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My goal this year is to learn Lao cuisine, it is sad that I never had the interest when my mom was still alive and now the opportunity to learn from her is lost forever. Bo’s mom, mae Kathy is a great cook and I thought it would be a good opportunity to learn from her. I bought some of the ingredients over to her house on Saturday to made Nam Khao or Laotian Crispy Rice Salad, something that I have been wanting to learn for a while now. I made a video and decided to mute the sound since it was noisy and she had a full house on Saturday.
She had some young coconut that she bought from the flea market that morning, and Bo helped shredded the young coconut meat.
I knew I didn’t have to bring eggs, mae Kathy has plenty from her chicken coop. The hens lay fewer eggs during the winter months due to shorter daylight and she collects about 20 eggs per day. The quantity more than double in the summer months.
Ingredients to make the rice balls,
Steamed jasmine rice
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1 cup grated coconut
2 cups ground pork
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
4 sliced shallots
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 stalks chopped leafy onion
Vegetable oil for deep fry
Ingredients added to cooked rice balls,
4 chopped som moo or pickled pork
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
3 tablespoons crush peanuts
dried chili peppers (optional)
chopped cilantro and leafy onion for garnish
Mae Kathy steamed the jasmine rice after I got there. They normally eat sticky rice at home so steamed jasmine rice is not something that she would prepare all the time. She then added the ingredients to make the rice balls. In the below image she added 1 cup grated coconut, 2 cups ground pork, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 stalks chopped leafy onion.
Then add 2 tablespoons red curry paste. It is not that spicy and it’s more for the coloring.
Then mixed well.
After everything is mixed, then add sliced shallots.
I rolled the jasmine rice into rice balls about the size of a tennis ball. Mae Kathy told me to make sure it is tight and make it slightly flat so that we wouldn’t use as much oil when deep fry. As you can see I had 2 jobs, I was the camera person shooting images and video clips, and also a helper.
I deep fried the rice balls, and only could fit 5 rice balls in at a time.
The rice balls actually tasted good as is, and the kids seemed to love them.
Mae Kathy used 4 som moo or pickled pork that I purchased from the Asian Market. She cooked it in the microwave for 1 minute since she doesn’t like it raw.
She mixed it with the cooked rice, then add 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice and 3 tablespoons crush peanuts.
She added chopped cilantro and leafy onion for garnish and it is ready to be served with vegetables.
We had a nice visit and I’m looking forward to learning the next Lao dish from her again.
The sun always shines right? I guess it depends on where you are, and as for me it is nice to see the sunshine again after the rain.
Lee has been wanting to learn knitting and other crafty stuffs but I was never good at it. Then one day last week she has to do a knitting project for her class. The teacher asked the students to learn how to knit from family member or friends of a family. We really don’t have anyone close by that know how to knit, so I break down and learned the basic step myself. I was very clumsy at first, a little frustrated at times but it is going better for me now. Lee is still trying to learn the step and she is a bit frustrated, it just wouldn’t do what she wanted it to do.
I think it looks promising, this might turn into a scarf or something. I have to say that knitting is very relaxing and this might turn into a hobby that both Lee and I will enjoy doing together.
I have not posted Lee’s fish in a while. Bo moved some of them to the big tank and the orange one has grown a lot since then.
The Jack Dempsey Fry are getting bigger also, Bo moved some of the big ones to the big tank. He sold a few dozens to the local fish store, and still has an aquarium fulled of Fry and not to mention the newly hatched Jack Dempsey Fry also. I think once the weather gets warmer he will be able to transport them easier.
Today we visited Bo’s mom and she made Moke Gai for us.
It was really good since she has fresh killed chicken from her backyard. Her ingredients are slightly different from mine and it tastes like authentic Lao food from back home. I had the opportunity to lean how to make Nam Kao or Laotian Crispy Rice Salad and will post that next.
It had been a strange morning, and made me think back now that it was a good prediction of the day. This was what I saw when I walked Lee to the bus stop, and by the time I left for work the Eastern sky was completely dark grey. The rain clouds had spread evenly across the sky and it started to drizzle. I looked back in my rear view mirror and saw fluffy clouds and orange hue of sunrise. It was kind of strange since the sun always rise in the East and not the Northwestern sky.
As for my day I think it is all in the attitude, my perception of things and understanding of the situation, so I think it went well. Life, work and living is not like a picnic in the park anymore, this morning sky portrayed of what is to come and to remind myself to expect the unexpected.
exif data: Canon T2i, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, f/13 at 2.5 sec, ISO 100, 40mm, tripod mounted
Lee has interest in making her own bracelets and came up with her own cool style.
My sister Bee showed her how to make one, and Lee picked up real fast.
The first bracelet that she made was for my older sister. Lee made the one that said ‘piggy’ and my niece made the ‘love’ bracelet, they both sold it for $5 each.
Lee thought the black and white would look nice with her Ying-Yang Medallion.
Here is Lee’s Ying-Yang bracelet.
This one is Lee’s Ocean Crabby bracelet
Her Chinese New Year bracelet.
So far she has a nice collection. I was really surprised how nice her bracelets look, and she came up with the color scheme all by herself.
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