This week, I got a big box of spices from my friend, Karina, from Singapore.  She sent me a kilogram of dried “bunga telang” – blue pea flower, a type of tropical morning glory. It’s an edible flower and we use its brilliant indigo blue pigment as a natural food dye.  See the pictures below for a view of the brilliant blue color!   You can’t imagine how excited I was.  Even when I lived in Malaysia, bunga telang is hard to come by.  If we see it on vines by the roadside, we would stop the car to pick some.

So what do you do with these blue flowers?  Nasi Ulam or in the East Coast of Malaysia, sometimes refered to as Nasi Kerabu.  “Ulam” means a medley of herbs.  The rice salad is tossed with, yes, a medley of Asian herbs, dried coconut and dried fish flakes.  If you want to keep it vegetarian or serving the rice to less adventurous palates, just skip the dried seafood part.  It tastes just as yummy.

Chef’s tip: Toasting coconut is just as easy on the stove top as in the oven.  Coconut burns really fast, so remove it from the heat source a tinge below your desired color, and it will continue cooking on its own.

3 Tablespoons dried bunga telang, soaked in 1½ cup water
1 cup Jasmine rice
1 cup Jasmine rice + 1½ cup water

2 oz salt cod, soaked 10 minutes, drained, optional
¼ cup dried shrimp, soaked, drained, optional

1 cup shredded, unsweetened desiccated coconut

Herb mix
½ cup mint leaves, chiffonade
½ cup Thai basil leaves, chiffonade
½ cup Rau Ram leaves, chiffonade
½ cup cilantro leaves, chiffonade
¼ cup perilla/shiso leaves. chiffonade
½ cup Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
¼ cup sorrel leaves, finely chiffonade
2 tablespoon kaffir lime leaves, chiffonade
½ cup shallots from 2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 inch fresh tumeric, thin juliennes
1 inch galangal, thin juliennes
1 lemon grass, white only, finely sliced
1 ginger flower, finely sliced
Note: You can use any fragrant herb, if you cannot find all the herbs listed, or try new ones

½ cup roasted peanuts, chopped
1 Tablespoon roasted belachan, optional

Preparing the 2 types of rice:
1. Rinse 1 cup of  rice until the water runs clear.  Then soak rice in 1½ cup water with the blue flowers (in a tea ball or wrapped with cheesecloth) for at least 1 hour.  Remove flowers just before cooking.
2. In a small pot, bring the soaked rice and blue soaking liquid to boil. When it comes to a boil, cover the pot, turn to low simmer, and simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and let it sit, still covered for 10 minutes.
3. Rinse the other 1 cup of rice till the water runs clear.  In another small pot, bring the white rice and 1½ cups of water to boil. When it comes to a boil, cover the pot, turn to low simmer, and simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and let it sit, still covered for 10 minutes.
4. Fluff the rice and toss together into a large bowl to cool.
Preparing the coconut and seafood, if using:
5. Toast the coconut till golden brown. Add to the big bowl of rice.
6. Soak and drain salt cod and dried shrimp.  Place salt cod in food processor and grind coarsely.  Set aside.  Repeat with dried shrimp.
7. Heat a sauté pan with 1 tablespoon of canola oil and fry the salt cod till fragrant.  Add to the rice.
8. Toast the dried shrimp till fragrant.  Add to the rice.
Preparing the herbs
9. Finely chiffonade all herbs.
Assembly:
10. Toss all ingredients – salt cod, dried shrimp, coconut, herbs – together with the cooled rice.
11. Sprinkle with chopped roasted peanuts and roasted belachan.  Serve at room temperature.

Serves: 8

Tags: Herbs, Malaysian, rice salad, salty, vegan, Vegetarian.

Tossing in as many Vietnamese herbs I can find from the only organic Asian vegetables vendor at the farmers markets in San Francisco Bay Area – Phan Organics Farm of Elk Grove (Civic Center Farmers, SF – Wed and Sun, Berkeley- Tue, Alemany – Sat), this super light noodle salad gives lots of exploding flavors.  It’s a great introduction to the world of Vietnamese herbs.

Chef’s tips: To chiffonade herbs, stack several leaves and roll them tightly.  With a sharp knife, slice the roll finely.  Fluff the sliced herbs to separate them.

Ingredients

Meat:
1 lb ground lean chicken or pork or turkey
2 stalk lemon grass, white part only, very finely sliced
2 Tablespoons fish sauce
Juice from 1 lime
1 Tablespoon rice flour, roasted

6 oz dried  rice vermicelli

Herb:
5 Thai chilies, deseeded and chopped finely
1 cup cilantro, chiffonade
½ cup green onions, sliced thinly
½ cup rau ram, chiffonade
½ cup shiso perilla leaves, chiffonade
½ cup mint leaves, chiffonade
5 kaffir lime leaves, chiffonade
Lime zest from 2 limes

Dressing:
Juice from 1 limes
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup fish sauce
½ teaspoon brown sugar
Cilantro or mint sprigs for garnish

Preparing the meat:
1.    Heat a non stick pan under high heat, add the ground meat, chopped lemongrass, 2 Tablespoons each of fish sauce and lime juice.  Cook 10 minutes until the meat is cooked through, while stirring constantly.  Transfer the meat to a large bowl.  Drain off excess liquids.  Cool.
2.    Dry-fry the rice flour (without any oil) under medium heat till golden brown. Add to the meat mixture.
Preparing the rice noodles:
3.    Bring a pot of salted water to boil.  Add rice noodles.  Bring back to a boil, cover, remove from heat and let noodles sit for 15 minutes in hot water.  Drain.
Preparing the herb and dressing:
4.    Slice and chiffonade the herbs.  Toss all herb ingredients together. Set aside.
5.    Mix dressing ingredients together.
Assembly:
6.    Toss the meat, noodles, herb and dressing together to combine.  Let sit for 10 minutes for the flavors to come together.
7.  Garnish with mint sprigs and cilantro.

Serves: 6

Tags: kaffir, Rau Ram, salad, Vietnamese.

This vegetarian red curry sauce can be used with other vegetables such as eggplant, okras, zucchini, etc.  Again, I am using the store bought Thai curry paste, but supplementing it with additional spices and herbs.  I love the curry sauce with butternut squash, the sweetness of the squash complements the heat form the curry.

Chef’s tip: Do not let the coconut milk come to a vigorous boil or the milk will separate.  Always simmer on low heat, and stir occasionally.

Ingredients

1 small butternut squash, about 1 1/2 lbs, cut into 1-inch cubes

3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, grated
1 Tablespoon galangar, grated
1 Tablespoon Thai red curry paste
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, roasted then ground
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, roasted, then ground
1 teaspoon black pepper corns, coarsely ground

3 cups coconut milk
5 pieces of kaffir lime leaves. chiffonade finely
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon palm / brown sugar
1-2 teaspoons kosher salt, to taste

Some kaffir lime leaves, chiffonade finely for garnishing

1.  Steam butternut squash for about 15 minutes or until tender.
2.  In a medium saucepot, heat 2 Tablespoons of oil, then add garlic, ginger and galangal.  Fry till fragrant,  about 3 minutes.  Add red curry paste, tomato paste, coriander, cumin and black peppercorns, and saute another minute.
3. Add coconut milk and simmer for a 10 minutes
4. Finely shred kaffir lime leaves, reserves a generous pinch for garnishing
5. Add shredded kaffir lime leaves, soy sauce, sugar, and salt.  Simmer uncovered until gravy has thicken.
6. Add in the cooked butternut squash and toss to  Simmer 3 minutes.
7. Remove from heat.
8.  Garnish with kaffir lime leaves.

Serves: 4

Tags: curry, Thai, vegan, Vegetarian.