Snack Food that we will Never Forget

Every March on Full Moon days, there was the Celebration full moon Day of Tapaung   (Myanmar Lunar Month) at Shwedagon Pagoda. We usually went to visit that place as a family tradition as it was held once a year. During our visit, there would be a Night Bazaar in which different kinds of authentic Myanmar Food was sold, in which we loved eating several snack foods that were offered there. Other interesting merchandise included toy cooking utensils made from clay, these were always fun for young girls as they would use them to play a make-believe game of "Home".  Such toys brought back timeless moments during my own childhood when my sisters and I played such games with our cousins.

In the bazaar, we were able to try many authentic Myanmar snacks that used sweet rice and another mostly made with rice powder batter. Among those snack foods, one fascinating item that we will never forget is Yay Mont: a crispy thin rice crepe. Every time we lined up to buy that food, the maker of that food makes a big show with two to three Chinese works on a charcoal stove. It was a highly entertaining event watching him make the savory snack.

This snack food's batter is a much thinner liquid than pancake batter. Since the water content of the batter is much higher than the original rice related, Burmese snack food, it earns the title of being called a crispy water crepe.

It was a highly artistic moment watching the rice crepe batter being poured into the hot wok, the chef taking care that it would spread evenly. Hopefully, such a scene still exists today so many others can enjoy the sight we once did. This dish is highly appetizing and pairs well with jasmine or green tea whether it is in the afternoon. Or snack food to cure a midnight craving.

Crispy Rice Crape with Vatana Bean ( Yay Mont)  (3 Serving)

Ingredients

  1 cup       Jasmine Rice
  1 cup       Urad Dal ( Black Gram Bean)
  3 cups     Water
  1 Tbsp     Fine chopped ginger
  2 Tbsp     Fine chopped spring onion
  2 Tbsp     Fine chopped Cilantro
  1 cup       Boiled Vatana Bean
  1 tsp        toasted sesame seeds (Optional)
  5 Tbsp     Canola Oil

Instruction

Prep for Rice Crepe Batter

1. Soak Rice and bean ( Urad Dal) together in the bowl totally covered with water overnight.

2. Next day, Pour everything into the food processor or blender to make fine rice batter.

(Note: We may need to add more water if the blended rice powder is really thick.)


1. We need to prepare the rice crepe batter by mixing with blended rice batter, water and finely chopped ginger ( Pounded in the stone grinder to enhance better flavor). Season the batter with salt to your own taste.

2. All the prep such as Vatana bean, chopped cilantro, and chopped spring onion should be ready in the separate bowl.

3. On the flat non-stick skillet on the stove with medium-high heat, brush the oil on the pan with an oil soaked brush.

4. When the pan is heated pour 1/3 cup of the rice batter in the middle,  spread the batter around to make the circle shape crape by holding the pan and tilting around.

5. Then add 4-5 pieces of Vatana bean, 1/2 tsp cilantro and 1/2 tsp spring onion on top of that batter. Then we need to splash some oil on top just to make it crispy.

6. Turn down the heat to make even cooking.

7. It will take 3- 5 minutes to make that crapes to be golden brown. When it starts getting golden brown, fold the crape and flip to the other side and heated through. We have to use the spatula.

8. Then remove it from the pan and set it aside in the clean, dry plate.

9. We need to do that steps no.  3 to 7 to make several crapes till all the batter are gone.

10. That snack food should be enjoyed while it is warm and crispy. Most people could eat at least 4-5 pieces at a time.

 One Rice Dish that is most Memorable in my life

Before my husband and I moved to Singapore, we stayed in the downtown Yangon for about 6 months. My parents let us stay in a downtown apartment prior to settling down and becoming an independent newlywed couple.

As we started our new life, we did not struggle much thanks to our parents support. At that time, we earned a minimal income as my husband started working as a Junior Engineer in the service department of the  Small Electronic and Computer supply Company.

Some Fridays, we would visit the Shwe Dagon Pagoda simply to have a peaceful time instead of going to the movies.
We visited both our parents' homes in weekend spend time with them and Friday night was our simple outing in downtown Yangon.

On many occasions, we ate at small restaurants in downtown. Moments like these were simple, yet timeless. As we are also saving our hard-earned money, we ordered meals at a small Chinese restaurant nearby for a change instead of home cooking. I tried to make a similar dish at home, but sometimes homemade meals can't beat the flavor of a restaurant's high flame cooking.

From those lovely and joyful moments, the food that became our favorite dish is called "Hta Minn Paung" in Burmese, also known as Chop Suey from in most Chinese restaurants in the US. For his preference for authenticity, I added a few slices of char siew (BBQ pork) on top of the dish. Effectively making the dish more flavorful and complete.

Rice with Meat, Seafood and Vegetable Stir Fry Gravy

Rice with Meat, Seafood and Vegetable Stir Fry Gravy ( 2-3 serving)

Ingredients

1/4 lb      Thinly sliced pork or ground pork
5 count    Shrimp peeled and deveined
6 count    Fish balls frozen (thawed)
5 counts   Quail egg ( boiled and peeled)
1/2 cup    Sliced fried tofu
2 cups      Cauliflower (cut into small pieces)
2 cups      Broccoli cut small pieces
1 cups      Thick cut cabbage
1/2 cup     Snow pea ( cut out the stems)
1/2 cup     Sliced Bamboo shoot
1/2 cup     Sliced Carrot
2 tbsp       Chopped Chinese celery
1 tbsp       Fine chopped garlic
1 tsp         Fine chopped ginger
2 tbsp       Canola oil
1 tbsp       Light soy sauce
1 tbsp       Oyster sauce
1 tbsp       Sugar
3 cups      Chicken broth
1 cup        Water
2 tbsp       Cornstarch
Salt          To your own taste

Instructions

Prep 1.  Cook 2-3 cups of rice in the rice cooker by following the instructions.

Prep 2.  Cut up all the vegetable and meat preparation before start cooking. Everything prepared ingredients should be near the stove.



1. In the big stir fry pan with high heat, add oil and heat up then toss the shrimp for 2-3 mins just to get red color. Strain and set it aside in the separate bowl.

2. In the same stir fry pan, Add the seasoned meat (salt and pepper seasoned) and stir till it brown.

3. Then add the fine chopped garlic and ginger to the pan and stir.

4. When the garlic is fragrant, add Cabbage, Cauliflower and Carrot to the pan and stir .

5. After 5 minutes, add the rest of the ingredients (except cornstarch, water) into the pan and mix it thoroughly.

6. Mix the corn starch and water then add to the pan to make all gravy  thicken. Add salt and pepper to your own taste.

7. We may buy the BBQ pork from Chinese restaurants, to reduce half of the prep work.
    We need to warm up the bbq pork in the oven for 5-10 minutes and slice thinly before serving.

8. In the dinner plate, add a bowl of rice in the center. Place 4-5 slices of bbq pork on top of the rice and pour 1 cup of meat and vegetable stir fry on top of the rice.
Serve it warm .

(Note: We may choose to use Napa Cabbage instead of using cabbage.)
( Optional: We may also add other seafood such as scallop and squid to make fantastic seafood rich stir fry dish.)

Chicken Curry Noodle

To Honor my friend

Our father always took care of our family as every father should. But one thing I want to brag about him is that he always love to have good food and let us try many different foods since we were young.

From these varieties, one noodle dish consisting of Indian, Chinese and Burmese influences is one I remember particularly well. As our country has a rich, diverse culture with Churches, Chinese Temples, and Mosques in downtown despite the majority of people being Buddhist and having pagodas across the country. In my memory, this noodle dish was available in a neighborhood near the downtown Mosque.

The Indian influences are brought out by the use of curry, while soy and oyster sauces that are used in this dish fulfill the Chinese component. Finally, fish sauce, roasted chili, and besan powder bring the Burmese influence to the meal. It is fair to say that this is a Burmese fusion noodle dish with the use of these ingredients.

During one of our Myanmar family gatherings, one sweet family invites us over for dinner and I got this delicious recipe from my friend whom I consider family. In honor of remembering her recipe, I would like to share this recipe with you for another option of a noodle dish. This dish has been easy to make and has remained one of our family favorites.

Chicken Curry Noodle (5 Serving)

12 oz     Pasta pack (normal spaghetti or angel hair pasta)
16 oz     Chicken (boneless skinless chicken thigh)
8 oz       Coconut milk
1 cup     Fine chopped Onion
1 Tbsp   Garlic
2 Tbsp   Fine chopped ginger
2 tsp     Turmeric Powder
1 Tbsp   Chilli powder
1 Tbsp   Oyster Sauce
2 counts Bay leaves
1 Tbsp   Dark Soy sauce
1 tsp      Light soy sauce
1 cup     Thin sliced onion
1 cup     Thin sliced Cabbage (shredded cabbage)
1 count   Lime
1/2 cup   Chiffonade mint leaves
5 tsp      Roasted Bean powder (Roasted Besan)
5 tsp      Roasted crushed red pepper
5 tsp      Fish sauce
1/4 cup  Canola Oil
3 tsp      Salt

Instructions

1. Put 1 cup finely chopped onion, 1 tbsp garlic, and 2 tbsp ginger into the chopper or blender to make a fine paste.

2. Cut the chicken pieces into bite-size cubes and marinade with 2 tsp salt, turmeric powder, and light soy sauce.

3. On the stove top, into the 4 qt pan,  add the oil and heat the pan then add the ginger, garlic and onion paste with chilly powder then stir with wooden spoon.

4. Add chicken and cook for 5-10 minute to make sure all the water cooked out of chicken.

5. When all the water is gone, add the coconut milk and bay leaves together in the pan and let it simmer for 15 -20 minutes. We may also add 1/2 cup water just to make more curry sauce for the noodle.

6. Preparing Noodle:  Boil the pasta according to the direction from the packet. Strain the noodle with a strainer and wait for 15 minutes. In the mixing bowl, Add 2 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce to the noodle and mix it thoroughly.

7. One Serving Plate: In the pasta plate or bowl, add shredded cabbage, sliced onion, mint
   ( 2 tbsp: 2tbs : 1 tsp), add seasoned pasta (1 cup).

8. On top of that noodle, add 1 tsp roasted besan powder, 1 tsp roasted crushed red chili, 1tsp fish sauce, 1/2 tsp lime juice ( may add more for sour taste).

9. Then pour warm chicken curry sauce on top of the noodle about 5 Tbsp together with meat.

10. We have to mix the noodle, sauce, and vegetable thoroughly together to enjoy the spicy curry noodle. We may use more roasted crushed chili powder for spicier taste.

Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day!

As we moved overseas, we had no prior knowledge of the celebration of Valentine's Day in our home country. But when we arrived in Singapore, we took notice of young couples celebrating Valentine's Day since the country was well developed.

Instead of celebrating over 20 years of marriage as an aging mother on Valentine's Day, my plans for the holiday are different than most: in which I take the liberty of making a nice meal for my immediate and extended family would enjoy.

A fond memory I have is of my father persuading my sisters and me to eat out often. In several instances we preferred to go eat Bee Hon Soup (a Rice Vermicelli Soup dish with pork meatballs, called Kyay Oh), but our mother overruled our choice and naturally, our father would agree to make her happy, so we usually ended up at a generic Chinese restaurant.

On this long weekend in which Valentine's Day comes together with Presidents' Day, I plan to make this soup in honor of the loving memories we cherished during our teenage years.

Vermicelli Soup with Pork Meat Ball (3 serving)

Ingredients

Prep 1. For soup stock

2 lb      Pork Neckbone (or spare rib)
2 slices ginger
2 tsp    light soy sauce
1 tbsp  Sugar
Salt to your own taste
(Optional: carrot, celery, parsnip to make pure vegetable sweetness)
0.5 tsp White pepper

1. In the 6 qt pan, add above all ingredients with 4 qt of water then boil it with high heat.

2. When it starts boiling, turn down the heat to medium and let it simmer for 2 hours.
( Every soup stock taste better next day if we save in fridge)

Prep 2. For meatball

1 lb     Ground Pork
1 tsp   White pepper
0.5 tsp Black pepper
1 tbsp  Sugar
1 tsp    Salt
2 tbsp   Corn Starch (Binding ingredient for meat)
0.5 tsp  (MSG optional)

1.  In a clean dry bowl, add above ingredients and seasoning together.

2.  Mix it thoroughly with your hand or use mixer to blend in all together.

Prep 3. For other toppings

6 cooked frozen fish ball (thawed)
6 cooked frozen pork ball (thawed)
6 pieces  firm tofu (1 cubic inch)
6 pieces  cooked quail egg (peeled)
3 cups    rough cut Gai Choy (Chinese vegetable)
1.5 cups  1 inch cut Chinese Chives
3 counts Egg (optional)
( boiled pork stomach, pork Kidney, pork liver such as pork organs are optional)
( Pig organ soup is famous delicacy authentic food in Asia)

Instructions

1. In the 2 qt size soup pot, pour 1 qt of soup stock into the pot and boil with high heat.

2. When it starts boiling, add 1 cup pre-seasoned minced pork ( ground pork) into the soup pot with the spoon one at a time. Then cover the pot and let it boil for 5-10 minutes.
( It also depends on how you want to cook the meat.)

3. Then add 2pics of fish ball, 2 pieces of hard-boiled quail eggs, 2 pics of tofu let it boil again for 3 more minutes.

4. Season the soup with salt, and sugar to your own taste before step 5.

5. Finally,  add the greens ( 1 cup Cut Gai Choy and 0.5 cups cut Chinese chives). After adding green, on top of the vegetable add 1 cup presoaked vermicelli.
then let it boil again for 5 minutes.

6. If we choose to add egg,  we may add the fresh egg together with vermicelli.

7. When the vermicelli is tender enough to chew,  pour everything into the serving bowl.

Every individual serving soup bowl, we need to make it individually in each soup pot.

(Note: If we use pig organ, the time of cooking may be different.)
( Sri Racha Chili Sauce is the best paring dipping sauce. )

Savory Snack

Savory Snack that makes The Tea Time perfect 

As we are getting older, having a small snack with coffee during some afternoons can be a great relief from being hungry. I never thought it was necessary for the afternoon. When we were young, mom and dad always drank tea or coffee in the afternoon. But I never understood how we needed coffee to accompany the snack.

During my holiday trip to Myanmar, we frequently stopped into tea shops for a break. Coffee with some form of a savory snack has always been a great option for comfort food along the way of a tiring journey.

Every time we cook a curry flavored, the ground meat dish, the leftover meat always becomes a good stuffing for either a sandwich or curry puffs to be made the next day. We can use ground chicken, ground beef or ground mutton.

From these baked savory snacks, it is my pleasure to present the homemade chicken curry puffs that also are a great comfort food and great for your child's after-school snack.
Children always seem to get hungry after a long day at school. These curry puffs can be baked (either in a conventional or toaster oven) ahead of time in a large yield prior to being served, as a result, they can be saved and reheated for a different time.

These curry puffs pair well with coffee and tea, whether they are for an afternoon snack break, or a convenient breakfast to start the day in our busy lives.

Meat Curry Pastry puff

Ingredients

1 box     Frozen puff  pastry Shell
1/2 cup  Ground chicken ( or) Beef (or) Mutton
1/2 cup  Onion Chopped (fine chopped)
1 tsp      Curry powder
1/2 tsp   Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp    Salt
1.5 tbsp   Canola Oil
1/4 tsp    Pepper
1 tsp       Chopped mint leaves
1 count    Egg
1 tbsp     Melted butter

Instructions

1. Season the meat with salt and turmeric powder before the pan is placed on the stove.

2. In the medium size stir-fry pan, add oil with medium heat.

3. Brown the meat till all the red color is gone. Add 1/4 cup of water and cover for 3,4 minutes.

4. Add the chopped onion and chopped mint leaves and season salt to our own taste.
( May add the frozen green pea but it is optional)

5. Sprinkle the curry powder after all the onion and meat are mixed. If there is all the liquid are reduced and dried up, turn off the heat and let it cooled down to room temperature.
Or we may put in the fridge for quickly chilled meat.

6. Melt the butter either on the stove or in the microwave. Set it in the small bowl.

7. Beat the egg in the bowl to make an egg wash.

8. Open the thawed frozen pastry shell. Depends on the brand, some box has already cut individual size, Some brand comes with pastry dough sheet. I like to use the pastry sheet so I could cut preferred size and shape.

9. We could cut 1.5 in a square shape. Scoop out 1.5 teaspoons cooled meat and placed it in the center of square cut pastry dough. Brush out the egg wash to the border of the pastry shell that has meat at the center. Place the other same size shell on top of the piece. Seal the meat filled shell by pressing with a fork.

10. You will get at least 8 to 10 pieces of curry meat puff depending on sizes.

11. Preheat the oven to 370 degrees. In the butter greased baking sheet, line up all the meat-filled pastry dough evenly. Mix the melted butter and egg. Then brush gently of the top of each piece to get golden brown color.

12.  Put the baking sheet in the oven on the center rack for 20 to 25 minute. You may add up 5 more minutes depends on how deep golden brown color you want. Usually, it is always ready in 20 minutes baking time.

Enjoy your own homemade curry pastry puff after cool down for 5 minutes after baking. Either black coffee or milk tea will complete the snack time.

( Note 1: We can also substitute with the potato hash instead of using the meat for the vegetarian option.)

( Note 2:  The flaky layered biscuit dough can also be used instead of using the pastry shell too.)

Happy Holidays!

Every December has the most enjoyable moments for families all over the world. Many independent children find job opportunities in different states. But they will always be ready to come back home to celebrate Christmas and other December holidays with their families. Even though they are away, they plan for the date in a year to meet with all the families to celebrate these holidays.

Out of many Christmas celebrations, my memory will never be erased because of a one of a kind and enjoyable family from Wisconsin belonging to my brother in law. His grandfather and his uncle never miss to invite us over for the Christmas Celebration. As they own a large dairy farm, there were many things we learned in terms of how a high-tech dairy farm operates.

It also reminds me of my childhood days of celebrating events such as birthdays, festivals and weddings. For the majority of celebrations we host at home, we invited extended family and make traditional Burmese meals. Before the feast, we invite monks to offer them lunch prior to enjoying our meals and conversations held during such gatherings.

In this traditional meal, we usually cook coconut rice, chicken curry, fish cake salad, and soup. It is usually the way of celebration meal for most of our events. We may also add another meat dish and condiment as an option.

In this recipe, there will be the coconut rice and chicken curry as a combination meal. Then we will add fish cake salad for the side dish. As a soup for the meal, we may also add the Roselle leaves soup that makes a balanced combination for the rich coconut rice meal.

Chicken Curry ( 3 serving)

Ingredients

2 lb     Chicken ( bone in or boneless) cut up into 1-inch cube size

1 tbsp  Fine Chopped ginger

1 tbsp  Fined Chopped Garlic

1 Cup   Fine Chopped Onion

1 tsp    Turmeric powder

1 tbsp   Chili Powder

1/2 cup Oil

2 tsp    Salt

1 tbsp  Fish Sauce

Instructions

1. In a mixing bowl, add cut cubed chicken, salt, turmeric powder, chili powder, finely chopped ginger, garlic, onion, salt and fish sauce together and mix it well with hand by using food gloves.

2. In the 4 qt pan on the stove top with medium-high heat, add oil an heat up then all the marinated chicken and stir.

3. Cook all the chicken in the pan till all the water from the meat are gone.

4. When there is no more water in the pan, start seeing the oil and meat start sticking to the bottom of the pan, add two cups of water to cover the chicken then cover the pan.

5. We may turn down the heat to medium when the water starts boiling.

6. Cook for another 10 to 15 minutes depends on the tenderness of the chicken.

7. When the meat is tender enough to eat and water is reduced into half. It is ready to serve. ( We may add 1 tsp of curry powder for stronger flavor but it is totally optional.)

Coconut Rice ( 3-5 serving)

These days we could find rice cooker everywhere and it has a better result to use the rice cooker.

Ingredients

3 cups   Jasmine Rice
1 can     Coconut milk (8 oz. can)
1 Shallot Cut into quarters each
1 tsp      Canola oil
1/2 tsp   Salt
1 tsp    Sugar ( may add 1 more spoon if you prefer sweeter taste but not recommended)
4 cups    water

Instructions

1. In the 3-5 cups rice cooker, add all the ingredients together and stir to mix it well.

2. Then cook with the electric rice cooker by the following instruction as needed.

Roselle Leaves Soup ( Chin Baung Ywat Hinn Cho)

Ingredients

2 cups    Chopped ( rough chop) fresh roselle leaves
1 cup     Chopped tomato
1 cup      Cubed Egg Plant
1/2 cup   Chopped Onion
1 tbsp     Sliced garlic
0.5 lb      Fish fillet ( tilapia fillet or tuna)
1 tbsp     Fish sauce
1 tbsp     Canola Oil
1 tsp       Turmeric powder
1 tsp       Shrimp paste
3 counts Thai green Chili
3 qt       Vegetable broth (or) Chicken Broth
(salt to your own taste)

Instructions

1. In the 4 qt pan, with medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, oil, fish fillet, fish sauce and turmeric powder together and cover for 5-10 minutes.

2. Then stir all the fish and onions are blended well enough till fragrant.

3. Add the roselle leaves, tomato, and eggplant into the soup pot and stir a little bit. Cover the pot for 5 to 10 minutes to make sure leaves and vegetable are soften a little bit with medium heat.

4. Add the vegetable broth to the soup pot and cover then turn up the heat to high to make the soup boil. When start boiling, we may turn down the heat to medium to simmer the soup.

5. Finally, add shrimp paste and green chili to the soup pot and simmer again for 5-10 minutes more. Season the salt to your own taste.

Fish Cake Salad ( 2 serving)

Ingredients

1 cup  Thinly Sliced Fish Cake ( we can get the frozen cooked fish cake from an Asian store)
1 cup   Shredded Cabbage
1 cup   Thinly Sliced Red Onion
1 tbsp   Fine Chopped Thai Green chili
2 tbsp   Chopped Cilantro (or) chiffonade lime leaves

Dressing

1 tbsp    Garlic Flavored  Oil
1 tbsp    Fish Sauce
1 tbsp    Lime Juice
1 tbsp    Roasted Besan Powder
1/2 tsp   Roast Red Chili Powder (optional)

Instruction

1. In the mixing bowl, add all the ingredients together except cilantro.

2. We may mix the dressing in a different bowl and pour on the ingredients.

3. Or we may add the dressing and ingredients together into the mixing bowl.  Mix it well to make sure all the ingredients are blended in together.

(Note: Before slicing the thawed fish cake, it is better to steam the fish cake for 10 minutes to make it softer.)

December Memory

December is the month for a vacation that most people in this world may define. Myanmar families who stay in overseas are always looking forward to visiting Burma (Myanmar), especially in December. Many families plan their winter vacations early in the summer so that their extended families overseas can save money by taking a trip. So that they can get the discounted tickets just to beat the high price of winter air tickets.

 One of the coolest memories I have was my first trip in December during my teenage years. Our dad never failed to plan a memorable winter trip even though we struggled financially. That was our very first trip after years of a long struggle after a financial crisis in our family. That trip was road trip to the Kyaik Htee Yoe Pagoda. If interested in the location, an article regarding it can be found by following the link here.
Also known as a hiking trip which requires a long walk of seven miles to reach the top of the mountain.

As Burma's weather is hot and humid in monsoon season, citizens prefer to travel only in November and December because of its cool and dry weather, similar to a Minnesota Summer.
The hiking trip to Kyaik Htee Yoe Pagoda is fun and enjoyable when traveling with a large group of friends. There are creeks and streams along the way and also some stores that not only sell souvenirs, but also food and drink. A group of college kids was teasing each other and making harmless jokes amongst themselves along the way. We were children at that time: young and dumb.

Now you may wonder how this story relates to the recipe. It is the food the I will never forget and will always cook when given the chance. We have to stay at the Inn with the restaurant since there were no fancy hotels during the 1980s. Although I forgot the name of the restaurant, I remember the food that I always ordered for my meal. Fish cake with tomato curry sauce was the memorable meal which relates to my December trip when we were young.

Fish Cake with Tomato Curry Sauce

Fish Cake with Tomato Curry Sauce (4 serving)

Ingredients 

1 lb      Feather back fish paste (from Asian store) (or) Other fish fillets
1 cup   Chopped Onion
1 tbsp  Fine chopped ginger
1 tsp    Fine chopped garlic
1 tbsp  Chili Powder
1 tbsp  Fish Sauce
1/2 cup Chopped Tomato
1 tbsp  tamarind paste
1.5 tsp  Salt
1 tsp    Turmeric powder
1 cup    Canola oil
1/2 cup Cilantro leaves (Rough chopped)

Instruction

1. In the chopper, add onion, ginger, garlic and chili powder together and chopped it into a paste. Scoop it out into a separate bowl and leave 1 tbsp of paste in the chopper.

2.  Add the fish paste into the chopper add salt to the fish paste and puree this paste with a machine to blend it well with onion chili paste.

3. Scoop it out from the chopper and set it in the bowl. We could use either oil or little fish sauce to make medallion size fish cake. We need to make it ready before frying those fish cakes.

4. In the pan, add oil and heat the pan to medium-high heat.

5. Fry all the fish cakes in the heated oil till golden brown. We need to flip those cakes only when one side is golden brown.

6. When all the fish cakes are cooked to become golden brown. Strain all the fish cakes into the strainer or in a bowl with paper towel to soak excess oil.

7. In the same pan with the rest of the oil, we need to add chopped chili paste together with turmeric powder.

8. After cooking chili paste for five minutes add fried fish cake and stir. Add the fish sauce till fragrant.

9. Add the chopped tomato into the pan and stir for 5 min again.

10. Finally add the tamarind juice,  cover the pan and simmer for 15 more minutes.

11. Garnish with cilantro leaves an serve.

(Note  1: We may also use to add Thai green chili on top just before removing from the stove. But it is optional.)
(Note 2: We may skip the part of making the fishcake from scratch by using the Salmon burger patties from the frozen section from groceries store.)