Chef TV

Myanmar or Burma is the largest country in mainland Southeast Asia.

Myanmar’s coastline is along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. But it is bound by the following countries: Bangladesh and Assam, India, China, Laos and Thailand. So it shouldn’t be surprising that not only is its cuisine influenced by the many countries that surround it.

Burmese Coconut Noodles of Wynn Wynn Ong

“ I base my cooking on feel and taste so I don’t have a strict recipe or measurement to follow.  The ingredients and measurements are purely guides.” 

Serves 6 

Coconut Soup: 
Chicken broth (about 6-8 cups)
6 whole peeled shallots (sibuyas tagalog)
2 large cloves crushed garlic
3 cans of good quality thick coconut cream
1 large can of garbanzo (drained, peeled, and pureed)
Thai fish sauce*
Optional: 1 pack high grade squid balls, deep fried whole
1 dozen quail eggs, hardboiled and peeled Spiced Chicken Topping: 
1 kilo filleted chicken thighs, sliced to nail-sized pieces
A few pinches of tumeric powder
Spanish paprika (for color)
Chili powder (for intensity of flavor)
Thai fish sauce or high grade native patis
1/2  whole garlic, pounded well
Good oil (Corn or coconut) 
  Chili oil: 
1 small can tomato paste
1 Tbsp chili powder
A dash of tumeric1/2 cup waterOil Condiments: 
8 hard boiled eggs, sliced (lengthwise or round is a matter of preference)
1 whole large white onion, sliced thinly
200 grams fresh coriander, chopped
200 grams chives, chopped
1/2 cup fish sauce
Chili flakes (not chili powder)
10 siling labuyo, chopped
1/2 kilo fish cake, deep fried, then sliced
200 grams of dry palabok noodles, deep fried until crisp and golden, drained
Wedges of 3 whole  fresh lemon
Wedges of 3 whole fresh lime or native dayap 
Noodles 1 kilo fresh egg noodles, blanched in boiling water to clean and remove excess salt
500 gram pack of spaghetti, boiled with a little salt and oil, and drained 

1. Boil chicken broth.
2. Put in the shallots, and crushed garlic.
3. Pour in the coconut cream. Let boil. Meanwhile, do the chicken topping.
4. To the sliced filleted chicken thighs, add some turmeric powder, Spanish paprika and chili powder. Add the fish sauce.
5. In a preheated pan with oil, sauté the chicken mix with garlic until cooked. Set aside.
6. To the boiling soup, add the coconut cream. Simmer
7. Prepare the chili oil by mixing chili powder, turmeric and tomato paste.
8. Heat oil in a pan, add the chili mix and the water. Pour into the coconut soup.
9. Add the quail eggs and squid balls to the coconut soup
10. Make another batch of chili oil.
11. Pour into the simmering coconut soup.
12. Add the pureed garbanzos. Boil soup again before removing from the stove.

Assembly:

1. Place noodles into a bowl.
2. Top with the spiced chicken.
3. Add the condiments according to taste.
4. Ladle in the coconut soup as well as the quail eggs and squid balls.
5. Serve with the condiments.

Laos is a landlocked Southeast Asian nation. It is surrounded by Thailand, Vietnam Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia and the People’s Republic of China.It is the Mekong River that provides the fish in Lao cooking. The river also has facilitated communication with Thailand that has led to the similarities between Laos and northeast Thai society. Below is the recipe that Beth Romualdez prepared for this episode.

GRILLED FISH STUFFED WITH BASIL AND LEMON GRASS

 1 kl. Whole fish –  golden tilapia is best
4 stalks lemon grass, 1 pc. whole and 3 pcs. finely chopped
1 handful basil
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp. oil
Salt

1. In a wide, shallow bowl, put the chopped lemon grass, all of the oil, salt and lime juice. Mix together.
2. Meanwhile, gut and wash the fish and make 3 diagonal slits in the flesh on each side with a sharp knife. Pat dry with a paper towel.
3. Take a few basil leaves, scrunch them with your fingers then rub them all over the skin of the fish, throwing what’s left into the bowl. Put the fish in the bowl; make sure it gets a good covering of the oily mixture. Leave for an hour or more.
4. When ready, stuff the gut cavity with the basil and the remaining lemongrass. Either place on foil and bake or grill over charcoal, 10 minutes on each side.

TABLE SALAD

Plate 1 – Lettuce leaves, fresh cabbage leaves, dill leaves, mint leaves, whole green onions,

Plate 2 – Boiled rice noodles or pancit bihon

Plate 3 – Pork rind, bean sprouts, cucumber slices, string beans slices, peanuts, galangal and lemongrass slices

Sauce Dip – Put in blender or food processor the following: slices of fresh pineapple, ginger, chili, sugar, Thai shrimp paste and garlic. The flavors should balance; the sweet, sour, spicy and salty should hit your palate at the same time.

Cooking alternative: salt-crusted and baked.

This is Chris Tan’s recipe of a Singapore/ Indonesian/ Malaysian cassava cake.

1 baking pan, square or round, 22 cm in diameter
Butter for greasing and for topping
3 eggs ¾ cup/ 180 gm sugar
6 tbsp/ 75 gm butter
1 cup coconut cream
3 to 4 cups/ 600 gm grated cassava
1 ½ to 2 cups/ 150 gm grated coconut
½ cup/ 50 gm flour (optional)
½ tsp baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
2. Grease the baking pan.
3. Beat the eggs with the sugar until frothy.
4. Beat in the melted butter and the coconut cream.
5. Stir in the grated cassava and the grated coconut.
6. Sift the flour and (optional) the baking powder and fold into the cassava mix.
7. Pour mix into a buttered baking tin and bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 180 degrees and bake for 45 to 55 minutes more, until browned. It should still be very moist inside. Brush the top with more melted butter a few times during baking to help it brown.