Asian Flair

I eat a lot of beans and rice.  And when I get bored with that, I switch it up to rice and beans. What can I say?  I like to keep things interesting on the Patty Wagon.  Ninety-nine percent of the time, I cook them the same way.  Rice with water, salt, and butter.  Drained canned beans cooked with water, cumin, cayenne, garlic, oregano, chili powder.  Mix together and top with sour cream and salsa.  I can (and do) feast on it for days.

I was thinking of dinner options last night, and my mind went to that frequently visited land of rice and beans.  I was looking around in my pantry, and cans of coconut milk and bamboo shoots caught my eye.  Why not make the dish with an Asian inspiration? Delicious. Dinner. Done.

I cooked the rice with equal parts coconut milk and water, along with butter and salt.  To the beans, I added curry powder, garam masala, cayenne, garlic powder, and coriander.  But the real star was the bamboo shoot salsa.  I think I could market this stuff.  It is that good.

Bamboo Shoot Salsa

1. Cook a can of bamboo shoots on medium heat in its own juices for a couple minutes. This is just to get a little bit of the woodiness out. Cool and chop. 
2. Chop 1/2 of a red onion, 1 jalapeno, a few basil leaves, a few cilantro leaves, one clove of garlic.
3. Toss all the veggies with a dressing made of the juice of a lemon, about 1 T of rice vinegar, a squeeze of honey, salt, pepper, and about 1 T olive oil.