Burmese Hsan Pyoke (Congee or Rice Porridge)

Yield: Serves 6   

Prep Time: 5 minutes 

Total Time: 45 minutes + overnight

Hsan Pyoke (translated in English to Rice Boiled) is a recuperative comfort food for wet/cold weather or when someone is recovering from an illness. I used left-over steamed white rice from the Chinese restaurant, which I've used to make fried rice, as well. The package of frozen vegetables contains diced carrots, onions, peas, celery and potatoes.  Cooking rice the night before and leaving overnight at room temperature gives this soup a smooth and creamy texture. The minced chicken in this recipe can be omitted or replaced with flaked catfish, salmon or imitation crab and the chicken stock can be replaced with vegetable stock or plain water.

Amish Friendship Bread

My two loaves of Amish Friendship Bread

The dark spots are cookies
and white spots are cream
from the Oreo Cookies 'n Creme pudding mix

This is definitely one of the yummiest breads I've ever baked and the most interesting process ever. Okay, let's see if I can describe how this goes. It's called a friendship bread because the batter is shared with friends. 

I received a baked bread and a batch of starter batter from a friend on Mother's Day. It's one of the best gifts (after the cartoon caricature my son drew of me on his MD card) I've received because it will be remembered for many years to come!

Along with the starter batter, I received a set of instructions on how to care for it and a recipe for the two loaves it yields at the end of ten days. I'd like to add that even though it seems like a lot of work, it really wasn't and, strangely enough, I actually enjoyed 'babying' the bag of starter batter!

The starter batter came in a Ziploc bag with the date of the day it was placed in the bag. This date is Day 1. 

Day 1-4: Massage batter from the outside of the bag. Mush it and mash it.

Day 5: Add 1 cup each of flour, sugar and milk; mush it and mash it.

Day 6-9: Mush it and mash it.

Day 10: This is baking day! Add a cup each of flour, sugar and milk; mush it and mash it.  Put 1 cup in each of four (1 gallon) Ziploc bags. The batter that is left is combined with the ingredients in the basic recipe to make 2 loaves of Amish Friendship Bread. 

Keep one Ziploc bag for yourself and share the others with friends, or share all four with friends. If you keep one bag for yourself, you'll be baking every 10 days. 

Today was day 10 for me and I am very happy with the results. The basic recipe calls for a package of Jello Instant Pudding and I used Oreo Cookies 'n Creme pudding mix.

The process is very well explained on a blog I found on the Internet, so rather than reproduce it here, on my blog, I will point you to the source.

Amish Friendship Bread Starter

Amish Friendship Bread (Basic Recipe)

Here are some variations to the basic recipe.

Apple Cinnamon Friendship Bread

Banana Nut Amish Friendship Bread

Carrot Cake Amish Friendship Bread

Cherry Amish Friendship Bread

Pumpkin Spice Amish Friendship Bread

The following variations came from the same source as above. The only reason for reproducing them here is to caution you to NOT add 1/2 cup of milk with the pudding mix because the Basic Recipe includes a package of vanilla pudding mix and 1/2 a cup of milk!

Banana-Chocolate Chip Friendship Bread
In the basic recipe, reduce oil to 1/3 cup.
Replace vanilla pudding with 1 large package of instant banana pudding.
Stir in 1 cup very ripe mashed bananas and 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate minichips.


Butterscotch Amish Friendship Bread
Omit cinnamon from the basic recipe.
Replace vanilla pudding with  1 large  box of instant butterscotch pudding.
Add 1 cup butterscotch chips.

Caramel Apple Friendship Bread
Omit cinnamon from the basic recipe.
Replace vanilla pudding with  1 large  box of instant caramel pudding.
Add 2 cups diced apples.

Chocolate Amish Friendship Bread
Omit cinnamon from the basic recipe.
Replace vanilla pudding with  1 large  box of instant chocolate pudding.
Add 3 tsp. cocoa and 3/4 cup chocolate chips.


Chocolate-Cherry Friendship Bread
Omit cinnamon from the basic recipe.
Replace vanilla extract with almond extract.
Replace vanilla pudding with  1 (5.1 oz)  box of instant chocolate pudding.
Add 3 tsp. cocoa and 1 cup dried cherries.


Cookies 'n Cream Amish Friendship Bread
Omit cinnamon from the basic recipe.
Replace vanilla pudding with  1 large box of instant cookies 'n creme pudding.

Cranberry-Orange Friendship Bread
Replace milk in the basic recipe with orange juice.
Stir in 1 Tbsp. orange zest and 1 cup dried cranberries.


Lemon Amish Friendship Bread
Replace cinnamon and nuts with 1/4 cup poppy seeds.
Replace vanilla extract with lemon extract.
Replace vanilla pudding with  1 large  box of instant lemon pudding.

Mounds Bar Amish Frienship Bread
Omit cinnamon from the basic recipe.
Replace vanilla pudding with  1 large  box of instant chocolate pudding.
Add chocolate chips and sweet shredded coconut.

Strawberry Amish Friendship Bread
Omit cinnamon from the basic recipe.
Replace vanilla pudding and 1/2 cup milk with 1 small box of strawberry jello.
Add 1 cup thawed strawberries.

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Burmese Coconut Jelly Dessert - Kyauk Kyaw

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Agar Agar is a popular dessert ingredient in South East Asian countries where it is used as a substitute for gelatin. Agar agar, a seaweed extract, is a good vegan substitute for gelatin which is derived from animal products. Agar agar comes in several different forms - flakes, strands and powdered.  The powdered form of agar agar is much more potent than the flakes or strands. It takes 1 tablespoon of flakes or strands to thicken 1 cup of water, whereas 1 teaspoon of the powder is sufficient to thicken 1 cup of water.

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Khawkswe Thoke & Taster's Bowl
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This recipe is a modified version of one I made a while back. I cut down the cilantro from one bunch to half a bunch and added a couple of more ingredients to the garnishes. Look here for the original recipe.