Moulmein Kitchen: 2011

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Mum’s savory pumpkin recipe

Cooking Time : 25 - 30 mins

Cut the pumpkin into small cubes.

Place the cooking utensil over a medium heat.

Add Mum's homemade gravy to the heated cooking pot.

Please refer to the previous post for Mum's homemade gravy recipe.

Add the pumpkin cubes to the cooking pot and give it a quick stir.

Cover with the lid and let it cook for about 5 minutes over a medium heat.

Add small amount of water, salt and mono sodium glutamate (MSG).

Give it a gentle stir, cover with the lid and let it cook for another 20-25 minutes over a medium heat.

This is another side dish that my mother cooks quite often at home.

Enjoy!

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Threadfin (Nga-pon-nar ငါးပုဏၰား) cooked with lady’s finger

Mother’s homemade gravy recipe

Add cooking oil in the cooking pot and heat over a high heat. Add turmeric powder and ginger paste. Give it a quick stir.

Add mixture of red onions and garlic paste. Stir well.

Once it starts to boil, add the chili powder and stir. Sprinkle salt and stir well. Let it cook for about 7-10 minutes over a medium heat. The gravy requires frequent stirring to ensure that it does not stick to the cooking pot.

My mother used only a small portion of this homemade gravy to cook for fish curry. She said the rest of it can be put aside for others gravy require dishes.

Ways to prepare fish for cooking

1. Scrape away the scales, remove the guts and wash the fish thoroughly.

2. Cut each fish into 4 or 5 pieces depending on the size of the fish or your

desired size.

3. Using a sharp knife, make 4-5 slits on each piece so that fish

pieces will be thoroughly marinated.

4. In a big bowl, marinate fish pieces with salt, turmeric powder and mono
sodium glutamate (MSG) for about 10 minutes.

Recipe for Threadfin (Nga-pon-nar ငါးပုဏၰား) cooked with lady’s finger

Transfer small amount of gravy to the heated cooking pot. Add small amount of water and stir.

Add the marinated fish pieces and stir gently. Cover with the lid and let it cook for about 10-15 minutes over a low heat.

Spread the lady’s finger, pour tamarind juice and add Chinese parsley on top of the fish pieces. Cover with the lid and let it cook for about 8-10 minutes on low heat.

That’s my may-may's (mother) recipe!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Pan-fried fish egg recipe (Ngar oo gyaw)

Hi Dear Readers,
I will be sharing homemade dishes recipes by my mother for the next coming 2-3 weeks and as for me, i will be taking a break ;)
Thanks Mum!

Pan-fried fish egg recipe (Ngar oo gyaw)
Ngar - fish
Oo - egg
gyaw - fry

First, marinate the fish eggs with salt, mono sodium glutamate(MSG)

and turmeric powder for 5-10mins.

Cooking Time : 8-10mins
- Heat oil in the sauce pan over a medium heat.
- Add slightly crushed garlic to the pan and fry till lightly golden brown.
- Add the fish eggs and give it a quick stir. Lower the heat and cover with the
lid. Let it cook for about 4-5 minutes. Occasionally, you need to stir gently so
that fish eggs and garlic would not stick to the pan.

If you are afraid that this would taste fishy...then, you do not have to worry. The taste is absolutely meaty and exotic.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Life Is Like A Cup of Coffee

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Long beans salad

Long beans salad recipe

Ingredients

long beans

distilled white vinegar

salt

black sesame seeds

red onions

monosodium glutamate(MSG)

oil

Preparation

[ Step 1 ]

Cut away the long beans ends and then cut them into equal length.

Wash and put it aside.

[ Step 2 ]

In a cooking pot, bring water to boil.

Add salt and distilled white vinegar too.

Once water starts to boil, add in the long beans.

Let it cook for about 3-4 minutes.

[ Step 3 ]

Prepare a large bowl of ice and cold water.

[ Step 4 ]

Now, remove long beans from the boiled water and plunge into ice water.

[ Step 5 ]

Drain long beans well before cutting them into smaller pieces.

[ Step 6 ]

Black sesame seeds, toasted.

[ Step 7 ]

Toss beans with just a pinch of monosodium glutamate(MSG), toasted black sesame seeds, fried crispy onions and oil. Sprinkle more of fried crispy onions on top of the salad before serving.

This long bean salad is one delicious relish :)

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Burmese Fermented Tea Leaf Salad (Lephet Thoke)

Burma is one of very few countries where tea is eaten as well as drunk. Its pickled tea is unique in the region, and is not only regarded as the national delicacy but plays a significant role in Burmese society. Its place in the [1]cuisine of Myanmar is reflected by the following popular expression:
"Of all the fruit, the mango's the best; Of all the meat, pork's the best; Of all the leaves, lahpet's the best".
^{source :}
^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahpet}

The beauty of this national delicacy is that we can add whatever suitable ingredients we like as well as different preparation techniques to change the taste, texture and presentation of this popular Burmese snack. In this recipe, i will be adding toasted chick peas powder to give this salad both a creamy texture as well as a nutty flavour. By the way, i have posted two posts on fermented tea leaf. Below are the links for these two posts.
How to marinate fermented tea leaves
Fermented tea leaves salad mixed with rice (lephet htamin)

Recipe for Lephet Thoke

First, marinate the fermented tea leaf (lephet) with oil, fish sauce and lime or lemon juice

Ingredients needed for Lephet Thoke

1. cabbage, thinly sliced

2. tomatoes, thinly sliced

3. onions or shallots, thinly sliced

4. dried shrimps

5. toasted chick peas powder

6. mixed crispy fried garlic, crispy fried yellow beans, roasted peanuts,

sunflower seeds and sesame seeds ( Ready-made)

Preparation

Add everything inside a big bowl and mix well.

Let's tuck in :)

You can eat this with garlic and green chili.

For a drink, a cup of hot Burmese tea goes well with this.

I hope you enjoy my recipes as much as i enjoy sharing these humble recipes on my blog.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Chicken soup with Bok choy

Hi Dear Readers,
Today i'm going to share with you my simple and tasty soup recipe.

Ingredients needed are:

Chicken bones
Bok choy
Red onions
Garlic
Ginger
Lemon grass
Cooking oil
Turmeric

Seasons to taste

Heat oil in the cooking pot. Add small amount of turmeric powder. Saute the onion, garlic, ginger and lemon grass for a minute or until onion turns transparent.

Put in the chicken bones and cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Stir occasionally.

Add 2 cups of hot water. Cover with the lid and let it cook for about 30-40 minutes.

Now, add in the coarsely chopped bok choy into the pot, lower the heat and simmer for another 4-5 minutes. Seasons to taste.

Chicken soup with Bok choy is ready :)

Best to serve warm.

Note:

Bok choy, which is otherwise known as pak choi or Chinese cabbage is commonly used in Chinese cuisine.
Bok choy can be seen in soups and stir-fries.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Friday, November 04, 2011

Choko sour soup

Choko has a very mild flavour, so it is best to cook with stronger flavours. In this recipe, i'm going to cook choko with shrimp paste and tamarind.

To make choko sour soup, you need the following ingredients:

choko, peeled and cut into small cubes

1 red onion, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon shrimp paste
1 teaspoon tamarind paste
2 tablespoons cooking oil
seasons to taste

Method

Heat oil in the cooking pot.

Saute the onion and shrimp paste.

Add the choko cubes and cook for about a minute.

Stir occasionally.

Add 2 1/2 cups of water and stir.

Cover and let it boil for about 15-20 minutes on medium heat.

Add tamarind paste to the boiling soup.
Cover and simmer for another 8-10 minutes.
Seasons to taste.

Now, it is ready to enjoy.

Choko carries the flavours of shrimp paste and tamarind very well.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Homemade Tamarind Juice

You do not need to visit a restaurant to taste this refreshing sipping drink. It is so simple to make and you can have it while watching your favourite TV program on a sunny day with your family at home.