Thai Lao Bamboo Soup

Happy Thai and Lao New Year 2550! For this occasion, I like to meet up with my family at Wat Lao Veluwanaram, a Buddhist temple that is an hour north of Toronto. We choose to "takbat" at this location because my cousin, Vilaysith Sanoubane, is the Chairman and CEO and my brother-in-law drew the architectural design that captures the spirit of Wat Lao. If you go there in the summer, it feels like you are in Laos.

I encourage everyone to visit the web site to read up on Buddhism and browse through the pictures. Better yet, go visit and meditate with the monks! Don't forget to make this traditional bamboo soup and offer it to them.

Soup Recipe: Bamboo Soup
2 cups yanang extract
2 cups bamboo
1 cup chopped mushrooms
15 to 20 quail eggs hard boiled
2 tablespoons chopped lemongrass
2 tablespoons chopped shallots
2 tablespoons sticky rice
4 chilies
2 tablespoons salted gourami fish or 3 tablespoons fish sauce

Boil bamboo for 30 minutes. Drain water and chop bamboo. Soak sticky rice in water for 30 minutes. Drain water and add sticky rice in mortar with chilies. Pound with pestle until rice is a thick paste. Remove the sticky rice thickening paste and reserve. Add lemongrass and shallots in the mortar and pound with pestle until they are crushed into small pieces. In a pot over high heat, add chopped bamboo, yanang extract, mushrooms, and crushed lemongrass and shallots. Bring to boil. Add salted gourami fish, sticky rice thickening paste, and quail eggs. Cook for 15 minutes or until rice cooks. Stir pot often to prevent rice from burning at bottom of pot.

As an option, add 1/2 of chopped squash, as seen in the squash and custard video.

Thai Lao Steam Bun

Today marks the one year anniversary of Thai & Lao Food blogging. With full time employment and part-time blogging, I am exhausted!

Here is the traditional Thai Lao Steam bun recipe filled with pork, egg, mushrooms, and sweet sausages. I make steam buns on weekends; then I freeze the buns in containers. I would thaw in the fridge overnight and warm in the microwave for 20 seconds. This makes a quick breakfast on the go and I take them to work as a delicious alternative to sandwiches.

Appetizer Recipe: Thai Lao Steam Bun
1 package of steam bun mix. Look for steam bun picture to make sure you have the right package
½ cup sugar
1 cup fresh soy milk
1 tablespoon oil
12 quail eggs or 3 chicken eggs
2 Asian sweet sausages
1 cup ground pork
2 dried shiitake mushrooms soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
2 shallots minced
1 clove garlic minced
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons oyster sauce or hoisin sauce
12 wax paper cut into 2 inches square
2 tablespoons white vinegar

There should be directions on the package of the steam bun. However here are the basic steps:

1. For the Dough - mix the package with fresh soy milk, sugar and oil. Knead dough for 5 minutes. Leave dough aside for 20 minutes. Knead again for 2 minutes and divide dough into 12 equal balls.

2. For Pork Filling - boil quail eggs for 15 minutes or chicken eggs for 20 minutes. Cut large eggs in quarters. Cut sweet sausages into 12 pieces or into very small pieces. For pork filling, add chopped garlic, shallots and mushrooms, salt, pepper, and oyster sauce.

3. Putting it together - Sprinkle flour onto hard surface and roll dough out into a large circle slightly larger than palm of hand. Add eggs, sausages and 1 tablespoon of pork filling. Gather opposite edges and meet in the middle. Pinch dough to seal out any small air holes. Place wax paper under base of steam bun. Place six buns in each stainless steel steaming layer.

4. Add water into steaming pot so it levels 2 inches. Add vinegar and bring water to boil. Add steaming layers with bun over the steaming pot. Steam bun 10 minutes. Lift lid of steamer to remove condensation. Steam another 10 minutes.

Quail Stir Fry in Thick Fish Sauce

I am coming up to my one year anniversary of posting Thai and Lao food recipes. After March 9, 2007 I am going to take a break from my hard work.

This stir fry is called "aw". The sauce is thicken with soaked sticky rice and then grounded. Dill is the preferred herb but you can use cilantro. You must have either Asian eggplants (as seen in Eggplant Chili Sauce) or long beans. You can use any chopped meat.

During my childhood tomboy stage, my brother and I would climb the cherry tree and shoot birds. My aim wasn't good but his was. Then he would cook this dish for me.

Stir Fry Recipe: Aw Quail
3 quails chopped to bite size pieces
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup chopped dill
½ cup chopped green onions
3 tablespoons sticky rice
2 cups chopped long beans or Asian eggplants (as seen in Eggplant Chili Sauce)
½ cup chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons fish sauce
½ teaspoon salt
3 kaffir lime leaves
3 pieces chopped ginger
2 pieces lemongrass
4 chilies

Soak sticky rice in cold water for 1 hour. Drain water from rice and add to mortar with chilies. Pound until smooth. In a wok over high heat crisp garlic with oil. Add quail until almost cooked. Add salt, green beans, tomatoes and stir fry for 5 minutes. Add water, lime leaf, ginger, lemongrass, and ground sticky rice. Cook 10 minutes and stir occassionally to prevent rice from sticking to the bottom. Add dill, green onions, and fish sauce. Stir fry 2 minutes. Remove lemongrass and lime leaves before serving.

Serve aw quail with sticky rice or jasmine rice and the eggplant chili dipping sauce