold winter with bundle of snow. But if there is the question of which season is my favorite, then it is summer in Minnesota. Beautiful flowers blooming, warm sunshine and Birds singing playfully.

Another beauty of Summer is Farmers Market. Yes! of course most of the fresh vegetables that we long for whole winter are available, to our excitement. We always feel excited about the fresh summer vegetables available at every farmers market.
At the market, Cauliflowers are fresh and taste is totally different from the local grocery store. They are flavorful and sweet. It is also tradition for me to make cauliflower preserve as we grew up eating it.

In Burma when winter come, in the month of November and December, winter vegetables are available and fresh too. In those days, my mom made the vegetable preserve known as pickled cauliflower. It is resembles indian style pickled dish and we love this type of food as the seasonal favorite. Lucky me, because this summer, my in laws are here and my mom in law is happily help me prepared that pickle. She made it better than me. To honor to both Mothers I would like to share the recipe for this summer.

Cauliflower Preserve ( Vegetable Pickle)

Ingredients

1lb.     Cauliflower  ( Cut into small pieces)
1/2 lb. Carrot  ( Cut match sticks)
1/2 lb. Daikon ( Cut match stick)
1 cup   Vinegar
3 tbsp  Salt
1 cup   Sugar
1 cup   Gram masala
1 tsp    Mustard seeds
1 tsp    Red Chili powder
3 cups  Canola oil
1 tsp    Turmeric powder
1/2 cup Garlic

Instructions

1. Cut the vegetables as mentioned above. Let  them dry in the sun for 2 days to dehydrate  the vegetable. then store the big salad bowl overnight.

2. Add vinegar, sugar and salt to season the vegetable for 24 Hour to make all the flavor soak in.

3.Cut the peeled garlic into half and let it sit in 1/3 cup of vinegar for 6 hour.

4. In the cooking pan. Heat up the oil with Medium high then add the mustard and cumin together with turmeric powder.

5. Add the Gram masala and chili powder and turn down the heat to lower setting not to burn the chili and masala.

6. When the chili and masala are blended with oil add the garlic, vinegar into the pan. Then stir constantly.

7. Finally, add the vinegar soaked vegetable into the pan and stir to make sure the vegetables and seasoned oil are mixed.

8. Turn off the heat and let it cool .

9. When it is cooled down we can store the pickled vegetables in a clean and dry glass jar for a few month in the fridge.

10. We could serve directly just after it cooked. But I would recommend it after ( 5- 7 days) to make sure the flavor soaked into the vegetable.

( Note. It is also a great tasty complementary vegetarian side dish for either butter rice or biryani rice.)

Ginkgo! Poisonous But...

I tried to find out that vegetable which has hint of bitter taste.  I tried it for the first time when I went back to Burma. It make me curious and why does it so popular that it is  included as a side dish in most Chinese Restaurants. As for me, why is it so popular? Why do they call this vegetable as 100 years Bean? Actually, this is a Ginkgo Nut which as amazing texture and taste.

It can be found at Asian grocery store as either Fresh or boiled. It took time to cook if we choose the fresh one instead of using boiled one in vacuum sealed pack. I found out that cooking the fresh one and made the dish authentic and tasty. In our life time, there are different array of food around the world that we can learn and I think it will never end.

That Ginkgo tree is beautiful ornamental tree known as maidenhair tree for the home too. Like Oak there are two types Male and Female. The Landscaper said that a male Ginkgo tree won't be the problem but one female Ginkgo tree make the whole neighborhood stink because it produces the smelly fruits. The seeds are edible but boiled or cook. Otherwise it will be poisonous if you eat raw. In Burma, my dad prefer it as a side dish frequently because of its medicinal value,bitter taste and waxy texture.

I found out lately that most people call that Ginkgo nut as the 100 years bean. Cool isn't it! You could live long after consuming Ginkgo nut no matter how poisonous it is. But cook it first.

There is more detail information about that vegetable. I also found out that it has great benefit of medicinal value itself. We may find details as following link.
https://g.co/kgs/bRTcmm

Ginkgo with Asparagus (3 Serving)

Ingredients

1 lb       Asparagus ( cut 1 into inches long pieces)
1/2 Cup Ginkgo Nut ( remove the Shell if it is fresh)
1/2 cup Cut onion
1 tbsp   Crushed garlic
2 tbsp   Canola oil
1/4 tsp  Turmeric powder
1 tsp     Fish sauce

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in the stir fry pan with medium high heat.
2. Add Onion, garlic and turmeric powder together.
3. Add the peeled Ginkgo nuts. Add a cup of water. Cook till water has evaporated.
4. Finally, add Asparagus and stir for 3-4 minutes. Add fish sauce and salt to your own    taste.
5. Optional : we may add peeled shrimp to the dish.

Summer Salad with Shrimp

As the weather gets warmer in Minnesota, many fire up the grills on their deck when the outdoor temperature reach 60 plus degree F. When grilling burger, we need to grill fish, shrimp and different types meat such as chicken, pork or beef to make satay as our favorite grilled meat.

Summer in Minnesota is always beautiful and pleasant. Each house bounds with beautiful flowers since people are eager to grow flowers and vegetable plants after staying indoor all winter. Farmers market is also an exciting shopping experience for me most weekends during the summer. The fresh local grown vegetables motivates me to make different salad dishes.

From the fresh salad dishes, I would like to try making the cucumber salad that mom used to make for dinner sometime at home as She and Dad enjoyed it. As a child I hated to eat that dish honestly. Because of its watery juices bothered me and difficult to eat.

But I will try to modify it with grilled lobster or shrimp. It might make it more presentable and certainly more delicious. I am writing about that dish because I miss my mom a lot as it marks the 100th days that  she left us from this world.

As a tribute to her memory, I am going to make the cucumber salad with Grilled Shrimp and Grilled Lobster Tail.

Grilled Shrimp Cucumber Salad (2-3 Serving)

Ingredients

1 lb        Jumbo Shrimp (peeled) or 3 Lobster Tail
3 counts Cucumber ( Julienne sliced with Mandoline ) about 3 cups
2 tbsp     Fish sauce
2 tbsp     Fried Garlic oil
1 tbsp     lime juice
2 tsp       Fine Chopped green Chili
1/2 cup   Fine Chopped onion or shallot
3 tbsp     Ground Toasted Sesame Seeds
1 tbsp     Chopped Cilantro
6 counts  Cherry Tomato to garnish

1. To Marinate the Shrimp

In the bowl
The following ingredients are only for the shrimp marinate.
( Add a cup of orange Juice, 1 tbsp Olive oil, 1/2 tsp Salt, Pepper, 1 tbsp garlic, 1 tbsp Chopped Cilantro, 1 tsp Chili powder). Mix all the ingredients first. Then add the shrimp.
Marinate for 6 hours. Or store over night in the fridge ( Better Flavor) .

Grill the Shrimps with Medium high heat on grill or griddle on stove top.

2. To Mix the Salad

In the mixing bowl, Add all the ingredients  except Julienned Cucumber.
Then add the sliced cucumber and mix it well.
Add salt to your own taste.

3. To Serve

In each individual salad bowl, put the mixed cucumber salad.
Top with grilled shrimp on that already mixed salad.
Garnish with chopped cilantro and Cherry tomatoes.

Enjoy! The Cool Cucumber Salad.

Grains and Beans...??

As we grow older, we need to consume fibrous food such as beans and vegetable instead of meat and starchy food. As my Dad is staying with me for a visit in USA, I need to make sure his meal includes beans in his daily meal. When we visited our parents home, there was wide array of Burmese food on the table as the hospitality of our culture. When I visited the market before Burmese New Year, It was crowded some shop owners are old and they still remember me because I used to join Mom when she went for grocery shopping. Mom always used to get the items that our Daddy might like.
Also as a family with many children,  Mom never allow us to choose the food of our preference. She always cooked what our dad might like and we had to adjust our taste to the food that she made the food for Dad. However, once in a while she would make the food that we requested.

When I cook for my family, I also need to consider what my Dad might like and how he might like it. He love to eat meal with less salt, with fruits and yogurt after his meal. As a daughter , I need to make sure to cook the perfect meal that Dad use to have at home.

In Minnesota, goat meat available in most Indian grocery stores. I plan to cook  goat meat with bean as it is also good for health. Yellow split pea is a great choice to cook together with goat meat. We could also have this curry with either Nan or Paratha instead of paring with rice.

Bean with Goat Meat Curry (3-5 Serving)

Ingredients

1 lb   Goat meat ( Cut into 1 inch cubes)
1 cup Split yellow pea
1 cup Chopped onion
1 tsp Ginger
2 tsp  Garlic
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tbsp  Tamarind paste ( soak in a cup of water)
1 pcs  Bay Leave
2 pcs  Cloves
2 pcs  Cardamon
1 tbsp Chili Powder
1 cup  Chopped Tomato
10 pcs Curry leaves
2 Tbsp Canola Oil

Instruction

1. In a small pot about 2 qt size. add split pea and add 2-3 cups of water and boil for 30- 40 minutes. Let it cool down.

2. In a 6 Qt size Dutch Oven, add meat, oil, chopped ginger , garlic and onion together with turmeric powder and chili powder. Add salt to your own taste. Mix it well and cook on the stove with medium high heat. Stir occasionally.

3. When the meat is cooked until all the water has evaporated and the oil is bubbling at the base of the pan, add the chopped tomato, boiled split pea, cardamon, cloves and bay leaf and stir to mix well.

4. Add 2 cups of water and 1 cup of tamarind juice. Simmer with medium low heat for 45 minutes.

5. When the meat is tender, add 1 tsp of curry powder and curry leaves. Taste and add salt to your own taste. Let it boil for 10 more minutes and ready.

( Note: We may also add 5-6 pieces of frozen or fresh drumstick together between step 4 and 5. it is totally optional. )

Summer is hot, but Mangoes are Sweet

Summer is hot but Mangoes are Sweet

In Myanmar, March to May is the hottest season and it is defined as Summer Season. During Summer, most schools are closed to escape from the hot weather. Children look forward to the Summer Holiday to travel with their families. During our childhood days, we always wait for summer to get freedom from homework and exams. Most state high schools final exams usually held in February and March. After the 2nd week of March, families start planning to send their kids for the summer activities such as painting, dance, playing musical instruments, swimming, or other sports activities.

In the United States, when my son was young he attended some of the summer activities of his interest. As a mother, I need to let him explore, exposed him to different activities for him to discover his area of interest.

This year, I had to stay longer period like more than two month in Myanmar, I got a chance to have different types of Mangoes like crazy. Most of the mangoes are sweet, with different name as Yin Khwe, Sein Ta Lone, Mya Kyout, Ma Chit Su, Mai Thi and other varieties. But the name that I mentioned are most popular in Mango world of Myanmar. Among that variety,Mya Kyout and Sein Ta Lone are most popular and sweetest. They are also the supreme quality mangoes exported to neighboring countries.

Most  homes in Myanmar has mango trees. We also grew up in the home with two mango trees. In Summer, we usually cut the green mangoes to let it dry as mango preserve for cooking.

As a summer tradition, when mangoes are ripe, we usually make the yellow sticky rice to enjoy together with ripen mango. We could also make the cold sweet dessert as sago mango cream with Pomelo .

Mango Dessert ( Chilled Mango cream and Pomelo) ( 3-4 Serving)

Ingredients

2 count Mangoes
2 cup    Half and Half milk ( 3 tbsp condensed milk)
2 tbsp   Sugar
2 tbsp   sago balls ( boiled)
2 cup    water
4 tbsp   pomelo flesh

Instruction

1.  Boil the sago balls with a cup of water with medium high heat.
2. When the sago balls are clear strain and rinse in the cold water.
3. In the blender, add mango flesh, milk, sugar and water.( except pomelo and sago balls)
4. Blend  the fruit and milk are well mixed thoroughly.
5. Add sago balls and pomelo flesh in the blended mango fruity cream.
6. Chill for a few hours before serving.

Yellow Sweet Rice

Ingredients

2 cups   Sticky Rice (sweet rice) ( soak in water for overnight)
2 tsp     Turmeric Powder
2 count  Onion thinly sliced
1/2 cup  Canola Oil

Instruction

1. In the fry pan, add the oil and heat it with medium high heat.
2. When oil is hot, add the sliced onion, turmeric powder and fry until golden brown.
3. Strain from the oil and let it cool down to be crispy.
4. In the pan with oil, add the soaked sticky rice and cook with medium high heat.
5. Add 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp sugar and stir till all water are evaporated.
6. Add 2 cups of water and cover. turn down the heat to Medium low heat.
7. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes to evaporate water, then flip, to have the crispy side up on top and cover the pan and cook.
8. When both side are crispy and golden yellow. It is ready to serve with cup of sweet mangoes.
9. we may also serve this sweet rice with deep fried chicken as traditional Myanmar snack.

Tempura..Tempura..Tempura..

Tempura..Tempura..Tempura..

As we get older, we sometime crave for deep fried food. But consuming large amount that food gives us heart burn and indigestion. Everybody need to balance the diet by eating right portion of food. Deep fried oily food is always popular with any age. Children love to eat potatoes fries endlessly. Even adult like us may need to refrain from eating them for health conscious reason. Although we sometimes join the fun of having those hot and flavorful french fries when our children order that fun filled Fast Food.

In Burma, when we were little, this french cut potato fries were only available at big hotel restaurant. For school age children like us we could easily want to have deep fried vegetable tempura for either snack or meal. Peanut oil is most commonly used in our native land as the country has local peanut farming in upper Burma. I had never heard of peanut allergy when I was in Burma. But after moving from my country, I heard that peanut allergy has become the big deal for some  children. Sometimes it can be deadly too. Nowadays in Yangon (Rangoon), because of changing policies towards Democracy
more American Fast food chain like Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Huts are available.
As I arrived in Myanmar( Burma), I love to explore local food are precious for me as we stayed out of our mother land for long time.

One big time memory, that  stays every young college kids is the vegetable tempura at Inya Lake (Popular Land Mark for the College Kids). The dipping sauce that is specially mixed for that Tempura is awesome. That combination temped customers to order more plates as the serving plates are only 3,4 pieces per plates. The Dipping sauce is a mixture of tamarind juice,garlic,fish sauce and Sriracha Chili Sauce. We can also use this sauce as vinaigrette for the summer salad that is mixed with small shrimp bean sprout tempura.

Tempura ( Vegetable and Shrimp with beansprout)( 3 Serving)

Tempura Mix ( prep)

Ingredients

2-3 cups    Rice powder
2-3 cups     Besan powder
1/2 tsp       Salt
1/2 tsp       Chili powder
1  count     Egg
1.5 cup      water

Cut Vegetables

Ingredients

2 qt   Cut Opo Squash (prefer batonnet french cut)
1 qt   Cut Onion (optional)
1 cup Okra, green bean, zukini, cauliflower (optional)

Beansprout and Shrimp Tempura

Ingredients

3 cup Bean sprout
1 cup Shrimp (small)
1/2 cup spring Onion (chopped)

Dipping Sauce Mix

Ingredients

1 cup   Tamarind Juice
1 tbsp  Sriracha Chili Sauce
1 tbsp  Fish Sauce
1 tsp     Small Chopped Cilantro (Coriander)
1 tsp    Roasted Besan
1 tsp    Roasted crushed chili powder
1 tsp    Sugar
Salt and vinegar to taste

Instruction for dipping sauce

1. Mix all the ingredients in the bowl and stir till all are well blended.

Instructions

1. Prep the batter in a bowl and ready for use. Divide the batter into two bowls( for beansprout and shrimp fries) .
2. Cut the vegetable into french batonnet cut ( 1/4"*1/4"* 3")
3. Dip the cut vegetable in the batter
4. Heat the oil about 2 Qt in the dutch oven with medium .
5. Wait till the oil temperature is at 400 degree F . Deep fry the vegetables coated with batter.
6. When the vegetables are golden brown,Strain the vegetable fritters out from the oil and let it sit in the strainer.
7. In the other half of the batter bowl, add the beansprout and shrimp.
8. We may add our own choice of flavor ( such as cumin powder, onion powder,curry powder) but optional.
9. We may follow the same procedure as squash fries.
10. For Serving, in a medium size plate, arrange 2-3 lettuce leave and then arrange the strained vegetable fritters on that green. Serve together with dipping sauce.

Happy Thin_Gyan is also known as Happy Myanmar New Year

Happy Thin-Gyan also Known as 

Happy Myanmar New Year

In April, we always celebrate Myanmar water festival to welcome the Burmese New year.  Children in Burma who are happy to look forward that day because it occurs only once a year to throw water to other people. The signature flower for this month and which is also related to water festival is yellow color fragrant flower the Padauk ( botanical name Pterocarpus Macrocarpus). In the hot Summer season with the strong heat of the sun  people are looking forward for some April Shower to herald the bloom of that flower.
This year as I had to stay in Myanmar for family matters, I got the chance to celebrate Myanmar New Year in my native land.

One unique Burmese dessert that associated with the Thin-Gyan Festival is the boiled Rice ball filled with sweet Jaggery (Palm Sugar). In Burmese  that dessert is called Mont Lone Yay Paw, which means rice balls floating in the water. Sounds funny but the method of cooking that rice balls which suppose to be floating and swimming in the pot of boiling water after it is cooked.

Every Thin-Gyan, this dessert is available in almost every parts of Myanmar as the signature sweet dessert for the celebration. Some small town and villages in Burma, most of the people usually gathered at Buddhist Temple ( traditional community center) during Thin-Gyan for festivities. One fun thing, especially in village is that ladies make the rice ball stuffed with hot green chili in some of the rice ball and just to tease the guys who are flirting with ladies and pouring water onto them. The sweet dessert that include the chili rice ball are served for fun to to see who get hit the spicy one.

Our family tradition for every Thinggyan is making at least one or more sweet dessert for the home and neighbors. We make this sweet dessert every year to celebrate the Myanmar New Year.

This Thin-Gyan, as I was in Burma, we were able to make the traditional Mont Lone Yay Paw at home.

Traditional Myanmar Thin-Gyan Dessert 

( Mont Lone Yay Paw) (5-8 Serving)

Ingredients

3    cups    Glutenous Rice Powder
0.5  cup     Rice powder
2    cups    Chopped Jaggery
1     tsp      Salt
2     cups    Grated Coconut
1.5  cup      Water
2     tsp      Alkaline water

Instruction

1. In the mixing bowl, add both glutenous rice powder and rice powder together with salt.

2. Add the water in the bowl and mix all the ingredient to make the dough.

3. Fill the 6 QT pot with water and heat the pot until it boils.

4 . Put all the Chopped Jaggery in the small bowl .

5. Take about 1 table spoon of dough into the palm and roll with both hands to make a compact rice ball.

6. Then flatten the dough and stuff one or two pieces of Jaggery into the dough.

7. Then seal completely cover the jaggery ( by wrapping the flatten dough around the jaggery) and roll it in the palm using both hands.

8. Put the jaggery filled rice balls into the boiling water to cook.

9. When that rice balls  float in the boiling water, we can pick with strainer
    And put it in the cold water to cool it down.


10. When it cooled, strain them from the water and put them into the individual serving plates.

11. Sprinkle the grated coconut flakes on top of the rice ball to have great garnish with its sweetness.

Spare Ribs has its Own Attitude

Pork spare ribs are one of Chinese delicacy since long time ago. Spare Ribs can be cooked in different Asian styles. As we grow up, we were familiar with pork spare ribs  cooked with pork belly in Burmese Pork curry and spare rib broth with different vegetables.
After being in Minnesota for more than 10 years time, it is amazing to see the growing economy, growing diversity and different types of food.

More and more Asian groceries, Asian fusion restaurants and Chinese restaurants can be seen every year. It is also exciting to see diverse culture and people adapting their taste to Asian food. Raman Stores are now biggest trend in growing food culture also in the Food service industry.  When we arrived in 2001, City of Minneapolis not much choices of Ethnic food. Now we can have different type of food of our interest in Asian food. Every time, I shop at the Asian grocery store, I see more and more European people shopping for asian ingredients. It means that they have interest in those food and they open their option too. But  pork bones are used for broth when I learned at my culinary class and not more than that. In Japanese Raman broth, Pork bones are also playing the big part of making broth for Raman.

 One memory that stay with me is the walk with my dad in the weekends. On some Sunday Mornings, my eldest sister and I had to wake up early in the morning to go for a walk to Shwedagon Pagoda ( "Famous Landmark of Burma"). At that time we stayed in Downtown Government Residence which was walking distance to the Shwedagon Pagoda. Sometimes he treat us Authentic Chinese Tim Sum at a crowded little shop that on ( Maung Khine Street (old name) or Bo Ywae Road ( current) in Downtown Yangon. It was 1978 and China town was also popular food paradise as today.

But one sweet memory associated with the pork was the weekend dinner and movie treats with family. In some weekends, our mom and dad treated us at the Chinese restaurant followed by movies as a family outing. We packed the deep fried spare ribs to eat in the
movie theatre. He treated us dinner at Chinese restaurant and we watched the movie after that dinner. The regular item that we mostly ordered as an appetizer is the deep fried rib coated with bread cramp batter.

Now back to my recipe that I am going to write, as I am saying too much to sell my food story rather than food. You might think it is not fair. The steamed spare ribs with black bean sauce can be made at home like Tim Sum place. And it can be eaten with bread or Chinese style steam buns.

Steamed Spare Ribs with Black Bean Sauce

Ingredients

1 lb       Pork Spare Ribs
1 Tbsp   Dark Soy sauce
1 tsp     Oyster Sauce
1 tsp     Black Pepper
1 tsp     White Pepper
1 Tbsp   Sugar
1 Tbsp   Light soy sauce
1 tsp      Salt
1 tbsp    Corn Starch
1 tsp      Black bean sauce
1 tsp      Garlic chopped
1 tsp      Fresh Red thai chili Chopped
1 tsp      Fine chopped Ginger
1tbsp     Canola Oil

Instructions

1. In the wok on the stove top with medium high heat, heat the oil then add the sugar to make it brown in the heated oil.

2. Then add the pork ribs marinated with the rest of the ingredients other than oil, sugar, ginger garlic.

3. Stir fry until all the ingredients are blended and fragrant.

4. When all the water from the ribs are gone, transfer those into the ceramic bowl or steel bowl.

5 . Cover the bowl with aluminum foil and put that bowl in  bigger pot. The Pot should be filled with 2-3 inches of water to steam that bowl. Steam that pot with medium low heat for 1 hour. Add more water and cook more time if the meat is not tender.

6. We may also use the baking tray fill the water and cover everything and put in the oven with 380 Degree F. Bake it for 1 - 2 hr depends on your own preference of meat tenderness.

7. After testing the tenderness of the meat, we may  serve with Chinese style steam buns. or French Bread to skip the hassle of steaming buns.

Chinese Style Sweet Rice with Meat

This dish is not very strange to anyone who is familiar with Chinese Tim Sum. I t is not really hard to cook and it has the flavorful ingredients too. This dish is served in Cantonese style Chinese restaurant in some other countries and in most south east Asian countries. In America, we could easily find it in most Chinese restaurant which serve Tim Sum.

I made the dish during this Chinese New Year and it was a big thumb up and Crowd pleaser. It is also easy to make and can be stored in the fridge for more than a week. For the home_made version, to skip the hassle, the rice need not  to be wrapped in the Lotus leaves for steaming.
It could be cooked in the rice cooker and also one pot dish.

I did not realize previously, how really good this dish is, as it contains dried shrimp. My cousin who is now retired from her teaching job as she is in her retired age. She told us that food story when we were in middle school. As she was a single who spend time with us every summer. And those days are quite memorable summer in our younger days. She joined our family wherever we travelled during those memorable summers of our younger days.

Some of her funny stories and her love story were like the movies. I believe that she  longed for her first and last love that stayed forever in her heart. She is really kind to me and my sisters. She always in tear when we meet again in our trip. As a human being how could I control my tears when I experience memories related with our dearest friends or family.

Chinese Style Sweet Rice with meat ( Pork or Chicken)( 4-5 serving)

Ingredients

4 cups    Glutinous Rice
1 lb        Pork (or) Chicken ( boneless any type but prefer chicken thigh or pork belly)
2 pieces  Chinese Pork sausage
2 Tbsp    Dried Shrimp
4 Tbsp     Light Soy sauce
2 Tbsp     Dark Soy sauce
5 pieces   Dried Shiitake Mushroom
3 tbsp      Peanuts
2 tbsp      Thin sliced Ginger
1 tbsp     Sliced garlic
1 tbsp     Sesame oil
2 tsp        5 spice powder
1/2 tsp    White pepper
1/2 cup    Canola Oil (or) Groundnut Oil

Meat Prep

1. Cut the pork or chicken into one inch cubes.
2. Mix the pork with one tbsp ginger, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp light soy sauce , and white pepper.
3. In the small pan, add all the meat that is mixed, add enough water to cover,then  boil. Simmer till water has evaporated and the meat should be well-cooked.

Instructions 

1. Thinly slice the Chinese sausages.
2. Soak the dried Shiitake mushroom in water for 2 hours then squeeze out all water and slice thin.
3. Soak the rice in water over night.
4. Soak the dried shrimp for 1 hour
5. In the cooking wok or skillet, add the oil and heat medium high.
6. Then fry the sliced sausage pieces slightly red at the edges, then strain from the pan and drain the excess oil with paper towel.
7. In the pan, add ginger, garlic to stir till fragrant. Then add the meat, dried shrimp,mushroom and peanut and stir for 3 minutes.
8. When all the ingredients are mixed, Add the soaked rice and the rest of the ingredients such as sausages (fried), sesame oil, soy sauce, 5 spice powder and whit pepper.
9. We may also add 1 tbsp of sugar if we like sweetness in the food.
10. Stir it  thoroughly and transfer that rice mix to the rice cooker. Add chicken broth or water about 3-4 cups just above the rice to cook evenly well .
11.we may follow the instruction of the automatic rice cooker, we may skip the rice cooker procedure by cooking on the stove top.

( Note: If we want the rice color to be whiter, we may skip using the thick dark soy sauce.)