Burmese Shrimp Curry: Bazun Hin

This Burmese dish is also known as "Pazoon Hin," and there are variations in recipes. It is not an especially spicy hot dish, although it does have a little bit of a kick, but if you like your dishes fiery, you can easily adjust the amount of fresh chilies and/or the amount of ground red pepper or the type of ground red pepper. I used Kashmiri chili powder (ground red chili peppers), which is much milder than standard Indian chili powder, which is hot, much like cayenne pepper. 

 

Burma is also known as Myanmar (1989), and the official language is Burmese, one of the Sino-Tibetan languages, which includes Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese, Tibetan and between 300 and 400 other languages and dialects. The nation has a population in excess of 55 million. The country became a colony of Britain in the 1880s, and during World War II Burma faced much destruction as the Japanese invaded Burma in 1942, with fighting continuing there until mid 1945. "Likely" the best known city in Burma/Myanmar is Rangoon, which is now known as Yangon, and it was the former capital until late 2005, but the current capital is Naypyidaw (seemingly pronounced as if "nay-pyee-dah"). By the way, a well known dish, usually an appetizer served in Chinese restaurants in the U.S. and perhaps elsewhere, is "Crab Rangoon," but it is not from the city in Burma, although the dish name is likely a big reason why so many Americans know the name Rangoon. (Note: By the way, Crab Rangoon is thought to have developed in San Francisco in the United States in the mid 1950s.)

Ingredients 4 servings):

1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined

3 tablespoons vegetable oil + 1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 teaspoons grated ginger

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 small chili pepper, chopped

3 tomatoes, chopped (tennis ball size)

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground red pepper (like cayenne)

1 good pinch ground cloves

6 or 7 fennel seeds, ground (you can use a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle, as I do)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 can coconut milk

1 or 2 tablespoons chopped coriander (for garnish)

(optional for fans of chilies) 1 to 3 teaspoons chopped chilies for garnish

 

In a skillet (or wok), add the vegetable oil/sesame oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 2 minutes, stirring the onion around as it cooks. Add the garlic, ginger and chili pepper; saute one minute, while stirring. Now add the chopped tomatoes, ground turmeric, ground red pepper, ground fennel and salt; stir to mix in, saute 1 to 2 minutes, then stir in the fish sauce and mix it in well to distribute all of the flavors. Add the shrimp and saute with the other ingredients for 2 minutes, then add the coconut milk, stir well, and let the sauce come up to temperature and let the dish simmer until the shrimp are completely cooked, then remove the skillet from the heat. Garnish with some chopped cilantro (also known as fresh coriander) and, optionally, some chopped chilies. Serve with rice.

 

WORD HISTORY:

Nest-This word goes back to Indo European "nizdo," which "seems" to be a combination formation of "ni," which meant "down, below" ("ni" being the ancient ancestor of English "nether") and "sed," which meant "to sit" (indeed the ancient ancestor of English "sit"). This gave its Old Germanic offspring "nistaz," a noun which meant "(a) nest." The verb form is from Old Germanic "nistijanan," which meant "to nest, to make a nest." The Germanic form gave Old English the noun "nest," a form which has lasted to this day, and which meant "nest, brood of young birds." The Old English verb form "nistan," meant "to build a nest/nests." Other Germanic noun forms survived only in the West Germanic branch of Germanic (English is West Germanic), but see the Swedish entry: German, Low German and Dutch all have "nest," and Frisian once had a form, now no longer used. Swedish (from the North Germanic branch) has "näste," but it was borrowed from Low German.

Kerala Prawn (Shrimp) Curry: Chemmeen Kari

Kerala is a state along the seacoast in southwestern India, and seafood dishes are common there. Most recipes use coconut milk in this dish, which of course lightens the color, but I've seen a couple of recipes that omit the coconut milk, and the nice red color of the dish draws me to it. I know the list of ingredients looks intimidating, but it really shouldn't scare you at all, and if you cook Indian food at home often, and you already have a lot of spices, you should be pretty well set to make this dish, with the possible exceptions of curry leaves, which are common in southern Indian cooking, and black mustard seeds. Curry leaves can be found in Indian and Pakistani grocery stores and perhaps in "some" spice shops. They are often frozen, but I've actually found fresh curry leaves here in Cleveland at an Indian grocery store. Curry leaves have a combination of a citrusy and basil like taste. You can substitute basil leaves along with some grated lime peel. Black mustard seeds are available at spice shops, Indian/Pakistani grocers and at some supermarkets.

 

I've made this dish a couple of times before, but when I made it for this article, I decided to substitute tomato juice for the water I had used before, and I now prefer to use tomato juice.

Serve with basmati rice ...

 

Ingredients:

 

1 pound raw medium shrimp, shelled and cleaned

4 tablespoons vegetable or sunflower oil

1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds

1 large onion (softball size), quartered and then sliced

2 teaspoons grated ginger

4 medium cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 or 2 red chilies, cut into 4 or 5 pieces each

1 cup chopped tomato

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground red pepper (like cayenne, or for milder: 1/2 sweet paprika, 1/2 cayenne)

1 heaping teaspoon ground black pepper

12 to 15 curry leaves (or substitute 1 tablespoon grated lime peel and like 6 or 8 torn basil leaves)

1/3 cup tomato juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cardamom pods, crushed or slit 

2 heaping tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, aka coriander 

Heat oil over medium heat (I list 4 tablespoons of oil, but I suggest using 3 tablespoons, then adding the remaining tablespoon, if necessary), add the black mustard seeds and cook for a minute or until the seeds begin to "pop." Add the onions and saute until they begin to soften, then add the ginger, garlic and fennel seed; saute another minute, then add the chilies and cook for 90 seconds, then add the tomato and cook for 3 minutes. Add the salt, turmeric, ground coriander, ground cumin, ground red pepper (or the half and half mixture), ground black pepper, curry leaves (or grated lime/basil leaves substitute), tomato juice, ground cinnamon, cardamom pods (crushed or slit) and cook for another 6 minutes, before adding the shrimp and cook a further 6 minutes, then add 1 tablespoon of the chopped cilantro, stir and cook about 60 to 90 seconds. Garnish with the other tablespoon of chopped cilantro.

 

Kerala Prawn Curry, basmati rice and paratha, a type of layered and flaky Indian flatbread ...

WORD HISTORY:

Clue-This word is related to "clay," "clod," "cleave" (with the meaning "to cling to," not the meaning "to cut, chop"), all words from the Germanic roots of English, and to "glue," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English via French. "Clue" goes back to Indo European ""gleuh/gleih," which had the notion of "stick together, adhere." This gave Old Germanic "kliwjo(n)," meaning,  "something stuck together, a mass, something clumped into a ball." This gave Old English "cliewen" meaning, "a ball or clump," then "ball or clump of thread," and this then became "clewe," then "clew," then "clue" (perhaps influenced by some French spellings?). The meaning "ball of thread" was long the meaning, but the more modern meaning comes via Greek mythology where Theseus used a ball of thread to guide him out of a maze (used as "clew/clue ball," circa 1600); thus in English, this usage then took on the broader sense (circa 1625?), "something that guides and gives direction to solve a problem." Used in a negative sense in like, "That guy hasn't a clue where he is," with the general meaning "bewildered, not have an idea about something." The early to mid 1930s saw the development of the verb form meaning, "to give information to help point one in a particular direction," not long thereafter almost always used with "in," as with, "Clue me in on how to use this new app." Low German has both "Kluven" and "Kloen" ("ball of thread"),^ Dutch has "kluwen" ("ball of thread"), German has modern "Knäuel" (ball of yarn, ball of twine/thread), and the spelling with the "n" came about through a variant pronunciation in the Middle Ages of German "kliuwel," itself a diminutive form of German "kliuwe," Frisian once had "kliwen," but I cannot find anything beyond that, and Old Norse had "kle" ("ball," also "ball of wool?"), but the word seems to have died out in Old Norse, and thus, in the North Germanic languages.

 

^ Low German is not a standard language, but rather a collection of dialects; thus, it is not totally uncommon to see more than one form of a word by regions, or even totally different words.  

Singaporean Chili Prawns/Shrimp

Singapore is a small island nation off the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It was once a British colony and naval base, but during World War Two British and Commonwealth forces there were defeated by the Japanese, bringing about a ruthless occupation of Singapore by Japan, particularly relating to people of Chinese ethnicity, which resulted in the deaths of "perhaps as many as 50,000" people of Chinese background in Singapore and Malaya. Later Singapore was part of Malaysia, before becoming an independent nation in the mid 1960s.     

The food of Singapore has strong influences from Chinese and Malay cuisine, as well as from the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent. The word "prawns" is often used in English spoken outside of North America, as here in the United States especially, it is a word that is rarely heard. I'm not completely sure about its usage in Canada or on some of the Atlantic islands, but I would "guess" it is used a bit more than in the U.S. Here in the U.S., "shrimp" is the overwhelmingly used word, and it is also commonly used for both the singular and plural forms, where in England and the rest of Britain, "shrimps" is more commonly used for the plural. While not quite as starkly different, "chili," with one "l," is likely a little more common in U.S. spelling, while "chilli" is more common in the English elsewhere, but the double "l" spelling is not unseen in the U.S. In fact, over the years when I would prepare to write or type the word, I'd have to think about how we usually spell it.

Recipes for chili prawns call for raw, shell on prawns, but I've made them with both raw or peeled shrimp over the years. When I made them for this article, I used the raw shell on type.    

These chili prawns are great served with white rice.

Ingredients:

2 green onions, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
(optional) 1 tablespoon black bean garlic sauce*
3 tablespoons thick tomato ketchup (or tomato paste)
2 to 3 red chilies, seeded and finely chopped (if you don't have fresh chilies, you can use Sambal Oelek)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock
2/3 to 1 pound raw medium shrimp(s) in the shells
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water
1 egg, beaten
chopped green onion for garnish
chopped fresh cilantro (also known as coriander) for garnish

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the finely chopped green onion, then about 30 seconds later add the minced garlic and minced ginger. Saute for about 30 to 45 seconds, stirring the ingredients around, then remove the skillet from the heat briefly to add the brown sugar, ketchup, black bean garlic sauce (if using) and the red chilies; stir to mix, then return to the heat and cook for about a minute, then add the raw shrimp/prawns. Cook for about 30 seconds, then turn the prawns over. Stir in the vegetable or chicken stock and let the broth come to a simmer. (If you use already peeled cooked shrimp(s), add the broth to the skillet first and let it come to a simmer, then add the shrimps. Overcooked prawns/shrimps can become chewy or rubbery and I know. I once overcooked some shrimp, I dropped one, but it bounced right back up on my plate. Use some cornstarch mixed with water to thicken the sauce, then gradually add the beaten egg, stirring as you add it. I mix the egg in completely, but some people just give it a light swirl to create ribbons of egg in the sauce. Top each serving with some chopped green onion and some freshly chopped cilantro (also known as coriander).

* Black bean garlic sauce is made with fermented black beans, soy sauce and some other ingredients. It is available in Asian grocery stores and in the Asian section of many supermarkets. The flavor is salty and somewhat sweet. It is more typical in Chinese cooking.

Served over white rice ...

WORD HISTORY:
Article-This word is related to quite a number of words, including, "arm" (limb of the upper body), a word from the Germanic roots of English, and to "arm" (weapon), a Latin-derived word, borrowed by English via French and to "articulate," a word borrowed by English directly from Latin. "Article" goes back to Indo European "ar," which had the notion of "to fit together, to join," the extended form of which was the noun "ar(e)tus" meaning, "joint, junction, that which fits together." This gave Latin the noun "artus," which meant "anatomical joint" (the Latin adjective of the same spelling meant "well fitted, narrow). This produced the Latin noun "articulus," meaning "a knuckle, a joint, a finger, a member, a part, a grammatical part of speech." This passed to Latin-based Old French as "article," meaning, "joint," but also, "part or section of a document or law, part of religious belief." English borrowed the word in the early 1200s with the meaning relating to separate parts of laws or agreements, likely due to the fact that Norman French and Latin were used in legalistic matters in England after the Norman Conquest. The meaning was extended by circa 1700 to "a series of writings usually about the same overall topic," as in, "Jacqueline has written numerous articles about the stage stars of the 1930s." The grammatical use, as in "the definite article" and the "indefinite article," apparently came from Latin "articulus" in the 1500s (mid?). The meaning relating to personal objects (clothing or other personal property) seems to have developed among the jargon of thieves, but it then spread into every day usage by the early 1800s.