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Snow Fungus Salad
Snow Fungus Salad
Snow fungus are a type of white fungus that grows on trees in the winter. They come dried in packs that can be found in every Asian market. The snow fungus can be turned into the ultimate salad of flavors and textures. In addition to the fungus, the salad contains shallots, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, Chinese celery, mint, and cilantro. The salad also has 3 types of protein: Vietnamese ham roll, fermented sour pork sausage, and shrimp. While nothing is very difficult in making this salad, it has a large amount of prep work.
Ingredients
Snow Fungus Salad
- 4 dried white fungus soaked in water for 30 minutes; boiled for 5 minutes
- 1/2 English cucumber sliced
- 1 small carrot grated
- 2 shallots thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup mint
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1/2 Vietnamese ham roll julienned
- 1 fermented sour pork sausage sliced
- 1 cup small cooked shrimp
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup Chinese celery chopped
Dressing
- 1 cup water
- 2 oz palm sugar crushed
- 1/3 cup fish sauce
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 head pickled garlic sliced
- 2 tbsp pickled garlic juice
- 1 1/2 tbsp sambal
- 1/4 cup tamarind concentrate
- 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
- 1 tsp mushroom seasoning
- 2 tsp chili flakes
Instructions
- Place the crushed palm sugar in a small pot with a cup of water. Dissolve the sugar over medium heat, then turn off the heat.
- Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Set aside.
- Prep the rest of the ingredients.
- Mix all of the salad ingredients together. Pour over the dressing and toss.
Hmong Sausage with Purple Sticky Rice
Hmong Sausage with Purple Sticky Rice
This sausage and purple sticky rice is unbelievably good and really easy to make. All of the sausage ingredients get mixed together and formed onto skewers, much like making kofta or koobideh kabobs. You can either broil or grill the sausage skewers for 6-7 minutes a side. The sausage skewers and sticky rice get served with tiger sauce, which contains cilantro, garlic, Thai chilies, lime juice, oyster and fish sauce. It’s actually really spicy, but goes very well with the sausage. This is a great appetizer for parties and is equally great as your main course.
Equipment
- food processor
- metal skewers
- sticky rice steamer basket
- cheese cloth
Ingredients
Hmong Sausage
- 1 1/2 lbs ground pork
- 2 tbsp ginger
- 2 tbsp lemongrass
- 2 tbsp garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 Thai chilies
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Purple Sticky Rice
- 1 1/2 cups sticky rice
- 1/2 cup black sticky rice
Tiger Sauce
- 1 bunch cilantro chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 3 Thai chilies minced
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
Instructions
Tiger Sauce
- Add all of the ingredients to a food processor.
- Process until all of the ingredients are incorporated with each other.
- Refrigerate until ready for use.
Purple Sticky Rice
- Soak the white and black sticky rices in water for at least 8 hours.
- Bring 2” of water to a boil in the bottom of a sticky rice steamer. Line a sticky rice bamboo basket with cheese cloth. Pour in the rice. Fold over the cheesecloth to cover. Place a cover on the steamer basket. Steam for 45 minutes.
Hmong Sausage
- Add the ginger, garlic, lemongrass, and chilies to a food processor.
- Process until evenly chopped.
- Mix in all of the ingredients to the ground pork.
- Depending on the size you’re looking for, form the sausage into 6-8 equal sized meatballs.
- Form each of the meatballs into the shape of a sausage on metal skewers.
- Turn on the oven’s broiler. Place the skewers on a wire rack on a baking sheet lined in foil.
- Broil the sausage for 6-7 minutes a side. Alternatively, you can grill the sausage for the same amount of time.
Batata Bel Kamoun
Batata Bel Kamoun
Batata bel kamoun is a Tunisian meat and potato stew cooked in a tagine. Large chunks of chuck roast are browned and simmered with garlic, cumin, harissa, and potatoes until the meat is fall apart tender. This dish can be cooked in a pot on the stove top if you don’t own a tagine. Serve the meat and potato stew with crusty Italian bread to sop up the sauce.
Equipment
- tagine
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 lbs chuck roast cut into cubes
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 lbs potatoes peeled and cubed
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp harissa
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat up the olive oil in the tagine over medium heat. Brown the beef on all sides for 10 minutes.
- Add in the garlic. Pour in a 1/2 cup of water.
- Place the cover on the tagine and simmer over medium low heat for 45 minutes.
- Stir in the cumin, harissa, salt and pepper. Add in the potatoes, making sure they’re covered in the sauce.
- Place the cover back on and simmer for another 30 minutes.
