Shan Recipes 5 - Yu Lee Kyeen Wan Kha!
Kow Node Par
(KNEADED FISH RICE)
A one-dish meal, this is sold at five-day bazaar meets in the Shan uplands. A strong-fingered man sits cross-legged: around him basins of cooked fish, rice and flavouring ingredients. He debones, kneads hard, mixes rapidly, dresses, and serves each portion on a counter at which the queue sits on haunches. As in all Shan areas, hot tea and chillies are on the house, with buffalo skins crisps (kangpong) and garlicky shoots as extras.- From Mi Mi Khaing’s recipe book
Ingredients:-
3 ½ pounds fresh whole ngayan, catfish or perch
2 teaspn. (or to taste) salt
1 teaspn turmeric
1 ¼ cups oil
1 ½ cups onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon dried garlic chips (or 3 cloves finely chopped fresh garlic)
1 teaspoon or less chilli powder
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 ½ cups chopped tomatoes
2 large onions, for slicing
8 spring onions (scallions). bulb + stalk
2 teaspns crushed dried chilli (coarsely pounded)
8 cups soft-cooked rice
Buffalo skin crisps or potato crisps
Method:-
- Clean fish. Chop in 2-inch chunks keeping head whole if there is one. Rub with 1 teaspoon salt and half the turmeric.
- Heat 1/3 cup oil. Fry in it the chopped onion, garlic, chilli, and ginger till aromatic. Add tomatoes, and cook 5 minutes. Add fish Stir carefully while adding 3 cups water, cover, and cook 25 minutes.
- Slice 2 onions finely and evenly. Chop spring onion stalks (or greens) into small pieces.
- Remove fish chunks from broth. Leave head in broth and boil 15 minutes more. From chunks take flesh, pressing to detect bones, and remove.
- Heat rest of oil. Fry sliced onions light brown, drain, and set aside. Reheat oil, put in coarsely pounded chilli, take pan off fire and let chilli cook and colour oil red while still in pan. Drain off chilli and set aside. Add rest of turmeric and shredded fish to oil, cook a few minutes while stirring.
- Put soft rice in basin. Add to it 2/3 of the fish with oil, rest of salt, ½ of fried onion, and fish broth, making sure it is free of bones. Mix well, pressing hard.
- On a long platter, arrange 2/3 of rice in 6 oblong portions. Sprinkle each with shredded fish and chopped spring onion greens. Cover with rest of the rice, pressing each portion into neat rounded shapes. Dress tops with remaining fried onion and sides with fried chilli, crisps and spring onion bulbs. Fried garlic oil may also be offered for sprinkling on top of the rice.
- Serve with hot clear tea and extra crisps.
Nampitong
(Spicy pork dip)
Ingredients:-
1/2 cup ground pork
2 Tablespoons shrimp paste
2 Tablespoons garlic
1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 cup tomato, chopped
1/4 cup shallot, chopped
1 Teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons water
7 dried large hot peppers
Method:-
Curry paste
3 Tablespoons shallot, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons garlic
1 Tablespoons shrimp paste
2 1/2 Tablespoons lemon grass, chopped
5 dried large hot peppers
Ground hot peppers, shrimp paste, shallot, garlic, and salt until smooth. Mix the hot pepper mixture with ground pork and tomato. Mix well. Set aside.
Using a wok or saucepan, add cooking oil and place over medium heat. Pour in the ground pork mixture, water and sugar. Stir occasionally. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
Kao Soi
(Delicious noodles, originated from Yunnan)
Ingredients:-
200g fresh Chinese egg noodles.
1/2 kg chicken thighs and legs.
2 cups coconut cream.
3 cups coconut milk
1/2 tbsp salt
1 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp sweet black soy, sweet.
2 tbsp cooking oil
Ground dry curry paste in oil (as needed)
Fresh lime wedges (as needed)
Ingredients for Curry Paste:
7 roasted dry chili peppers
3/4 cup roasted shallots.
1/4 cup julienne roasted fresh ginger.
3 tbsp sliced roasted fresh turmeric.
1/4 cup coriander seeds.
1 tbsp salt.
Method:-
- Pound all ingredients in a pestle and mortar into a paste.
- Wash the chicken legs and thighs thoroughly and place in a pot with coconut milk and salt.
- Bring the chicken to the boil and simmer until the chicken is tender.
- In another pan, bring the coconut cream to a boil and reduce the heat.
- Cook until the cream separates and add the curry paste.
- Spread it out and cook until fragrant then add to the pot of boiled chicken. Bring this curry back to a boil and season with salt and sweet black soy.
- Taste the curry sauce to get the taste that you wish and take off heat.
- Put cooked noodles in a bowl, pour the Kao Soi sauce over the noodles, crumble crispy fried on top of the chicken and serve this bowl of Kao Soi with Chili paste, lime juice and pickled shallots and pickled cabbage.
Optional accompanying salsa
1 kg Chinese pickled cabbage. Sliced into strips or cubed.
1/2 kg Shallots, peeled and diced
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp salt
Mix the sugar, salt, and vinegar together to make the base of the salsa. When all ingredients are dissolved, add the shallots and diced Chinese pickled cabbage. This salsa is served with the Kao Soi as taste adjuster.
Nampit Mak Ker Some
Tomato Soybean Dip
Ingredients:-
1 soybean wafer or ½ teaspoon hot canned bean bean paste
2 medium onions
1 bulb garlic
4 tomatoes
4 plump green chillies
1 teaspoon (or less) salt
1 tablespoon chopped spring onion greens
1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
Method:-
- If soybean wafer is used, toast it, cool and pound. Set aside the powder.
- Take outer layers of skin off the onion and garlic, pierce garlic cloves with a pin, and bake both on a hot sheet or until insides are soft, turning to bake thoroughly. Bake tomatoes and chillies until soft
- Peel onions, garlic, and tomatoes. Take out chilli seeds and discard.
- Add soybean powder or paste. Mix, add 2 tablespoons boiled warm water, add salt to taste, mix and serve sprinkled with chopped spring onion greens and coriander.
Crisp Soybean Relish
Ingredients:-
3 soybean wafers
2 medium onions
1 bulb garlic
½ cup oil
Large pinch turmeric
1 teaspoon chilli powder
Method:-
- Cut soybean wafers with scissors in match-size strips and again to 1 inch long strips. As soybean cooks and browns quickly, even cutting is important.
- Slice onions evenly and finely. Slice garlic thick and evenly.
- Heat oil in a work, add turmeric, fry garlic until light gold and drain off. Fry onion to light brown and drain off. Lower the heat, fry chilli, and drain off.
- Put in soybean strips and stir to prevent burning. As soon as strips are cooked enough to crisp when cooled, turn heat off under the pan.
- Mix in chilli and salt, and when cool, mix in fried onion and garlic. Store in an airtight container and use when required.
More recipes at Shan Cooking blogspot.
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