Rể Tranh Mía Lau (Sugarcane Tea)

This tea is made from a specific type of sugarcane used to “cleanse” your body of toxins or “hot energy”…kind of hard to explain in english terms lol. Anyways they’re sold dry in most Asian grocery stores prepackaged with the other required ingredients such as carrots, arrow root, and imperatae (which I believe is a verity of crabgrass). In Vietnamese terms, the sugarcane = Mía Lao, Carrots = cà-rốt, arrow root = sắn dây, imperatae = rể tranh. Imperatae is actually a type of grass weed that thrives in Seattle’s cool climate. I have no problem finding abundance of them right in my backyard.

Ingredients:
-1 package of “Cane & Arrow Root Stock” (250g, see picture below)
-3 liters water (12 cups)
-100g rock sugar (adjust to your liking)

What to Do:
Rinse everything in the “Cane & Arrow Root Stock” package. Add water and simmer for a few hours (at least 2). Add sugar and serve hot or cold.

Turkey and Pasta

Ingredients:
-turkey meat (fresh or from leftover roasted turkey, use as much as you like)
-2 large carrots
-1/2 medium onion
-4 stalks of celery
-1/2 tsp garlic salt
-1 tbs dried parsley flakes
-1 tbs dried pepper flakes (optional)
-2 tbs butter
-1 tsp flour
-salt, pepper to taste
-pasta

What to Do:
Boil pasta according to directions on package. Toss with 1 tbs butter. Chop onion, and celery. Peel and slice the carrots. Add 1 tbs butter into a pan and add flour to make a roux. Add onions and sweat until transparent, add garlic salt, parsley and pepper flakes, and carrots. Cook over medium heat until for about 10 mins, add water if necessary. Lastly add turkey and celery cook for another 5 mins before seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve with pasta.

Note:
A convenient meal for leftover thanksgiving turkey.