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.

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef, lamb or chicken

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 (10 oz.) pkg. pickled bamboo shoots with pickling juices

1/2 cup hot chicken broth

salt to taste

2 Tbsp. red curry paste

Red Curry Paste

Pound to a paste in a mortar and pestle

1 Tbsp. fish sauce

1 tsp. shrimp paste or ngapi

1 large onion, sliced

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

1 knob ginger, minced

2-3 red hot chilies, minced

1/2 tsp. turmeric powder

1 tsp. Kashmiri mirch or paprika powder

1 bundle cilantro stems, minced

6-8 Kaffir lime leaves, shredded

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

salt to taste

Directions

1. Stir-fry ground meat in hot oil with red curry paste until browned and crumbly.
2. Add remaining ingredients, stir, cover and simmer over medium heat until meat is cooked and bamboo shoots are tender.
3. Adjust seasoning and simmer for 2 more minutes.
4. Remove from heat and transfer to a serving dish.

Tastes wonderful served over a mound of hot, steaming long-grain rice.