Memories of olden days

Tea House plays a part in my memory

Early this month, the Yangon University in Burma celebrated its 100th anniversary with lighting decorations on campus and the airing of college-related love songs from TV stations. Many recollected and the fond memories then posted the college teenage photos on Facebook pages. It was such fun to recall all the silly teenage years.

At that time we had to try hard to earn the highest total points to get into either a Medical or an Engineering University. The University entrance exam was the most important exam which decided the fate of the student. Some parents would send their children to extra training tuition classes after school to enhance their learning subjects. I attended the girl s' school and went to the classes by carpooling with one student's car that we could all could fit in. Before class, we had our after-school snack by picking up from the Chinese tea shop that sold dim sum related dishes. The thick rice noodle paper wrap with meat and cabbage stuffing was quite filling and a great snack as we all love to enjoy with chili sauce. 

My close friend may know this food very well as our school days' memories.

We usually named that dish " Kaw Pyant Sane" to make it easy, but I do believe there may be a Chinese name for that dish. Anyway, this can be another vegetarian dish or it can be with meat if we get tired of cooking the same dish again and again. The ground pork is seasoned with dark soy sauce and black pepper made it so flavorful and tasty.

Rice Noodle paper wrap ( 3 serving)

Ingredients

 1 pkt flat rice noodle paper ( kwaytio) 

1 lb ground pork

1 tbsp pepper ( both white and black)

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp Light soy sauce

1 tsp  Dark soy sauce

3 tbsp cornstarch

1 cup Small shredded cabbage

2 tsp salt

1 tbsp canola oil

Instructions

1. In the skillet on the stovetop with medium-high heat, add the oil.

2. When oil starts smoking hot, add seasoned meat ( pork, sugar, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and corn starch).

3. When all the meat are cooked. add a little bit of water ( 1/2 cup) and cover the pan)

4. Add the shredded cabbage into the meat and cook till all the water from cabbage are dried up.  

5. Let the skillet cool down for 15 to 20 minutes.

6. add 3 tbsp of corn starch into the meat filling and mix it with either hands or spoon

7. we may need to warm the noodle packet to soften the rice noodle sheets.

8. cut the rice noodle sheets into an 8-inch square and fill the 2 spoons of meat filling.

9. Wrap the meat by folding each edge.

10. We may get 6 to 8 pieces from that one noodle pack

11. Insert the steamer in the Chinese wok and add 4 cups of water.

12. In the ceramic dinner plate. lay 3 rinsed cabbage leaves in the plate and place all the prepared meat filled noodle on top of the cabbage. 

13. Put the plate on the top of the steamer insert and cover the work.

14. Steam for about 30 min with medium-high heat.

15. we can enjoy the meat parcel itself. Or we may cook the bone broth with oyster sauce and soy sauce making sweet broth to enjoy that meat parcel.

( sauce: 2 cups of chicken broth, 2 slices of ginger, oyster sauce 1 tsp, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tbsp sugar, 4 pieces soaked wood ear mushroom, 2 tbsp cornstarch mix with 3tbsp water) boil the together till right consistency. We may add egg in it too) Optional.

Hello!.. Good Morning and Thank you.

Hello! Good Morning and Thank you. 

For friendship, just being respectful and polite to one another because the world's environment today is so selfish. As a mother, I noticed a lot of lousy manners between people or political environment. Each day we must be thankful for who we are and for being able to wake up each morning in good health in this unpredictable world. Throughout the world, the Covid-19 pandemic is such a crazy battle for each and every one. Let me say Hello to my health when I wake up in the morning. Also, I pray for myself, my family, friends, and all the people in this world to be able to live positively.

When I was sick in bed, fighting with the chemotherapy treatment by myself, my husband and my son was my only company. That was 15 years ago in the wintertime. Therefore I appreciate being a mother, homemaker also a volunteer to help in every possible way that I can. I am writing recipes for my friends who have tasted the food and they want to know how to make it. So it is easy to share online for them to repeat, modify, or create in their own way. This Thanksgiving season, I am very grateful for being healthy and help my family, friends, and community. As the world is running so fast, I believe that being overly competitive, striving only to win is not a good way of living.

 Daily, I try to live in the way of Non-anger, Non-greed, and Non-anxiety( away from poisonous thoughts). 

I am thankful for being healthy and happy. I am also thankful for my friends who are around me and who support me no matter what may come in our way. I am thankful for my supportive and dependable family, for the opportunity to look after their needs which keep me busy and giving me the reason to live. 

 I always keep some pie shells and breakfast sausages in the freezer in case if my children are home. But because of Covid-19, they could not be home quite frequently. So I decided to do breakfast quiche with sausage and mushroom and the freshly harvested parsley is sitting in the fridge not so long ago. 

Hope that for a change, you enjoy making this recipe as an optional breakfast.

Breakfast Quiche ( 3-4 serving)

Ingredients

1 frozen pie shell (thawed)

1 cup crumbled browned breakfast sausage

1/2 cup Chopped onion

1 cup diced mushroom

1/2 cup parsley

1 tsp black pepper

1 cup half and half milk

1 cup Swiss cheese ( shredded)

1/2 cup Chaddar cheese

5 count egg

1/2 tsp salt ( optional)

Instruction

1. In the baking pan spread the pie dough to hold the filling. Fold the edges over the pan tightly to ensure the pie sell does not break apart.

2. In the oven at 360 degrees F,  bake for 15 to 20 minutes to be halfway cooked. Then take it out from the oven and let it cool.

3. On the stovetop with medium-high heat, in the skillet, add 1 tbsp of butter and saute the onion till translucent.

4. Then add the browned breakfast sausage meat and diced mushroom together with salt and pepper.

5. When the sliced mushroom is softened turn off the heat and set it aside.

6. In a bowl, scramble the egg with a whisk.

7. Add the half and half milk cheese and sauteed meat and mushroom together and mix again.

8. When all the ingredients are mixed pour into the half-baked pie shell and sprinkle the chopped parsley on top.

9. In the oven with the temp 375 degrees F, bake the filled baking pan in the middle rack for 30 mins. When the pie shell is a golden brown turn off the heat. 

10. Let it cool down for a few hours (at least 1 to 2 hours). Then slice at your preference and serve with tea or coffee.

Season's Delight

Season's Delight

October is the month of busy chores in Minnesota, cleaning fall leaves from our yards and clearing some dried plants. All the sprinkler systems need to drain out the water need to be winterized to safeguard the pipes from being frozen in wintertime. I intend to skip this year trick or treat because of covid-19 related concerns and I do not want any complications with ding dong ditch actions of naughty kids. For the pumpkin-related dish this year, I would love to cook the chicken and wild rice baked in the acorn squash bowl.

Sometimes, when cooking I love to mix and match with this and that. Sometimes it is fun to put all the things together could be tasty.  Sometimes it won't. I am so curious to make the wild rice with a chicken dish like the Chinese clay pot rice that I ate in Singapore.

The sweetness of acorn squash and its baked vegetable flavor may sink into the rice and chicken. Also, the taste of pumpkin seeds is savory and delightful. I plan to add a little into the rice together with some dried cranberry.

Once at the golf club, I worked, the head chef gave all the employees a treat as his friend gave him a lot of acorn squash that he harvested from his farm.  The simple he did was to rub the slices with olive oil, pepper and salt then baked in the oven. First, I was reluctant to try that baked small pumpkin but when I tasted it was so flavorful and sweet. 

In my life, I never ever forget the person who treats me with good food that is insanely tasty.

In honor of this autumn season and in honor of my teacher ( the Chef) I just want to make this recipe as a fusion of east and west.

Baked Stuffed Acorn Squash. ( 2-3 serving)

Ingredients

1lb  Chicken tenderloin

1 Acorn Squash 

1.5 cup Wild rice ( soak overnight)

1/2 cup Thin sliced Chinese sausage

1/2 cup Thin Sliced Shitake mushroom

1 tbsp  Light soy sauce

2 tbsp diced shallot or onion

1 tsp   minced garlic

2 tbsp Olive oil

1 tbsp Dried Cranberry 

1 cup Sliced spring onion to garnish

1 tsp oyster sauce

1 tsp salt

1 cup diced baby corn

3 applewood smoked bacon strips

Instructions

1. Cut the chicken tenderloins into bite-size cubes and marinate with salt, oyster sauce, and soy sauce. A little white pepper.

2. In the skillet with medium-high heat, add oil. Then fry thinly sliced Chinese sausage just cooked.

3. Cook the wild rice separately in the pot with 3 cups of water and a little salt. When the rice opens it is ready.

4. Clean the acorn squash and cut horizontally in the middle. scoop out all the seeds.

  Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 360 degrees F. for 15 min each side to make( pre-cook before stuffing)  it soft.

5. In the same skillet, stir fry the diced shallots and add chicken to cook until all the water evaporated. 

6. Then add mushroom, baby corn and rice together and stir for 5 minutes.

7. Add cranberry and roasted pumpkin seeds. ( optional)

8. Add the chicken broth, cover the skillet till all the liquid has evaporated. 

9. Cut the bacon strip into half. and set it ready.

10. Preheat the oven to 360 Degree.

11. In the tray lined with the Baking sheet, place the acorn squash and scoop in the cooked wild rice mix into the cavity of the squash.

12. Cover the bacon strip on top of the rice and pumpkin

13. Then Cover with aluminum foil on each squash

14. Bake for 20 minutes, then open the aluminum foil and bake again.

15. When the bacon is crispy and red. It is ready to serve.

16. Every single scoop of soft squash meat and rice-mix tastes delightful and sweet.

( Note: we may use the chili sauce to have the spicy flavor)

 

Preserved Fruits Honey Lemon Roll

Honey Lemon Fruit Roll-Up

During the initial Covid-19 days, some people went on a panic-buying spree, and the toilet, kitchen papers run out for some time. It is a human instinct for normal people to be scared naturally. As I am also a normal human being, of course, I was scared too. I bought some food for the family in big bulk. In that panic buying, I grab a big bag of lemon to make citrus marmalade for breakfast toast. Unfortunately, it didn't happen and it ended up in a bottle of saltwater.  First I thought of turning this salted lemon into the Indian-style lemon pickle,  but I still have one jar of homemade lemon pickle. That slated lemon bottle has been sitting on my windowsill in the sunlight for a few months. Then I got the idea of making lemon roll-up like fruit roll-up that the children ate.

We used to eat lemon preserve with licorice powder a long time ago for digestion purposes. Sometimes it is a refreshing snack that has the sharp sour and salty taste.  In the olden days back in Myanmar, we did not have imported snacks but only local made fruit preserve with its own authentic flavor. A variety of fruit preserves are still in my mind as the memories of olden days. Among them spicy mango Preserve was a wholesome childhood fruit snack. The fruit snacks I saw here are not real fruit. But  just jellies with fruit juice flavors. Our Myanmar version of fruit snacks used to be our favorite snack every time we travel back home and my mom prepared those snacks, food for kids in a basket.

Garlic flavored roasted peanuts, potato chips, and fruit snacks are our favorite snacks for the road trip in the Summer. My mom put in a lot of effort to cook good Myanmar food to bring as a picnic lunch on the road. We will never forget how she cared about the family and for her husband ( our father). Once I made abowl of noodle salad for my father and placed it on the lunch table like that, I remembered how she scolded me " How can you serve your father in this way" . Since that day I learned to always serve food to our father with respect and manners. 

In this lemon rolls, the licorice powder has its own medicinal value. In the Burmese term,    ( Nwe Cho). We can also search in Wikipedia or google about it since our learning world is endless on this worldwide web. We can always can help one another kindly with our  knowledge. Wish and hope all the people in this world be in good health to pass this Covid_ 19 scare.

Honey Lemon fruit roll-ups 

Ingredients

5 count salted lemon.

1 count fresh lemon

1 cup Brown sugar 

1 cup White sugar

1 cup Jaggry powder ( palm sugar)

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp Licorice powder

3 tbsp Honey

Instruction

1. Cut a fresh lemon into 4 wedges and add it in the pressure cooker

2. Rinse out the salted lemon with cold water and add those into the pressure cooker.

3. Add sugar, brown sugar, salt and Jeggary powder then add water till all the lemon are submerged.

4. Pressure cook for 30 minutes and let it cool then test it  if the fruits soften.

   Smash and crush the meat of the fruit into small pieces with the wooden spatular. Some people may use blender or chopper to make it easier but we may lose the fruit peel texture.

5. On medium-high heat, we need to add this boiled crushed fruit in the pan and let it simmer for a long time to thicken the fruit mixture. Add the Licorice powder when it starts thickening.

6. When all the water is evaporated, spread the fruit mixture on the tray to let it dry. In Burma, we could let it dry in the sun with the 100-degree heat of the sun.

7. For me, I have no choice but to use the food dehydrator for 6 to 12 hours.

8. When it is dried up, let it cool in the tray for 6 more hours.

9. The fruit snack is now ready to peeled off from the tray. We may cut into small pieces into individual square shape sizes ( 0.5*0.5) inch and store in the Jar in the fridge, for months.

10. We may try the same method of cooking the ripen mago puree with sugar to make the mango roll up too. It was also my favorite childhood fruit snack called Thayat Pyin ( Myanmar name) .

Deep Fried Chana Dal as Myanmar Delight

Deep-Fried Chana Dal as Myanmar Delight

We grew up with the rice noodle in fish base soup (Mont-Hin-Nga) as every morning breakfast. It could be hard for us, residing in another country to get it easily. So we need to make some effort at the weekend to cook that savory noodle soup. As a topping for this dish, the crispy and crunchy Chana dal ( chickpea fritters) is also essential  for most people. But some add other choices like vegetable tempura, crispy fish roe, and other version of their own. One thing I always remember that every time we cook Mont Hin Nga at home, our dad eats one full bowl with crunchy toppings first. Then he would ask for a small serving of that rice noodle without any topping which he mentioned as " Ta Pin Taing". At first, I did not know why he mentioned that but I realized that he could taste the soup and noodle all by itself without any other toppings. Actually, the meaning of " Ta Pin Taing" in Burmese is a lone lady dancer, all by herself. It was a kind of knowledgable word that he mentioned. 

When we arrived in the USA, we could not get this chickpea fritter easily. Luckily there was one lady who sold this crispy topping and she is so famous within the Burmese Community. We would order by mail for a big bag of that favorite food as our treasure stick. That lady who lives in Califonia has now retired because her children are well educated with high incomes and let their mother rest at home. I tried other chickpea fritters but the taste and the crispiness can not beat her fine work, even in Myanmar. 

So I tried so many times to make fritters that has a nearly similar taste and crispiness.

Frying 50 pieces is quite time consuming and some people never put effort to try and just buy ready-made fritters,  but only happen in Myanmar. So I made just enough serving for my home and I grind the rest of the soaked chana dal to make Bayar Kyaw( Myanmar word), an Indian snack they usually call here as Pakora. In this recipe, you could try whatever crispy fritters you want, at your convenience. 

Chickpea fritters ( 10 serving)

Ingredients

1 cup    Chickpea ( split yellow chana dal)

1 Qt      Canola oil or vegetable oil

2/3 cup  Rice powder

1/3 cup  Sweet rice powder (glutenous rice powder)

1/2 tsp   Salt

1/2 tsp   Turmeric powder

1/4 tsp   Paprika

1/2 tsp   Baking soda

Instruction

1. In the bowl, add the split pea or channa dal and wash and rinse with water 2 times. Then add soda and water into the bowl and soak the chana dal for at least 24hours.

2. Add the rice powder, Turmeric powder, Paprica, salt into the bowl, and add 2 cups of water. Then mix it thoroughly.

3. Add all the soaked peas mix well.

4. In the rondo or flat pan, add the oil and heat it with medium-high  heat

5 Let the oil temp rach nearly 380 degrees.

6. Fry several fritters in the oil depending on the size of pan( place one scoop at a time of the watery batter-soaked pea mix).

7. When the fritters turn golden brown on both sides, strain it from oil and let it rest on paper towel rightaway.

We may grind this soaked chickpea in the blender and add seasoning like thinly cut shallot, green chilies, cumin 1tsp together with salt 1 tsp to make the Indian style pakora. we may add 1 tbsp rice powder and 1 tbsp besan powder to shape the batter into crispy chickpea balls. Deep fry it till golden brown and crispy.

 It is really a great afternoon snack with coffee or tea.

 Summer Cold Noodle Salad

As the weather in Minnesota is an average 80-degree plus. We can get fresh vegetables such as lettuce leaves, spring onion, and fresh carrots from the farmers market. It is also good for picnics since this covid_19 scare made people spend time outdoor. The noodle salad is of Asian flavor that could also be made as a vegetarian dish by skipping the meat. Every time we made the salad, the sesame ginger dressing is also my favorite and it has delightful ginger flavor. Most of the dressing is a combination of soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, and miso paste with rice vinegar.

Soba noodle is a great ingredient for that cold salad since it can hold the dressing due to  its texture, meat or seafood that can be added to the salad. I was thrilled to make the new recipe that has my attention when I was at the culinary school. Every day is always an exciting day to learn a new recipe. The world may seem smaller because of the information highway and new learning techniques. Some children learn from the  " youtube" video to make something of their interest. Such as car repairs, farming, music, building, and so on. 

In life, we are facing unpredictable events, and miracles are happening for no reason. We may have the individual purpose of living in a good way and manner that we choose. But it is very important for every human being to adopt the culture of caring for others with empathy. I am writing this recipe in my blog so I can easily share by sending my link every time my family and friends are curious about how to make it. Since I usually share the food that I make and whenever I have a chance. I also appreciate it if my friends treat me with their homemade food. As is our Burmese culture, sharing food with others has been traditionally adopted since the time of our ancestors. During the Covid-19 period, there is no more summer party since there are rules and regulations. Sometimes my sister or her friend stays in a different country or different state thinks of the food we shared during school days and wants to know how to cook it. If there is a question it is easier for me to share the link. 

Cold Noodle Salad ( 1-2 Serving)

Ingredients

1/3 of 8 oz  Soba Noodle or Buck Wheat Noodle 

1 cup   Sliced Ham

1/2 cup Sliced Spring onion

1/2 cup Jullieaned Carrot

1/4 cup Jullieaned cucumber

1/4 cup Jullieaned Red bell pepper

1/4 cup Julleaned Yellow bell pepper

1 tbsp  Roasted Sesame seeds

1 tbsp  Wakame Seaweeds ( cut into thin strip) For garnishing

Dressing for the Salad

Ingredients

1 orange 

1 tbsp Sesame oil

1 tbsp Light Soy sauce

1 tsp  Hoisin Sauce

1 tsp  crushed Ginger

1 tsp  ( 1 clove ) Garlic

2 tbsp Peanut butter with honey

1 tsp  Roasted Sesame seeds

1 tsp Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp Salt 

Instructions

1. On the stovetop, boil water in the 3 qt pot and let the water boil first, then add the noodle. When the noodle is soft enough to chew, drain and rinse with cold water. Strain in the colander.

2. On the plate, get all the ingredients ready. But, make sure to wash all the vegetables thoroughly before cutting. 

3. In the bowl, add all the ingredients for the dressing ( Orange Ginger Dressing). Mix thoroughly with the whip.

4. add all the strained noodles into the mixing bowl together with the dressing. 

5. In the serving plate, arrange the bibb leaves and put all the mixed noodles on it.

Add the wakame strips, roasted sesame seeds on top as the garnishing.

6. Enjoy it right away or bring it to the summer picnic in the chilled icebox.

Summer and Fresh herbs Thai Basil

Basil Fried Rice with Pineapple

The weather in Minnesota is so nice and pleasant in Summer. Grilling in Summertime is quite a treat in our state since we have to cope with the cold and long winter season. If I get a chance I grill fresh vegetables and meat once in a while. As a treat, I grilled Satay pork chop last weekend and stored some leftover in a box and the pineapple is also ready in the fridge.  The Thai sweet basil I planted since May is growing so well in the flower pot.

 

In the stay home period of this hard time, my husband doesn't need to go to his office, but once in a while, he needs to go to set up things in the lab of his company. One morning out of the blue, he said there were two meetings at the office and he may not be able to come back for lunch because of the afternoon meetings. Why not make a lunch box for him!. So I have to think quickly to make fast fry rice with the ingredients in the fridge. One grilled Satay pork chop is sitting in the box for days in the fridge. So I got an idea of making pineapple fried rice with satay pork.

It is also a good lunch box preparation since almost all the ingredients ready. Chopped Garlic and spring onion are essential for fried rice and grilled meat, ham or bacon is easy meat options to add to that fried rice. Also, this spicy pineapple basil fried rice is my friends' favorite one-dish meal. One day hopefully they will be able to cook on their own by seeing my recipe.

Pineapple basil fried rice with satay pork

Ingredients

3 cup  rice ( cooked ) if not ( cook 2 cups in the rice cooker and cool it down in the fridge for hours)

3 counts Egg

1 tbsp  Chopped garlic

1 chopped Ham or grilled pork chop

1/2 cup Cooked smaller shrimp ( optional)

1/2 cup Chopped pineapple

1   cup Frozen Asian vegetable

1/2 tsp  Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp  ground cumin

1tbsp   Chopped Thai green chilies 

1/2 tsp Corse ground black pepper

1/2 cup Chopped basil ( if no Thai sweet basil. we may use Italian basil).

1/2 cup Chopped spring onion.

3 tbsp  Oil

1tbsp   light soy sauce

1tsp     Sugar

1 tsp Fish sauce

Salt to taste

Instructions

1. In a wok with high heat, add oil then add chopped garlic stir to get a golden color.

2. Then add 3 egg and pinch of salt, stir till all the eggs are cooked. 

3. Add chopped meat, shrimp, pineapple ( chopped), frozen vegetables together, add 1 tsp of soy sauce, and cooked all the ingredients are blended well.

4. Add rice ( fluff the rice before adding) 

and mixed with vegetables and meat until well blended.

5. Add salt, soy sauce, and sugar and stir on high heat.

6. Add the fish sauce and ground black pepper.

7. Finally, add chopped basil, spring onion, and chopped Thai green chili. Stir till fragrant and add a little salt to taste. ( we may add 1/2 cup of beansprout but optional)

8. When all the ingredients are well blended, heat up the stove into high flame for 1 minute to infuse fragrance and smoke flavor into the rice. 

9. Stirring needs to be continuous for all the ingredients to be well-blended and also not to burn the rice.

10. Enjoy with cucumber or sliced onion with Sriracha sauce.

Staying Home days

Awe Kay Kyi ( Roadside Snack of Yangon China Town )

As we need to stay at home for social distancing. We use it as the family together time and coping well. Some working families with two school kids and have a tough time. Children learn from their teachers through the computer and parents need to take turns setting up the computer for children. It is also kind of frustrating for both teachers and children. I hope the COVID 19 days are over soon and things are back to normal and everybody is healthy. Because of this situation in the whole world and the need for social distancing, some Chinese restaurants are shut down. One of my favorite Dim Sum restaurants is closed and not even cater for the take out food.

I found out that some of my friends tried to make homemade Dim Sum and snacks. I always thought 0f making this steam rice cake that we used to eat in China Town in Yangon. It was a small roadside stall where one lady was shallow-fried that rice cakes in the flat pan with a little oil. Then she served the fried rice cake with two types of sauces. One is the sweet sauce and the other was spicy chili garlic sauce.

This rice cake can be made with two types of vegetables: pumpkin meat or taro root.

I tried to make with taro roots because of its texture and taste, and also because it can bind the rice cake to be well-formed. I will add chives just to make some new flavor to it (or) we may use spring onion too. ( We can still use carrot or Pumpkin instead of using Taro.)

It needs to be steam in the mold cup and cooled down. Some would just eat it right away after steaming because it is also good as it is. I planned to make this food because I would like my niece and nephew to try this since they always want to try out new food that makes them some excitement.

 Awe Kayy Kyi (Shallow fried steamed rice cake)

Ingredients

 1 cup    Taro Roots (Boiled and mashed)

2.5 cups  Rice Powder  

0.5 cup   Sweet rice powder

1.5 cup   Chicken broth 

1 tsp      Black Pepper

1/2 tsp    White pepper

2 tbsp    Thinly sliced chives

1tsp      Ginger Juice

2 tbsp    Thinly chopped boiled pork meat or ham

1 tbsp   Crispy fried shallots

1 tsp     Dried shrimp powder 

Instruction

1. In the Bowl, add rice powder, chicken broth, ginger juice, black pepper, white pepper together and mix with fork or whisk. We may use the stand chopper or blender.

2. Then add the mashed taro roots, meat, chives, crispy fried shallot, and shrimp powder in the bowl and mix thoroughly to blend all the ingredients well.

3. In the quart size mold steel cups or cake pan,  add that pre-mixed paste into it and stem in the water bath in the oven or in the steamer. Steam for 1 hour to make all the thick rice mixture turned into the block of cake.

4. We can consume right away after steaming because it is fragrant and taste good.

5. We may choose to fry the next day also taste super crispy on outside chewy inside together with chili garlic sriracha sauce, or maple syrup, or caramel sauce.

6. We can cool it down in the fridge for a few hours or 1 day and cut into 4 or 6-inch square of 1/3 inch thickness. 

7. In the non-stick skillet, add 2-3 tbsp of oil and shallow fry the rice cakes till both sides are golden brown and crisp.

8. We may also choose to enjoy it without sauce just after the rice cakes are fried.

9. Pair this snack with green tea to make a perfect evening snack for chit-chatting with your friends. Enjoy!

Sea Food Egg Roll

Seafood Egg Rolls

This egg roll appetizer has been our favorite appetizer although some may not like it. For us, we love the egg rolls since childhood. Our father would bring them home for the family from the famous Chinese Restaurant in Yangon uptown area. As a child, that egg roll seemed really big with the stuffing of cabbage, meat, crab meat, carrots, and spring onion. It was enjoyed with chili garlic sauce for some spicy taste.

The whole world is facing a hard time with the COVID-19 problem. People are trying to cope, and balancing between the children's homeschooling and their work from home schedule. Somehow, I am so thankful that "Oh...Lord..he is teaching us how to cope with the hardship and to care for each other". I used to say to my husband " Once in a while, could you work from home?" but he always gives me an excuse about working in a lab because of his work nature. Now, there is no choice because of social distance practice.
Most of the families will also appreciate their precious time of being together during this hard time. Another thing, I noticed that some families were spending time outdoor when the weather was warm. Somehow, nature and the environment have taught us how to balance our life between work and family in this crazy world.

As I shop for groceries, I ask "Would you like to eat the crab and shrimp egg roll?"  His expression of "Yes! Of course" was like winning the lottery. Actually, that recipe is troublesome because of many steps by step preparation. Such as cutting the different types of vegetables with mandoline, cooking stuffing first and rolling in the egg roll shells and then frying. Too much procedure sometimes stresses me out too.
But, we never know what will happen in the future. So I just want him to enjoy this food during this difficult time. I hope you could make it at home for your self or to share with your loved ones too.

Crab and Shrimp Egg Roll ( 3-5 Serving)

Ingredients

1 pkt  Egg roll paper (25 Pieces)
1 Pc.  Carrot (sliced into matchsticks with mandoline)
1 Pc.  Turnip (sliced into matchsticks with mandoline)
1 cup Daikon (sliced into matchsticks with mandoline)
3 cups Cabbage ( Thinly sliced)
1 bunch Spring onion ( Thinly sliced)
3 pcs eggs
1 cup  Thin sliced Shrimp
1 cup  lump crab meat
1 cup  diced (boiled chicken or rotisserie chicken)
1 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp finely chopped garlic
2 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp  Salt
1 tbsp Black pepper.
1 Qt oil for deep frying.
1 tbsp soy sauce

Procedure

1. In the skillet, on the stovetop with medium-high heat. Add 2 tbsp of oil.
2. Scramble all the egg in a bowl with a pinch of salt then fry in the skillet making the omelet.
3. Then set it aside, In the same pan, add chopped shrimp first. After stirring five minutes, add chopped garlic.
4. When the garlic starts fragrant, add diced chicken together with crab meat.
5. Stirring all the meat and seafood together with 1/2 tbsp black pepper and soy sauce.
6. Add the rest of the cut vegetables except spring onion.
7. Stirring and mixing the meat, shrimp, chicken, and vegetable with sugar and salt.
8. When the vegetable have softened and all water in the pan evaporated, turn off the heat and cool it down.
9. Lay the egg roll sheet on the plate, add 1.5 tbsp of stuffing or more as you like.
Then roll it and seal with corn starch water as glue ( 1 tbsp corn starch and 1 tbsp water)
10. In the fryer or wok, add oil then heat with Med. hight heat, fry those prepared egg rolls until golden brown. Enjoy with chili sauce or any dressing you may wish.