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.