Burmese Minced Meat with Pickled Bamboo Shoots

Burmese Minced Meat with
Pickled Bamboo Shoots

Bamboo shoots taste lovely when they are cooked with shrimp, as in Burmese Bamboo Shoots with Tomatoes and Shrimp and Burmese Bamboo Shoots with Green Onions and Shrimp. For those of us who are allergic to shrimp, cooking bamboo shoots with minced meat tastes just as good.

Bamboo shoots are found in Asian grocery markets either soaking in water or sliced and pickled in packages. I prefer the latter because they are always tender and the pickling juices help to season the meat perfectly.

Anise Flavoured Almond Biscotti

3 batches of Almond Biscotti

Coffee and biscotti go together like bagels and cream cheese. I've been buying Nonni's Biscotti for decades. They come in a package of 8 biscotti at .50 cents for each biscotti. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Nonni's Biscotti along with so many other food items were scarce, so I had to resort to baking them myself because after all this time, they've become a habit and an addiction.

I bought a biscotti pan which included a basic biscotti recipe. Since the recipe is printed on a slip of paper and because there is no URL to link to, the recipe has been re-written below in my own words. I've also taken the liberty to add anise seeds and almond extract to the list of ingredients.

Pui Shaak'er Ghonto - Malabar Spinach and Vegetable Stew

Pui Shaak'er Ghonto

I love the bright colours of the vegetables and spinach in this dish. It looks and is healthy and delicious! 

Dinner generally consists of a vegetable dish, followed by lentils and a main course of fish, meat or eggs. This vegetable stew would, therefore, be served as the first course or a side dish with rice or chapatis.

Simplified Sorshe Bata Koi and Alaskan Rockfish - Fish in Mustard Sauce

Sorshe Bata Koi

Alaskan Rock Fish in Mustard Sauce

Both kinds of fish, bone-in and filleted, were prepared in mustard sauce or sorshe bata, the former for my enjoyment and the latter for Hubby who does not like to mess with the bones. The recipe was simplified by combining all the ingredients, except for the mustard sauce, in a bowl and left on the counter top to marinate for 1/2 hour. A cold skillet is placed over medium-high heat, the marinated fish poured into it and brought to a boil. The heat is lowered to medium-low, the fish covered and simmered for 10 minutes before the mustard sauce is added. Everything is stirred together and simmered for 10 minutes more and garnished with green chilies.

Best served with steamed long-grain rice, this is a delightful part of any Bengali meal. The koi maach/climbing perch is not for the inexperienced consumer of fish because great care and skill is required to successfully remove every sharp bone in the fish.

Burmese Stir-Fried Rice Noodles with Minced Meat

Burmese Stir-Fried Rice Noodles
 with Minced Meat

A Burmese video posted on Facebook provided the inspiration for this recipe. It was super simple to follow and needed just a few often-used ingredients that I regularly stock in my pantry. 

To make things easy on myself, I purchase substantial quantities of ground chicken, brown the lot in some oil, crumble and freeze it for future use. It's quick and easy to assemble the ingredients, when needed, if the minced meat is already cooked.

Ideal for lunch or if unexpected guests drop by, this is one dish that I'll be making often.

Stir-Fried Glass Noodles
 with Minced Meat

Chet Oo Chin Hin - Burmese Egg Curry

Chet Oo Chin Hin

Chet = Chicken 

Oo = Egg

Chin = Sour

Hin = Curry or Gravy

I love the convenience of combining all the ingredients for this egg curry in one skillet and simmering over medium-low heat until oil rises to the surface.