Thursday, March 02, 2006

Lipetho stock

It's been really great revisiting Chiang Mai and Mae Sot. Even in Chiang Mai, I happened to rent the same motorbike from last year (one of them, anyways), but for 40 BHT less, so that's an improvement. I've gone back to the same places for food and even stayed in the same building/floor at Smile House (they remembered me from my three week stay last summer, but this time they put me in Heyman, Sahn Sahn, and Emily's room).
Tonight I'm taking the overnight bus journey back to Khao San Road in Bangkok. After a day or so, I'll hop on a bus to Siem Reap.
When I was in Mae Sot, I struck up a conversation with a local woman. She was born in Myanmar, but her family fled the Communist revolution in China, and had moved to Thailand when she was a small child. She told me how to make lipetho (lephet thok), so I thought I'd pass the recipe along:

How to make Lipetho leaves:
1. Take dried Chinese tea (any tea leaves) leaves (unused) and soak in hot water to moisten.
2. Mix wet tea leaves with any oil (vegetable oil, peanut oil, olive oil).
3. Add salt, MSG, and lemon juice.
4. Seal in sterilized jar, packed tight with as little air as possible.
5. Set on the counter for a week.

Apparently, the pickled lipetho leaves do not need to be refrigerated and can keep for months without spoiling. I don't know the amount of ingredients, so when you figure that one out, let me know.

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