My Burmese Cookbook: Part 2

By MyintMyint Soe

This is a book about the wonderfully rich and vibrant cuisine of Myanmar. Myanmar has recently opened up to the world but very little is known about its cuisine. Although the country is situated between China, Bangladesh, India and Thailand, its cuisine is subtly different but yet has influences from all those countries.

The recipes in my book are written for both beginners and experienced cooks alike with clear instructions. The book provides measurements in metric system and recipes are easy to follow.

My Cookbook Part 1 and 2 are one of those rare books with recipes on much-loved Myanmar cuisine. They will give you great happiness and enjoyment among families and friends for years to come.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Nov 20, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496993410

MyintMyint Soe

Myint Myint Soe was born in Myanmar formerly known as Burma and immigrated to England in 1977. She settled down with her family ever since. She is currently living in London after retiring from her job as a doctor. She is a passionate and acclaimed cook and can produced sensational thought provoking dishes to give you a lasting impression on Myanmar cuisine.

Book preview

ONE DISH MEAL

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ADVICE ON OUR FAVORITE A-THOKE (SALAD)

In Burma (Myanmar) we have many ethnic minorities apart from Burmese. They are Shan, Kachin, Chin, Karen and Mon people and many others. We all have different ways of using ingredients to a recipe but the end result is more or less the same. The taste has to be your own liking, salty, sweet/savory, sourness and hotness.

The ingredients are pre-prepared and kept in the larder. It is available whenever you need them.

Burmese people pre-prepared ingredients for A-thoke

1. Onion flavored oil or garlic flavored oil

2. Crisp fried onions

3. Tamarind paste or lime juice or vinegar

4. Fish sauce, soy sauce or salt for salty taste

5. Roasted chili flakes or chili oil or/and fresh chilies

6. Roasted gram flour

7. Crushed dried prawns

8. Dried yellow noodles to fry into crisp noodles for garnish

9. Fresh coriander leaves

10. Fresh onions cut into thin slices before use

Rhakhine and Taninthayi (Mon) people pre-prepared ingredients for A-thoke

1. Onion flavored oil or garlic flavored oil

2. Fresh Prawns sliced and sautéed in oil

3. Shrimp paste or fish sauce or salt

4. Tamarind paste or juice

5. Roasted chili flakes

6. Lightly cooked green chilies pounded

7. Chili Shrimp paste oil by Rhakhine people

8. Onions thinly sliced when needed

9. Fresh coriander leaves

10. Fresh mint leaves

11. Fresh basil leaves

12. Crisp fried onions

Shan people pre-prepared ingredients for A-thoke

1. Garlic flavored oil

2. Chili flavored oil

3. Sesame oil

4. 5-Spiced flavored oil

5. Rice vinegar

6. Rehydrated dried sour mustard leaves juice

7. Rehydrated dried quince fruit juice

8. Dried fermented soya bean powder

9. Soy sauce

10. Sweet dark soy sauce

11. Roasted chili flakes or fresh green chilies

12. Roasted sesame seeds

13. Roasted peanuts

14. Crispy fried pork crackling

15. Fresh spring onions

16. Fresh coriander leaves

17. Fresh clean hooker chives

In addition to all the pre-prepared ingredients, some cook a savory dish either with pork (Shan) or chicken with fresh tomato sauce. Canned tomato can also be used.

Ingredients

250grams of mince pork or mince chicken

150mls of cooking oil

A large onion peeled and chopped

4 cloves of garlic peeled

2 inches of fresh ginger peeled and sliced

A teaspoon of turmeric powder

A teaspoon of hot chili powder

3 tablespoons of fish sauce

A can of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice

A teaspoon of chicken powder

Salt to taste

Method

Crush the onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor. Heat the oil in a pot and add the onion mixture with turmeric powder. Once it is aromatic add the chili powder. Chopped tomatoes are also pureed in a food processor. Add the minced meat. Stir and cook until meat is aromatic and liquid has been evaporated. Add the pureed tomato and its juices, fish sauce and chicken powder. Cook until they are aromatic. Seasoned to taste with salt.

A heaped tablespoonful of cooked minced meat will enhance your a-thoke to another level.

Reasons for using tomato in Burmese cooking

In Burma tomatoes are used to garnish a dish or to add as an extra vegetable in a sour soup. Fresh tomatoes are cooked as a dish in its own right or as a condiment or in a fresh salad. To make a dish appetizing turmeric powder gives a lovely yellow color. Some may be happy with the pale yellow color. But to make it more colorful chili or paprika powder will be added to a minimum. Shan people use a lot more of tomatoes in their dishes.

In England I found many varieties of tomato presented in many ways. It gives color to the food, healthy with anti-oxidants and enhances the flavor of your dish.

In supermarkets there are fresh tomatoes ranging from a small sweet ones to beef tomatoes. There are canned tomatoes some are chopped, some plum tomatoes, and also cherry tomatoes. Tomato puree in a tube is also available. Sun dried tomato paste is also packed with flavors.

I add tomatoes in my recipes to add color to the dish, either a heaped teaspoon of sun dried tomato paste or a whole can of chopped tomatoes pureed in a food processor before adding.

A-THOKE SONE (LETHOKE SONE)

It is a one-dish meal Burmese people love. The seasonings are always ready made at home and whenever you want to eat a-thoke, you either use cooked rice alone, and/or boiled dried egg noodles and/or boiled dried rice noodles and make A-thoke. You can add any left over cooked meat to make it taste even better. It is a dish that everyone can participate in and add any flavors you want to your taste.

Seasoning ingredients required for Let-thoke-Sone (A-thoke) and keep them in airtight jars in the larder.

1. Crushed dried prawns

2. Roasted gram flour

3. Fish sauce

4. Tamarind paste or liquid (or) a block of tamarind

5. Lemon juice

6. Roasted chili flakes (or) chili oil

7. Salt

8. Garlic flavored oil (or)

9. Onion flavored oil

10. Crispy fried onions

11. MSG (optional)

12. For Shan and Kachin people fermented red tofu

13. Dried soybeans crushed and flavored with salt and chicken powder

14. 5-spiced powder flavored oil

15. Rice vinegar if preferable, for sour taste

16. Any chili sauce of your choice; sweet chili sauce; hot chili sauce

17. Chicken curry from small pieces of chicken. (250grams of chicken pieces, <1 medium onion, 2 garlic cloves and 1 inch ginger> mixture, cooked with 120ml of oil, turmeric powder, chili flakes, and 30ml of fish sauce. Seasoned to taste.) This is optional.

Main ingredients depend on the availability at home, from the shops and what the family preferred. There is no hard and fast rule to what you can add to a-thoke. Not all ingredients mentioned here are required except for the seasonings, above.

1. Cooked steamed rice

2. Cooked egg noodles of any size

3. Cooked rice noodles of any size

4. Cooked glass noodles of any size

5. Grated carrots

6. Grated papaya

7. White cabbage cut into very thin slices

8. Red onions sliced very thinly

9. Blanched bean sprouts after roots removed

10. Cut fresh coriander

11. Cut fresh spring onions

12. Boiled potatoes and cut into pieces

13. Fresh cucumber cut into sticks

14. Fresh salad tomatoes cut finely

15. Boiled eggs chopped

16. Fried tofu pieces

17. Fried and cut fish cakes

18. Fresh hooker chives

19. Fried whole red dried chilies

20. Fresh peeled garlic cloves

21. Fresh mint leaves (people from Mawlamyine)

22. Finely chopped fresh runner beans or Asian long beans

23. Roasted sesame seed

24. Roasted crushed peanuts

25. Roasted crushed cashew nuts

26. Flavored fermented mustard leaves

Preparations

On individual plate put any main ingredients of your choice and add seasoning ingredients provided by your host on the table. It would vary depending