Myanmar

 Welcome to Myanmar!  When doing the research for this country, I couldn't figure out why all the recipes were "Burmise..." recipes.  Turns out that Myanmar was formerly Burma!  From reading briefly about the country, it sounds like a very unstable country in Asia.  Several military coups and uprisings, civil wars, and just overall unrest.  However, the pictures show such a beautiful country.  The population is 54.05 million people and the capital is Nay Pyi Taw.  And their national dish is...

 

Mohinga!

It is a fish soup.  When reading through the directions and the recipe, it did not sound super appetizing.  And I did have to make a few adjustments based on what was available.  I was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out!  I didn't eat any of the leftovers - Handsome Husband did though.  I have this thing about reheated fish - it's just not my thing.  Anyways, here's what I did:

MOHINGA

Broth:

3 quarts water

3 stalks lemongrass, cut into 3-inch pieces

2 oz ginger (unpeeled), thickly sliced

5 bay leaves

2 tsp pepper

2 tsp salt

2 lbs rock fish

Soup:

1/2 C rice

1/3 C avocado oil

1 stalk lemongrass, minced

1/4 c minced garlic

3 tablespoons minced ginger

1 tbsp paprika

1 tsp tumeric

2 red onions, diced 

1/4 C fish sauce

Salt, to taste

10 oz thin rice noodles

Serving:

2 hard boiled eggs, sliced

1/2 C cilantro, chopped

2 limes, cut into wedges

Thinly sliced red onions

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spread the rice across a rimmed baking pan and bake until it is golden, about 20 minutes.
2. Cool rice to room temperature, and then use a spice grinder and grind the rice into a powder.  Set aside.
3. To make the broth, use a large pot and add all the broth ingredients except for the fish.  Bring to a boil, and then lower the heat to simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. Add the fish into the pot and cook until the fish is cooked through. 
5. Remove the fish using a slotted spoon and put it into a bowl.  Let the broth continue to simmer for another 15 minutes.
6.  Strain the broth, and discard the chunks.  Rinse the pot, and return the broth to the pot.
7. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered rice and a ladle of broth until no clumps remain.  Stir this mixture into the broth.
8. Bring the broth to a simmer, stirring often, until the broth starts to barely thicken.
9. Turn the broth to low, and continue to cook while preparing the soup.
10. To make the soup, heat oil in a wok over high heat.
11. Add lemongrass, garlic, and ginger and stir fry for 1 minute.
12. Add the cooked fish, paprika, and turmeric.  Mash the fish against the wok to make a paste and cook for an additional minute.
13. Pour the contents of the wok into the broth and bring to a simmer.
14. Add the onions and fish sauce.  Simmer for another 5 minutes.  (At this point, the broth should be salty - you want salty because the noodles you add later have no salt.  Add salt or fish sauce if it needs to be more salty.)
    
15. To make the noodles, bring some water to a boil and add noodles, stirring often.  It should only take about 6 minutes to cook.  
16. Turn off the heat, and let the noodles sit in the water for 3 minutes.  Drain.
17. Divide the noodles into bowls, and ladle the soup over the noodles.
18. Top with hard boiled eggs, cilantro, and lime.

(Source: Mohinga)

The verdict?  As I said before, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  It was actually a very comforting soup with lots of flavors.  I did make several changes, so I would encourage you to look at the original recipe if you make it, and try to do it as closely as you can.  I'd be curious to see how different it is.

 

 

ME

Taste of Mohinga (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 5

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Mohinga (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6