Sweet Rice cake with Sesame Seeds
In March, The world news is unthinkable and overwhelming with Covid-19 virus. Most of the families are affected by a school closing and work from home for safety. Most Asian families were panic buying rice bags for their family food supply for this short term quarantine period.
Around this time in Burma, during my childhood days, there were some famous Pagoda festivals, where sweet rice related treats were sold by street peddlers. A Burmese snack called ( Kaut Nyin Kyi Daut) or ( Khae Tan Khi Daut) is sweet rice stuffed in the Bamboo tubes and baked on the open fire. We used to eat it as an afternoon snack when there was new harvested sweet rice. It was so fragrant with the smoky flavor and a soft texture covering the rice from the inner membrane of a bamboo tube. Every trip or visit back to my country, I try to find authentic Burmese treats to enjoy with my family.
Also, this is also the time when new harvest rice available. My mother used to buy a year-round supply of rice at a discount price and stored in the big iron turbine. To feed the family of 6, my mother bought dry food such as beans and dried fish for a few months and rice(newly harvested rice for 6 months to a year). April is also the month of Burmese new year and after the new year, the monsoon comes any time.
Seeing our parents' practice of how to stay safe for the family served as lesson for me on some family survival habits and traditions. When I stayed in Singapore with a small baby, my habit of a weekly grocery run every Sunday was also my duty. Saturdays used to be for the family outing to go somewhere and have dinner as Singapore has the most variety on the planet.
As for the memory of sweet rice, the treat is this savory sesame rice cake which is an easy to make, authentic Myanmar snack. Also, a light snack to enjoy with afternoon green tea.
Sesame Rice Cake ( Khaw Pyin)( 2-5 serving)
Ingredients
4 cups Sweet Rice ( glutenous rice)
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp Sugar
1 cup Grated coconut
1.5 cup toasted sesame seeds
3 tbsp peanut oil or canola oil
1 cup Black eye pea ( frozen) It is optional
Instructions
1. Wash the rice with water and cook in the rice cooker with 5 cups of water, together with grated ginger, salt, sugar and 1 tbsp of oil.
2. When the rice is cooked, mash with a potato masher or pound in the mortar or pestle.
3. Grease the cake pan with some oil and put the pounded rice into it. Spread till all the cooked rice is evenly spread in the whole pan. The thickness should be only 1/2 inch. for the good taste with sesame seed.
4. Put this cake pan again in the steam bath and cover it and bake in the oven for at least 45 minutes with the 375 degrees.
5. After that, sprinkle all the sesame seeds on top of the rice cake to cover the whole surface, then press into the rice by using parchment paper or aluminum foil.
6. Let it cool down for 1-2 hours then we can cut into any shape we want with a greased knife.
7. Sprinkle the grated coconut and ground sesame-salt mix. This is the most enjoyable way for every sweet rice treat.
8. It is also good with grilled smoked fish.
