Shan Fish Tomato Rice (ငါးထမင္းခ်ဥ္)

Fish tomato rice is a popular Shan traditional food. The recipe is slightly different from region to region. Today I am making Inle version which includes some fish. Usually in my region Kyaing Tong,  fish will not be added.This dish may take a little time to cook but it worths cooking.

I highly recommend you to cook if you want to try a unique taste of Shan food. Traditionally we serve with roasted dry fermented soybean and chives root but it is not available here so I substitute with coriander, roasted peanut and sometimes cucumber. Serve with fermented soybean relish is also as good as dry fermented soybean.

Ingredients ( 2~3 servings)

1cup uncooked rice
2 fillets snapper fish (Substitute to Talapia or any white meat fish)
1 (200g) potato
1 big tomato
10 cloves garlic
1/2 Teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 Teaspoon salt
50ml vegetable oil
2 cm fresh ginger

Serve with:
Roasted peanut
Roasted dry chili 
Coriander
Spring onion

• Cook rice in rice cooker, add a little bit more water than regular.
• Put fish fillets to a pot, add a clove of garlic, slice of ginger, and add water just cover the fish. Bring to boil until cook well ( around 5minutes for fillet, it may take more time if using whole fish). Leave it cool, take out bone and skin. Break it to small pieces.
• Boil tomato in a boiling water for 10 minutes. Leave cool and chop it well. (Substitute with 5 Tbsp canned tomato ). 
• Heat the pan with 1 Tablespoon of oil, add turmeric, and chopped tomato. Keep stirring for 3 minutes and set aside.
• Boil potato until becoming soft and smash it well.
•  Add fish, cooked tomato, smash potato, 1 1/2 Teaspoon of salt, and 1 Tablespoon of garlic oil to cooked rice and mix well with wooden spoon. Adjust to taste.
• Shape it to any kind of your liking shape. I am making traditional shape as a flat one. Some also make it to round shape .
• Prepare it to a plate, garnish with garlic oil, roasted peanut, roasted dry chili, chopped spring onion and chopped coriander. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

To make garlic oil, 

• Peel garlic, put it in a food mixer, and chop roughly.

• Heat 50ml oil, add chopped garlic, continued string until become golden brown. (Be careful watch, it's very easy to get burned)

To roast dry chili,

• Heat 1Tablespoon of oil, add dry chili until becoming fragrant, remove immediately.  

 

Tomato rice in a round shape, this one excludes fish and add some crispy fried onion on top.