the workshop

Strictly speaking, the rice with banana and coconut milk was to die for at the saturday workshop.

Everyone enjoyed and loved the savoury Mok Het which is mushroom, bamboo shoots, pumpkin, lemon grass and a few spices wrapped in banana leaf. (Mok, in Lao traditionally means wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in an open fire or steamed. Het, means mushroom)
We all had fun learning to wrap food in a banana leaf, but the group decided it’s tooo time consuming and tooo complicated and would rather take the easy way out, no wrapping :(.   The alternative is to pour the mixture into an oven dish and bake or steam like that.

Next 3 workshops dates:

Aug 17th… The transition cookery
Sept 21st…..Spring into rainbows
Oct 19th…… Sustainability food
These will be our last 3 workshop for 2013….
So! please make sure you are not missing out!

Mok Het vegetarian (Lings Favourite)

Ling’s Dad prohibited this dish in the house. Kids being kids went to the Lao neighbours to enjoy. Dad got mad when he found out… It wasn’t vegetarian in those days, so today Ling has adapted a Mother Earth friendly version. The traditional version would be Mok Pa, ie with Pa, fish.

Ingredients

• Sticky rice powder (from woolies) – 1/3 cup
• pumpkin – ¼ small
• Veg Laksa/Curry paste – 3 tablespoons
• Swiss Brown Mushroom – ½ kg
• Bamboo shoots – 2 x 540 g cans
• Dill – 1 bunch (or rice paddy herb from your garden)
• Kaffir Lime – 1 cup of leaves
• Lemon grass – 5 stalks
• chilli – x 3
• coconut milk – 1 375ml can
• soy sauce – 5 tablespoons
• onion – 1 large
• banana leaves. Optional for wrapping, otherwise just use oven baking dish.

Method:

• peel and finely slice the onion, place in a large bowl
• slice mushroom add to same bowl
• peel the pumpkin, slice into same size as the mushroom, add to the bowl.
• drain the bamboo into a sieve, wash the bamboo in hot water. Choose the young bamboo shoots, discard the old ones.
• Slice the bamboo shoots thinly
• put shoots into the bowl
• take the lemon grass and remove the old tough stalks.
• Slice the younger stalks very finely
• add to the bowl
• add the kaffir lime leaves and the sliced chilli
• finely chop the dill or rice paddy leaves, add to the bowl
• add the soy sauce, coconut, sticky rice powder and curry paste
• mix well
• Blanche the banana leaf in hot water to soften. This makes the leaf pliable for the wrapping.
• ladle one spoon of the mix onto the banana leaf (A4 sized) while held in your hand, fold in the sides and then the ends of the leaf so that you can then form a parcel wrap. Secure the top of the wrap with a toothpick or similar device (maybe string).
• Now, place the wrap parcels into the steamer. Steam for 30 minutes.
• Serve as is, or with sticky rice.

Banana and sticky rice wraps

Ingredients

• Sugar Bananas – 16 bananas
• Sticky rice – 5 cups
• salt – 1 tea spoon
• coconut milk – 1 can
• sugar – 1 cup
• split mung beans – 2 cups
• banana leaf
• Water – ½ cup

Method:

• wash the rice. Soak overnight, or for at least six hours
• wash the mung bean. Soak for at least six hours
• In a large pot, add the coconut milk, sugar and salt.
• Add half a cup of water to wash out the coconut can to wash out the left overs. Rinse into the pot.
• Bring this to boil, simmer for 10 minutes
• Drain the rice and mung beans, and pour into the mixture.
• Bring to the boil and simmer and stir for 20 minutes.
• Take off the heat
• take the bananas and peel and slice into four. Cut in half longways and slice into two again
• Blanche the banana leaf in hot water to soften. This makes the leaf pliable for the wrapping.
• Wrapping method:
• take an A4 sized leaf
• hold in your palm, place a spoonful of rice mixture into your palm. Flatten the mixture out. Place one piece of banana into the middle.
• Bring the two sides together
• fold over the top seam twice
• then squeeze the end and fold backwards underneath the parcel. Same for the other end.
• Place the parcel into the steamer (or the open fire if near by).
• Steam for 50 minutes (yes 50).

Photos