Burmese pumpkin stew

 This is one of my favorite side dishes to make when cooking Southeast Asian food (and I will make it with both Burmese curries and Thai curries). You could certainly eat this on its own, but it is more common to eat along with something else (as is common in both Thai and Burmese cuisines!). 

I find that it pairs well with a vegetable (such as stir fried bok choy or green beans) and a curry, such as a Thai red curry dish or a Burmese meat curry). 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 lb. peeled Kabocha squash cut into 1-in cubes (about 4 large cups)
• 3 Tbsp minced garlic
• 2 Tbsp minced ginger
• 3/4 - 1 cup of diced yellow onion
• 1/4 tsp chili powder (or more if you want more heat)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp paprika (ideally not smoked)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp tamarind concentrate
• 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
• 2 cups water
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Cut, peel, and seed the Kabocha squash (note: I highly recommend buying pre-peeled and pre-cut Kabocha squash if you can...it is an absolutely pain - and potential danger to your fingers if using a knife - to peel)
2. In a large sauce pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they begin to turn translucent (about 6 minutes). 
3. Add the garlic, ginger, and chili powder and cook for an additional 5 minutes. 
4. Add the squash, turmeric, paprika, and salt and give 1-2 stirs to mix together. 
5. Add the water and the tamarind concentrate and give another 1-2 stirs. 
6. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. 
7. Simmer (uncovered) for about 10-11 minutes. The squash should then be tender when pierced with a fork or knife but not mushy. If you cannot pierce with a fork or knife easily, cook an additional 2 minutes. 
8. Remove the pieces of pumpkin from the pot (but not the juices!)
9. Bring the heat to medium-low and reduce the stew/curry sauce for an additional 4-5 minutes until thicker
10. Remove from the heat, add the pumpkin back into the pot, and stir gently until combined. 
11. Serve over rice with whatever else you are serving!

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Burmese Egg Curry (ကြက်ဥဟင်း)

This is one of my go-to curries when I am in Myanmar. For me, it is Burmese comfort food. I like it because it is nice to have a curry with protein that isn’t always meat. It has also been a staple dinner in our household because it is easy to make, flavorful, cheap, and re-heats super well for leftovers the next day. It also only uses basic household ingredients so it is often something that I can whip together when I haven’t really meal planned.

In Myanmar, egg curry is traditionally made with duck eggs, but I use chicken eggs because that’s what readily available at my grocery store and also in my fridge. If you do travel to Myanmar in the future, my pro-tip is to only eat curry in the morning or for lunch unless you go to a fancy, expensive restaurant where you know that they are cooking everything to order (although I am not sure I would splurge at such a place on egg curry….). This is because curries are typically prepared and cooked early in the morning and served throughout the day until they run out. This is also why I would always suggest going somewhere for lunch before noon if you can. Otherwise, you run the risk that some curries will be finished for the day. With all that said, if you eat a curry at a local shop in the evening for dinner, it is highly likely that it has been sitting out all day. Generally speaking, it doesn’t end well for people.

But in your own household, you can easily cook this fresh for dinner!!!

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs, hard boiled and peeled
• 4 roma tomatoes, diced
• ¼ cup garlic, minced (you can use less if don't have this much on hand, but don't use less than 4 large cloves)
• 1 cup shallot, minced
• 1 tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp chili
• ¼ tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• ¼ cup canola oil
• Okra if you want (~1 cup)
• Jasmine rice, cooked.

Directions:

1.      Heat the oil in a wok, high-sided fry pan, or something similar on medium-high and add the turmeric.

2.       Fry eggs whole (~2 minutes total)

3.       Remove the eggs and put to the side.

4.       Add shallot and fry for 1-2 minutes

5.       Add garlic and fry until fragrant

6.       Add the tomatoes and the remaining other dry seasonings

7.       Cook the curry until the tomatoes are loosing their form and becoming mushy (~10-15 minutes)

8.       While that cooks, cut the eggs in half long-ways

9.       After the curry becomes mushy, add the fish sauce, and add the okra if you are choosing to, and cook for another 1-2 minutes

10.   Add the egg halves face down in the curry and simmer for 2 minutes

11.   Serve over rice and enjoy!

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Shan Noodles (ရှမ်းခေါက်ဆွဲ)

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Erin spent a significant chunk of the previous decade in Myanmar's Shan State - a beautiful mountainous region in Northeast Myanmar. Not only is the region beautiful, but the people are incredibly friendly, and the food is fresh and delicious. 

Shan noodles (Shan khao sway) is a well-known Shan dish that you will find throughout Myanmar. It's an ideal comfort food or an easy lunch/dinner. Erin has also been known to seek out a good bowl of Shan noodles for breakfast in Myanmar!

This recipe calls for ground chicken or pork, but you can also use chicken breast that you cut up into small pieces or make this vegetarian using tofu. 

The recipe that Erin uses is based on the Burma Superstar recipe, although she has modified it some to her liking!

This recipe will make 4 nice servings. Rice noodle dishes don’t quite re-heat “the same,” and so I recommend eating this fresh (but it is certainly still edible and better than most things re-heated, just not quite as good as it is fresh).

 

Ingredients:

- 1 lb. ground chicken or pork

- 1.5 Tbsp paprika (don’t used smoked if you can)

- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

- 1/3 tsp turmeric

- ½ tsp five-spice powder

- 1 tsp salt

- ¼ tsp dried chili flakes

- ¼ cup canola oil

- 2 cups minced yellow onion

- 3 roma tomatoes, diced like the onion (on-the-vine also likely fine)

- ¼ cup minced garlic

- ½ tbsp soy sauce

- 12 oz. rice noodles (dry)

- Green onions, sliced

- ¼ cup pickled mustard greens (OR I make bok choy)

For Bok Choy:

-          1.5 cup chopped bok choy (either baby or regular)

-          1 tsp soy sauce

-          Salt and pepper to season

Directions:

Mix the ground meat in a bowl with paprika, cayenne, turmeric, five-spice, salt, and chili flakes. Let this marinate while you prep the other ingredients (or at least 10 minutes). 

In a pot/pan (ideally a straight-sided sauté pan), heat the canola oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and stir occasionally until they are turning translucent (~3-4 minutes). Then add the tomato and stir occasionally for another 3 minutes. Add the garlic, lower the heat to medium and cook another 3-4 minutes.

           

Put water on to boil for the noodles.

Add the ground meat and stir often until the meat is cooked through (~7-8 minutes). Cook the bok choy while this cooks.

-s.

Bok Choy: Heat about 1 tsp of oil over medium-high heat. Add the bok choy and stir. Add salt and pepper to season and cook until the bok choy starts to wilt (~3 minutes). Remove from the heat and stir in soy sauce. Serve on top of Shan noodle

Remove the meat from the heat when it is cooked and add the soy sauce. I like to leave it on very low/warm while everything else preps to keep the juices flowing as this makes a tiny bit of a ‘sauce.’

Once the water is boiling, add the dried rice noodles. I use ‘pad thai’ noodles and they take about 3-4 minutes to cook.

Strain the noodles using a colander and then add to your meat sauce and stir to combine. If your pot isn’t big enough, you can combine in a larger pot or serving dish.

Serve into a bowl and top with bok choy (or mustard greens) and sliced green onions.  

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