Burmese food: delicious – and not hot!

We’ve been getting closer to the actual food eaten by the Burmese people. When we first arrived we were very conscious of the Chinese influence, with stir-fries and noodles and dishes like chicken with cashew nuts. But as we’ve travelled ore into the country, especially into the Shan state area, we’ve been eating what I’m told is more genuine Burmese fare, and from my limited experience with recipes passed down, I’m sure that’s the case.

To my surprise Burmese curry appears not to be chilli hot. All the recipes I’ve had passed on to me, or read in good cookery books, do include varying amounts of chilli, so this is a bit mystifying.

However, other features are more familiar. A meal generally consists of a soup (which may include meat, tofu, vegetables and/or noodles) and two or three curries accompanied by a number of side dishes – salads, pickles, cooked vegetables, flavourings such as crispy onions or peanuts, and served of course with plenty of boiled rice. There are no taboos about the meat/fish eaten, so a meal might include beef, fish, chicken and/or pork as well as vegetarian curries.

Ngapi, or pickled preserved fish (see my post Thanaka, Longyis and Ngapi), is generally used as an ingredient and adds a distinctive but subtle flavour – salty and adding depth to the meat. In one dish, however, mohinga, it is a main element, giving this soup/noodle dish a strong “dead fish” taste which I found quite unpleasant. I might give it one more try, however – it’s a ubiquitous dish and the main constituent of many Burmese people’s diets, so I should get to know it.

Another common ingredient is tamarind. This imparts a lively, tangy taste and can be added to soups, fish and salads. I had a delicious tamarind sorbet at the improbably-named Chillax Bistro which was a splendid counterbalance to the main course.

On the way from Rangoon/Yangon to the Golden Rock we stopped for lunch in a village called Lepya where there is a village restaurant. It seemed as a if the whole village were there, a great cacophony of noise and delicious smells. You chose your curry or curries at a counter – I chose a prawn dish in a spicy sauce and a chicken curry – and they brought it to the table with a vast array of side dishes – soup, rice plus a salad plate with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, baby aubergines, carrot sticks,white cabbage, spting rolls and the most delicious lemon leaves – like eating lemon grass without the chewy bits and amazingly refreshing. Then there was an assortment of accompaniments including ngapi with chilli, bamboo leaves, bamboo shoots and roselle leaf (sour and tangy). It was a great feast, served and consumed with great gusto, much shouting, clattering and laughter. A real treat – and only 4,500 kyats each – less than £5!