Bean with Spare Rib

Bean with Rib

As our children grew up in other countries but they still love with their homemade food because of most of the Burmese cook meals at home for their families. Some families take care of different duties depends on their different lifestyle. Actually, most mothers cook for their family to ensure the family tradition and culture. It also builds the closeness and bond between children and parents. Also great for psychological well being of children too.

Some children from Burma travel to other countries to pursue their higher education and for their academic goal. At least they can try to cook this Burmese home cook meal when they have the interest to make their own meal while they are away from their families or parents.

It is difficult for the children who grew up outside Myanmar to read the recipe of our language so unable to cook Myanmar meal when they grew up. Therefore I tried to devote myself to write a different type of recipes that our children can cook.

 My sister regularly call me as routine on weekends " Sis!, what are you cooking?". I would tell her what am I cooking and how to cook. She got the motivation to cook that dish and prepared as I told her. Then her daughter loves that dish and asks me the recipe. Therefore I have to take the time write it down on my blog. So someday, my niece will read my recipe and cook if she has time.

Bean is a fibrous grain and it is good for everybody. We can use any meat such as beef short rib, Goat meat, Chicken or Pork Rib. For this recipe, I cooked with pork rib and bean  (Chana dal or Yellow Split Peas) is always delightful.

Split Yellow Pea with Pork Spare Ribs

Ingredients

2 cups   Split Peas
1 lb       Pork Spare Ribs
1/2 cup  Chopped Onion
1 tbsp    finely chopped Ginger
1 tbsp    finely chopped Garlic
2 tsp     Chili Powder
1 pcs     Bay leaves
1 tsp     Cumin
2 pcs     Dried Chili pepper
1 tsp     fish sauce
2 tsp     Turmeric powder
2 tsp     Curry Powder (or) Masala
2 tbsp   Oil
1tbsp    Tamarin pulp (mix with 1 cup of water)
5-10 leaves Curry Leaves

Instructions

1. In the pot, 2-3 qt, add the bean with 3 cups of water and boil till it softens but not mushy. Then set it aside.
2. In the bowl, put all the spare ribs  (1 inch a piece), salt, turmeric powder and mix it thoroughly.
3. On the medium-high heat stove, use 4 qt pan with oil then fry the 2dried chili pepper. ( be careful not to burn. It takes only a few seconds to roast). Then set it aside.
4. In the same pot, add chopped onion, ginger, garlic, cumin and chili powder together then stir until fragrant.
5. Add the seasoned spare ribs in the pan with fish sauce then stir 5-10 minutes to make sure all the water from meat dried out.
6. Add the boiled bean and tomato with bay leaves and stir.
7. Then add 2 cups of water together with tamarind juice ( previously soaked in 1 cup of water) strain out the pulps.
8. Cover the pot over medium-low heat and stir quite often not to burn on the bottom of the pan.
9. Let it simmer till all the meat from the rib is tender.
10. Taste the soup and season with little salt to your own taste.
11. Finally, add curry leaves and masala then let it boil for another 5-10 minutes.
12. It is ready to serve with Nan, Parata, Pita bread or rice depends on the different preference that you choose.

( Note: This dish can be served with rice and crispy prawn fritters. )

Traditional also The Savory Sweet Rice

Traditional also The Savory Sweet Rice 

This traditional Burmese Sweet rice snack is specially made at the end of February when the Lunar full moon night is still cold. In that chilly weather cooking on a big wood fire with a big Wok is also fun. In the villages, at the religious Buddhist center is a gathering place on every traditional occasion or event.
This traditional food is great for the body which can withstand the very hot summer season. That is why it might be made at the end of the winter season.

In the olden days in small towns, girls are usually not allowed to go out after dinner based on the traditional house rules. But an exception would be a special occasion or religious events, like this one, when the parents allowed their daughters to help with the preparation of food for early morning offering to the monks. This would be the time when men take the opportunity of showing off their biceps and triceps because they need to stir the thick sticky rice-food on the wood fire.

I could imagine their friendship and be teasing each other with pure loving kindness. I remember the art class project during my high school days, in which I had to draw the cooking of sweet sticky rice snack from our own imagination.

It was also the tradition for several teams to compete in making the rice snack. The village leaders would judge the taste and unity of each team. Scoring the team works too. Some of the small towns and villages still keep this culture as a traditional value.

 This sweet sticky rice contains ginger, peanuts, sweet rice( glutinous rice), coconut, lots of sesame seeds( so much so that translation of the snack is " Loaded with Sesame Seeds". In Burmese name is " Hta Ma Nae" or " Hnan Ma Nae".

 For the easy homemade version, we can cook in the rice cooker first and transfer it to the Wok for the later steps. This saves time and stirring sticky rice occasionally. Old folks said that by consuming this rice-snack has the medicinal cooling effect for the body to bear the heat of really hot summer in Myanmar.
( Note: It is good to eat together with crispy fried fish or smoked fish.)

Loaded Sesame Sweet Rice ( 4-6 Serving)

Ingredients

4 cups    Sweet Rice ( soaked in water for 30 min and strain it)
1.5 cup   Toasted Sesame Seeds
1.5 cup   Peanut ( Salted roasted)
4 tbsp     Thinly sliced ginger
1.5 cup   Shredded coconut ( frozen or fresh)
1.5 tbsp  Salt
1 tbsp    Sugar
1 cup     Oil

Instruction

1. In the stir fry pan add 1/2 cup oil and heat with the medium-high heat on the stove.
2. Add shredded coconut and stir frequently not to burn. When it turned to golden brown color, set it aside to cool in a dry bowl.
3. In the same pan, add the rest of the oil then add all the sliced ginger fry until fragrant.
4. Add the prewashed sweet rice to the fried ginger, add the half cup of peanut salt and sugar together and stir.
5. When all the ingredients are mixed, transfer it to the rice cooker 6 cups of water and cook.
6. After the cooking process is done add 2 more cups of water and cook again to make all the sweet rice turn into the dough like texture.
7. Add the sesame seeds, the rest of the roasted peanuts and toasted coconut into the pot and stir.
8. Transfer the mixture to the pan and stir all the water are gone. We may add more salt to our own taste.
9. Preparing the serving plate we have to sprinkle the crispy golden coconut flakes on top of that cooked rice to garnish.
10. As a "home away from home" family, this is an easy way to make our traditional food. Serves as a comforting traditional snack.
11. We may also use the black sesame seeds. (Optional).

Fusion idea of Curry Chicken Pot Pie

As the cold chilly winter here in Minnesota, most family travel for the holiday. Some families gather for a reunion or do the small project at home. Since we travel overseas to meet families last year, we stay in our home this year as a break and do whatever needs to be organized at home. Holiday baking is also fun for children so I could enjoy this sweet time with them at home baking. In my culinary class days a long time ago, The baking class the most stressful class because of the exact amount of measurement and timing is so important for the baked-food production.

Baking pie crust is available at the stores for the holiday season. I would like to try the curry chicken pot pie must be good for the winter. We usually eat chicken curry with Parata or Nan in our motherland as the wheat product is the right accompaniment to the chicken curry. So I think it will be nice to make the chicken curry pot pie would be good for the winter. This dish is also quick and easy to fix with ready to use products even if you have leftover roasted turkey or rotisserie chicken.

In Burma,  food is mostly cooked with herb and spices. Also, as the neighboring countries are  Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Lao, Cambodia, and Thailand. So the people in Burma adopt the varieties of food from those countries and blend them with own native flavor. Here, the blending idea of western and eastern food also defined as fusion food.
 Most people nowadays accept and encourage the idea of blending food from different countries. There are a lot of fascinating local food also available to explore in Burma too.

Hope you might enjoy making yourself at home.

Curry Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

1 box refrigerated pie shell
1/2 lb Chicken tenderloin ( cut into 1/2 inch thick small cubes, seasoned with salt and pepper)
2 tbsp Butter
1 cup  Frozen Mixed Vegetable
1 cup  cut cubed potato ( we may use breakfast potatoes)
2 cup creamy condensed chicken soup
1 tbsp curry powder
1 cup  small chopped onion pieces

Instruction

1. In the pie baking pan (round shape), rub the pan with butter and spread the pie dough around the pan, press and tugged in. Bake in the oven at 370-degree F heat for 15 min to make the crisp crust ( 1/2 way bake).

2. In the stir-fry pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.

3. Add the onion, cook until translucent.

4. Add the chicken pieces and cook for 10 minutes till all the water has evaporated.

5. Add potato pieces, frozen vegetable, and condensed chicken soup then stir to mix everything.

6. Add curry powder and let it cook for 5-10 minutes.( we may add 1/2 cup of milk for more gravy)

7. Then remove it from stove top and let it cool.

8. When the pie crust is ready and cooled, pour the cooked curry chicken into the pie crust.

9. Cover with another pie dough and seal the two in your own style.

10. cut out the small cut on top of the dough to vent out the stuffing boiling.

11. Bake in the 380-degree F heated oven for 20 -30 minutes, until golden brown.

12. If it is not the right color, we may let it sit in the oven for another 5-10 minutes.

( Note: We may add a tsp of cayenne chili powder to the chicken for more spiciness and heat.)

Spicy Fruit Preserve

Spicy Fruit Preserve 

(The Treat that we never get tired of eating)

At Halloween,  children are treated with candies or chocolates for the trick or treat festivities. In Burma, when we were little, the candies and chocolate were imported from overseas and were expensive. As for me, I love the Burmese traditional fruit preserve.
The fruit preserves are always available at school snack shops and movie theatre.

Last month, because of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday celebration, the cranberries are available at groceries till now. It is quite similar to the prunes and it tastes sour. One of my friends made that fruit preserve once and it made me tempting to try out.

In Burma, there are also tropical fruits available so sour fruit like mango, prunes and Marian plum are our best choice of fruit preserves as snacks. Most of them are made with chili powder and brown sugar or plum sugar. In Burma, mangoes are available everywhere. There are a lot of traditional Mangoes related food and salad are also fun to have as side dishes.

Every summer time, my mom made salted dried mango for a year-round supply of kitchen ingredients. We use dried Marian plum are also used in meat dishes. Dried sour fruits are suitable to cook with pork as Burmese traditional meat curry.

As I have some dried Marian plum and cranberry this year, I am going to make two types of spicy fruit preserve with cranberry and dried Marian. I am thankful to my Mom in law for bringing dried Marian plum as she knew that I am very interested to cook and try the new recipe. Cranberry is also very tender and soft as compared to prune preserves.

Cranberry Fruit Preserve Snack 

Ingredients

1 lb.  Cranberry
1 lb.   Brown Sugar (or) Jaggery
1 tbsp Salt
1 tbsp Red chili powder
1 tbsp   Cumin powder
1 tbsp   Curry powder (or) Masala Powder
1 cup   Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
2 cup  Water

Instructions

1. In the 4 qt. size dutch oven, add sugar or Jaggery and water, then heat with high heat till it boils and is bubbly.
2. Stir till the water evaporated and add orange juice and salt.
3. Stir it till thicken the syrup. When the syrup starts to thicken, add the cranberry together with chili powder, cumin and curry powder. We may skip the curry powder since we are using the cumin powder.
4. After adding the cranberry, it may be a little watery but stir until all the water evaporated and the fruit preserve thicken.
5. Taste it then add salt or chili powder to adjust our own taste.
6. We may also enjoy this fruit preserve with cracker and cheese as the appetizer condiment too. Enjoy it with the green tea also great.

(Note: We may use the same procedure to make the Marian plum or Maprang plum( Botanical Name: Bouea macrophylla)

 Calamari (Squid) with Water Spinach (Ong choy) Salad.

This is one of the popular Vegetable dish in Rangoon  China Town. It is really appetizing and satisfying dish every time we have dinner at the downtown Yangon ( Rangoon).

When my father visited here, he patiently cook some of the favorite food for us. He liked to try different kind of food here too. Because of him, we had a chance to try variety of food around the world. Oh! may be I am saying too much. There are also a lot of different varieties in this world we don't know. But because of him, we learn to love and try different types of food.

 Squid is the name that we use to call this seafood,  but it is known as Calamari ( name of Mediterranean cuisine with squid)  in USA. It is like Okra ( in USA)  also known as lady finger as in Asia. In some Chinatown Chinese restaurant in downtown Rangoon, it is usually available as stir fry dish cooked the Chinese way.  Some weekends, my dad brought us to that place for dinner treat. When my dad was here, he showed me how to make that dish.  We could adjust our own taste by using our own choice of sauce as we like. Thanks to the world by letting us to have the option of our own choice of sauces.

When we arrived in Minnesota, we couldn't find this type of Asian water spinach because of the authority didn't allow to grow in the lakes and ponds.  Our state protect the ponds and lakes as nature preservation. With more diversity and growth of Asian population, some farmers start growing that vegetable on ground instead of growing in the water . In Burma, it is one of the cheapest vegetable and most people define as a "poor man's food".

I never think it in that way, and consider it the same as others, because it has its own nutritional value. That is why I love summer, we could easily buy this Asian water spinach  with good value and great quality in Farmers Market.

Water Spinach with Calamari

Ingredients

1 bunch  Water Spinach (cut into 1 inch & rinse  thoroughly)
1 cup      Calamari ( either frozen or fresh ) ( cleaned and cut bite sizes)
3 tbsp     Garlic (Chopped)
2 tbsp     Cornstarch
1 tsp       Dark Soy sauce
2 tbsp     Light Soy sauce
1 tbsp     Oyster sauce
3 tbsp     Canola oil
1/2 tsp    Pepper
1 tbsp     Sriracha (Samba Oelek)( For spiciness)

Instructions

1. On the stove top, Boil the water with 1/2 tsp of salt. Blanch the cut vegetables for 5 minutes. Then, strain , let it cool in iced cold water to safe the green color.
2. In that pot, boil the cut calamari for 5 minute (or less) take it out from boiled water and set it aside in the clean and dry bowl.
3. In the pan, add oil and heat with medium heat to make the garlic oil.
4. When the oil is heated add chopped garlic and stir till golden brown color. To get the perfect golden brown color we should remove the pan from heat when the garlic pieces start turning yellow but stirring is needed. Then transfer that garlic oil in dry bowl and let it cool.
5. In a small the bowl, add dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, oyster sauce and corn starch as measured and add 3 tbsp of water and mix it well.
6. In the pan,  ( previously fried the garlic oil) add that mixed sauce and heat with medium heat till thicken. Then add Samba Oelek and stir ( about 5- 10 minutes)
7. When the sauce is ready, mix altogether in one big bowl ( boiled water spinach, Boiled calamari, fried garlic and sauce)
8. We may enjoy it with any main course . Or  with noodle soup too.

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.