Moulmein Kitchen

Impacted wisdom tooth extracted!!

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:50:00 +0000

I just got my lower impacted wisdom tooth and the adjacent second molar extracted on Wednesday. Just a slight swelling and other than that I’m feeling fine.

See you guys soon…

Moun kya zi ( glutinous dumplings in palm sugar syrup) မုန္႔ၾကာေစ့

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:01:00 +0000

This dessert is one of the popular traditional delicacies of Myanmar(also known as Burma). It is very simple to make and it was my first attempt. Not bad...i guess :) I'm sure you can try making this too. It is sweet and tasty.

Here is the recipe for moun kya zi.

Glutinous flour : 250g

Jaggery : 2 packets

Last but not least, I have a confession to make and that is...

ground coconut for garnishing which i forgot to buy!

Method

Mix the glutinous flour with small amount of water and knead well with hands.

Once it becomes smooth and soft dough, we can start to shape them into small balls(moun kya zi ) like the picture below. It's fun to make this dessert with your family members at home or while watching T.V.

When you are about to finish making moun kya zi , starts boiling water in a pot over a medium heat.

Now, lower the heat and add in the moun kya zi one by one into the boiling water. At first, they will sink. You will be able to see them floating on the surface within a few minutes. I love seeing all these moun kya zi coming up to the surface one by one...You can take a look at my video below.

Put it aside first.

Now, melt the jaggery with boiling water in a pot. Remember to strain the jaggery syrup to remove dirt which i myself forgot to do so. Pour back the jaggery syrup into the pot and add the moun kya zi . Let it cook on low heat.

Please note that moun kya zi might stick together when you add inside the syrup. It's ok. Just give it a gentle stir and all the pieces will be separated in a while.

The sweet and tasty dessert is ready to serve!

Mixed Vegetables Curry

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:50:00 +0000

Ingredients

Brinjal

Tomatoes

Long beans

Potatoes

Lady's finger

Chinese parsley

Red onions

Garlic

Cooking oil

Chili powder

Turmeric powder

Coriander powder

Tamarind juice

Salt

Mono sodium glutamate (MSG)

Cooking Time : 50 - 60 minutes

~ Heat up oil in the cooking pot over a medium heat.

~ Add the coarsely chopped red onions and garlic . Saute for about a minute

before adding in turmeric powder, chili powder and coriander powder. Give it

a stir and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes.

~ Add in the potatoes cubes and stir well. Add a little bit of water, cover with

the lid and cook for about 8-10 minutes over a medium heat.

~ Add the brinjal cubes and tomatoes slices to the mixture and give it a gentle

stir. A little bit of water is added in. Again, cover with the lid and let it cook

for another 5-7 minutes.

~ Add in the lady's finger pieces as well as long bean pieces to the mixture and

stir gently. Add a bowl of water and let it cook for about 12-15 minutes.

~ Season the vegetables curry with salt, MSG and tamarind juice. Stir and

spread chopped Chinese parsley on top. Cover with the lid and let it simmer

for 10-15 minutes on low heat.

The delicious mixed vegetables curry!

Pickled leaves of Three-leaved caper salad recipe (ခံတက္ခ်ဥ္သုပ္)

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 06:04:00 +0000

ခံတက္ခ်ဥ္( gade' chin) : Three-leaved caper ; Garlic pear, the leaves of which are pickled

Pickled leaves of Three-leaved caper salad recipe

Ingredients:

Thinly sliced pickled leaves

Thinly sliced red onion

Pounded dried shrimps

Fried crispy onions and oil

Toasted chick peas powder

A pinch of monosodium glutamate(MSG)

Mix the ingredients well and that's it!

Sprinkle more of fried crispy onions on top of the salad before serving.

Easy preparation for one of the exotic flavours of Myanmar (Burma).

Philosophy of life

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:34:00 +0000

Coffee with Mark Twain

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 03:29:00 +0000

How would you describe yourself as a writer? Are you a humorist?

No, I'm not a humorist - though i often use humor - but a satirist, a moralist, and a teacher. A key characteristic of the human species is its inability to learn, so the attempt to teach has its strict limits. Keep in mind that clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society. That's a humorous comment, isn't it? But it's also satirical and moralistic. It tries to influence people not to be naked, by which i mean you've got to wear clothes of some kind or other because naked anything, especially the naked truth, isn't acceptable. But it's nakedness - frankness, honesty, sincerity - that should be respected. Our society, though, isn't comfortable with that. People don't want to see or hear or read nakedness. So humor helps a writer disguise and make more palatable what he wants to say. Of course, if it's nothing but humor, it stops there.

Didn't you get some advantage from being labeled a humorist?

For a good part of my career, especially until the 1890s, readers labeled me as a humorist, by which they meant i was funny and mostly harmless. My wife resented that i was being classified as a lightweight - that's what being a humorist meant. Still, it was humor that often brought in the audiences, and when they stayed they got plenty more than humor. They got some truths about the human condition. I always kept in mind as a writer and human being that to be good is noble, but to show others how to be good is nobler, and no trouble.

Mum’s savory pumpkin recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

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!

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

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 14:25:00 +0000

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!

Pan-fried fish egg recipe (Ngar oo gyaw)

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:46:00 +0000

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.

Life Is Like A Cup of Coffee

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 04:46:00 +0000

Traditonal Burmese Orchestra (Pat Waing)

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:21:00 +0000

Long beans salad

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 09:56:00 +0000

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 :)

Myanmar (Burma) to host the 27th SEA Games in 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 06:40:00 +0000

The photo of the map is taken from http://www.goway.com/asia/myanmar/mya_img/myanmar_map.jpg

Myanmar will be hosting the 27th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Nay Pyi Taw, the new capital of Myanmar. This will be the third for Myanmar as the host in 44 years. Before that, Myanmar had already hosted the Games in 1961 and 1969 in Yangon (Rangoon), the then capital of Myanmar (Burma).

One thing I can say from my heart is that this golden land will be looking forward to warmly welcome her guests. Wishing all the best Burma!

Burmese Fermented Tea Leaf Salad (Lephet Thoke)

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 03:00:00 +0000

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.

Chicken soup with Bok choy

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 04:27:00 +0000

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!

Choko sour soup

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 09:36:00 +0000

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.

Homemade Tamarind Juice

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 07:53:00 +0000

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.

Stir-fried eggplant with eggs

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:32:00 +0000

A recipe for life

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 22:57:00 +0000

Plant a thought, reap an act;
Plant an act, reap a habit;
Plant a habit, reap a character;
Plant a character, reap a destiny.

< Oklahoma farm woman >

- Nellie Hershey Tullis -

Our ROM... peaceful, relax & enjoyable

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:42:00 +0000

" When I was young, I wished to marry a man/ (a woman) I love.

Once I got married, I pray to continue loving the man/ (the woman) I marry.

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My brother, the head-turner :)

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 02:45:00 +0000

Time flies so fast....holding your little hand, feel like yesterday.
My baby brother is now a fine young man. Never let others bring you down and I’m sure you'll learn to glide the world in a right way my brother!
You look good and having self-confidence helps I guess :)

Toasting, pounding....yummy ngapi

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 09:06:00 +0000

3 shockingly easy recipes made with Burmese shrimp paste (Ngapi) .

Let's start toasting ngapi

Toast the ngapi on low heat.

Toast it for about 5 minutes on each side.

That's it!

With this nicely toasted ngapi, i'm going to make 3 extremely simple recipes.

Recipe No.1 : Ngapi thout (Burmese shrimp paste salad)

Ingredients:

toasted ngapi, pounded dried shrimp, sliced red onion, lemon,

sprinkle small amount of Ajinomoto.

Mix all the ingredients well by using hand.

Ngapi thout is used as a relish to go with other dishes.

You can match this with fried rice for your breakfast.

The taste is stimulating....

Next, I'm going to make two more simple recipes with the rest of my toasted ngapi .

Recipe No.2 : Ngapi htaung (pounded shrimp paste)

Ingredients :

toasted ngapi, pounded dried shrimp and toasted chilli flakes.

Please note:

You need to add small amount of water occasionally during the pounding process as the paste tends to dry up and stick to the mortar.

Pound the mixture into a fine paste.

Ngapi htaung is ready :)

Again this is used as a relish to go with other dishes.

Leave some ngapi in the mortar for my last recipe.

Recipe No.3 : Ngapi htamin htaung (pounded rice shrimp paste)

Now add in the rice. I kept this yesterday leftover rice in the fridge.

For me using leftover rice for this recipe is essential. The dryness in leftover rice absorbs the ngapi htaung flavour better.

Ngapi htamin htaung (pounded rice shrimp paste)

Enjoy our exotic Burmese delicacy!

Eggs Gravy

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 06:10:00 +0000

Today, i'm going to share with you our home-cooked eggs gravy recipe.

Let's start cooking!!!!

Shall we :D

Cooking Time : 60-70 minutes
Ingredients:

cherry tomatoes
pounded dried shrimp
eggs (hard boiled)
1 medium sized red onion and 5 garlic cloves (blended)
Cooking oil
Turmeric powder
Red chilli powder
Masala
Seasons to taste

First, remove the shell of boiled eggs and fry till golden.

Heat oil in the cooking pot over a medium heat.

Add turmeric, red chilli powder, onion and garlic paste. Give it a stir until the onion paste becomes golden brown.

Add dried shrimp, cherry tomatoes, and stir well. Add a bit of water and lower the heat.

Cover with the lid and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes.

Add masala, seasons to taste, add a bit of water, give it a good stir and let it simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

Finally, add the eggs and leave it till the oil has separated from the gravy.

That's it.

Have a great day and c ya.....

Criticaster vs Critic

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 13:34:00 +0000

To my burmese readers,
I had written a short article on Criticaster vs Critic in burmese. It was written in 2008. If you would like to read it, please visit my blog (Colourful Notes).

Bye Penang...

noreply@blogger.com (Moulmein Thu) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 01:32:00 +0000

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