I only cooked a relatively small amount of beef for TF's birthday dinner, so I figured a legume would be a nice way to add some more substance to the meal and make sure no one left hungry. I used cow peas, but Duguid explains that many other legumes would also be suitable. She mentions chickpeas and black-eyed peas in particular. And I think moth beans or brown lentils would also work well.

Peas for Many Occasions

Slightly adapted from Burma: Rivers of Flavor by Naomi Duguid

Ingredients

• 1 c. dried legumes
• 4 c. water or broth
• 2 shallots, 1 chopped and 1 sliced
• 1 slice ginger (whole or minced)
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 tsp. fish sauce
• 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• juice of 1 lime

Directions

1. Place the legumes in a bowl and add enough water to cover them by several cm. Set aside to soak overnight.
2. Drain the legumes and place them in a pot with the water, chopped shallot, and ginger.
3. Bring to a boil, cover, and then lower heat and simmer for ~2 hours. Add more water duing cooking if peas start to become dry.
4. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
5. Add the turmeric and sliced shallot and cook for ~4 minutes.
6. Add the shallot-oil mixture to the peas.
7. At this point, if desired, peas can be cooled and frozen for later use.
8. Once ready to eat, stir in the salt and fish sauce.
9. Top with cilantro and lime juice and serve.

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Variations

Vegan Version

Ingredients

• 1 c. dried legumes
• 4 c. water or broth
• 2 shallots, 1 chopped and 1 sliced
• 1 slice ginger (whole or minced)
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 tsp. vegan fish sauce substitute¹ (store-bought or homemade)
• 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• juice of 1 lime

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¹ If you can't find or make vegan fish sauce, then you can try substituting a mix of tamari and coconut aminos. They both offer good umami flavour with the tamari hitting some of the earthy notes and the coconut hitting the sweet notes. ^Back