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.