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The cuisine of Burma has been influenced by the cuisines of China, India and Thailand. Burmese cuisine has retained unique preparation techniques and distinct flavours, and there are many regional variations of "standard" dishes. Seafood is a common ingredient in coastal cities such as Sittwe, Kyaukpyu, Mawlamyaing (formerly Moulmein), Mergui and Dawei, while meat and poultry are more commonly used in landlocked cities like Mandalay. Freshwater fish and shrimp have been incorporated into inland cooking as a primary source of protein and are used in a variety of ways, fresh, salted whole or filleted, salted and dried, made into a salty paste, or fermented sour and pressed.

The country's diverse religious makeup also influences its cuisine, as Buddhists avoid beef and Muslims pork.. Beef is considered taboo by devout Buddhists because the cow is highly regarded. Pork is avoided by nat worshippers. Vegetarian dishes are also common, especially during the Buddhist Lent (Wa-dwin), a three-month Rains Retreat. During this time, only two meals (i.e breakfast and lunch) are consumed before midday to observe the fasting rules(u bohk saunk) and abstainance from meat (that that lut) is observed by many devout Buddhists.

White rice (htamin) is the main staple and usually served with curry (hin). Paw Hsan Hmwe, Fragrant aroma rice is the most popular rice used in Burma and is rated as high as the Thai Fragrant Rice or Basmati rice. Today, Myanmar is the world's number six producer of rice, though in recent times less is exported and even domestic supplies cannot be guaranteed.

Burmese cuisine also contains a variety of salads (a thohk) centered on one major ingredient, ranging from rice, noodles, both wheat and rice, glass noodles, vermicelli, to potato, ginger, tomato, kaffir lime, lahpet (pickled tea), and ngapi (fish paste). These salads have always been popular as fast-foods in Burmese cities.

There is a popular Burmese rhyme that sums up the traditional favourites:

"A thee ma, thayet; a thar ma, wet; a ywet ma, lahpet"

"Of all the fruit, the mango's the best; of all the meat, the pork's the best; and of all the leaves, lahpet's the best".

List of Notable dishes

Template:Burmese characters

Because a standardized system of romanisation for spoken Burmese does not exist, pronunciations of the following dishes in modern standard Burmese approximated using IPA are provided.

• Bazun thohk (Template:Lang-my‌; IPA: [bəzun θouʔ]), pickled prawn salad
• Jin thohk (Template:My‌ ), ginger salad with sesame seeds
• Khao swè thohk (Template:My ), wheat noodle salad with dried shrimps, shredded cabbage and carrots, dressed with fried peanut oil, fish sauce and lime
• Htamin thohk (Template:My ), rice salad with tomato puree, potato,glass noodle, toasted chickpea flour, crushed toasted dried fermented beancake,crushed dried shrimp, crushed dried chilli, garlic and dressed with cooked peanut oil, fish sauce, lime or tamarind and coriander
• Hto-mohnt (Template:My ), glutinous rice cake with raisins, cashews and coconut shavings
• Katkyi-hnyat (Template:My , lit. 'cut with scissors'), a southern coastal dish (from the Dawei area) of rice noodles with a variety of seafood, land meats, raw bean sprouts, beans and fried eggs comparable to pad thai
• Jaryoh hinga (Template:My ), lotus roots in clear chicken or fish broth
• Jarzan hin, (Template:My ) glass noodle soup with chicken, wood-ear mushrooms, dried flowers, onions, boiled egg, garnished with coriander, thin-sliced onions, crushed dried chilli and a dash of lime (Mandalay)
• Jarzan hinga (Template:My ), glass noodle soup with dried shrimp, wood-ear mushrooms, egg, dried flowers, onions (Yangon)
• Jauk-kyaw (Template:My ), agar jelly usually set in two layers with coconut milk
• Jay-oh (Template:My ), vermicelli noodles in soup with pork offal and greens
• Let thohk sohn (Template:My ), similar to htamin thohk with shredded green papaya, shredded carrot, ogonori sea moss and often wheat noodles
• Mohinga (Template:My ), the unofficial national dish of rice vermicelli in fish broth with onions, garlic, ginger, lemon grass and sliced tender core of banana-stem, served with boiled eggs, fried fish cake (nga hpe) and fritters (akyaw)

• Montletsaung (Template:Lang-my ), tapioca balls, glutinous rice, grated coconut and toasted sesame with jaggery syrup in coconut milk
• Nanjee thohk (Template:Lang-my ) or Mont di, thick rice noodle salad with chickpea flour, chicken, fish cake (nga hpe), onions, coriander, spring onions, crushed dried chilli, dressed with fried crispy onion oil, fish sauce and lime
• Nanbyajee thohk (Template:My), as above with tagliatelle
• Ngapi jet (Template:My ), fermented spicy fish paste or salted fish curried with onions, tomatoes, garlic, chilli and coriander served with to za ya, vegetables fresh or boiled, on the side
• Ngapi jaw (Template:My ), fried version with dried shrimp, onions, garlic and dried chilli
• Ohn-no khao swè (Template:My ), curried chicken and wheat noodles in a coconut milk broth similar to Malaysian laksa and Chiang Mai's khao soi
• Sanwin makin (Template:My ), semolina cake with raisins, walnuts and poppy seeds
• Shwe gyi mohnt (Template:My ), hardened semolina (wheat) porridge with poppy seeds
• Shwe yin aye (Template:My ), agar jelly, tapioca and sago in coconut milk
• Shauk thee thohk, sliced lemon or kaffir lime (no pith or rind), toasted chickpea flour, crushed roasted peanut, crushed dried shrimp, crushed dried chilli, baked fish paste, cooked oil with onions (goes very well and often served with kya zan hinga)

Chinese-inspired

• Asayn jaw, cabbage, cauliflower, carrot, green beans, baby corn, cornflour or tapioca starch, tomatoes, squid sauce
• Bèghin (Template:My ), roasted duck
• Dim sum, meat/fish/prawn/crab/sausage/egg/sea weeds, flour, flavor enhancer
• Hpet htohk (lit. leaf wrap), meat, pastry paper, ginger, garlic, pepper powder, salt. Usually served with soup or with noodles.
• Htamin jaw (Template:My ), fried rice with boiled peas (pè byouk),the poor man's favourite breakfast
• Kawyei khao swè (Template:My ), noodles and curried duck (or pork) in broth with eggs.
• La mohnt (Template:My ), (mooncake), an oily disk-shaped cake filled with either sugar or sweet bean paste
• Mi swun (Template:My ),very soft rice noodles, known as Mee suah in Singapore and Malaysia. It is a popular option for invalids, usually with chicken broth.
• Panthay khao swè (Template:My ), halal noodles with chicken and spices, often served by the Muslim Panthay Chinese.
• Pao-see (Template:My ), steamed buns filled with either pork and egg or sweet bean paste
• San byohk (Template:My ), (rice congee) with fish, chicken or duck often fed to invalids.
• Seejet khao swè (Template:My ), wheat noodles with duck or pork, fried garlic oil, soy sauce and chopped spring onions. It is considered an 'identity dish' of Myanmar and Burmese Chinese, as it is not available in other Chinese cuisines. Sarawak's Kolok mee is a bit similar.
• Wet-tha doh-to, pork offal cooked in light soy sauce. Eaten with raw ginger and chilli sauce.

Indian-inspired

• Danbauk (Template:My ), Burmese-style biryani with either chicken or mutton served with mango pickle, fresh mint and green chili
• Fried chapatti, crispy and blistered, with boiled peas (pè-byohk), a popular breakfast next to nan bya
• Halawa, a snack made of sticky rice, butter, coconut milk, from Indian dessert halwa. In Burma Halwa is referred to a loose form, something like smashed potato, without baking into a hard or firmer cake in contrast to Sa-Nwin-Ma-Kin.
• Hpaluda, similar to the Indian dessert falooda, rose water, milk, jello, coconut jelly, coconut shavings, sometimes served with custard and ice cream
• Htat taya (), lit. "a hundred layers", fried flaky multilayered paratha with either a sprinkle of sugar or pè byouk
• Htawbat htamin, rice made with butter and mostly eaten with chicken curry.
• Kyit Sara, Semolina chicken or meat paste

Chicken or meat is boiled or cooked and removed all the bones and skin. It is then mixed with Semolina and dhal. Nowadays the mixture is easily put into the grinder and grinded. But originally it was put in the big pot, stirred and pounded using a big ladle with a rounded lower edge. Once it turns into a thick paste it is sprinkled with cinnamon powder and deep-fried onion. Not only it is tasty but it is highly nutritious and easily digestible.

• Malaing lohn (Template:My ), Burmese-style gulab jamun
• Nan bya (Template:My ), Burmese style naan buttered or with pè byouk, also with mutton soup
• Palata (Template:My ), Burmese style paratha with egg or mutton
• Samusa (Template:My ), Burmese-style samosa with mutton and onions served with fresh mint, green chilli,onions and lime
• Samusa thohk (Template:My ), samosa salad with onions, cabbage, fresh mint, potato curry, masala, chili powder, salt and lime
• Sa-Nwin-Ma-Kin or Burmese Semolina Cake or Semolina Pudding or (Kuih) Sooji, using Sooji (Semolina), eggs, cream of wheat (Semolina), coconut cream, sugar, raisins and milk. It is topped with sesame seeds and baked with the charcoal slow fire above and below to made them like brownie golden cakes.
• Shai Mai or Sa Wai or sayviah/ sweet vermicelli served with fried cashews, coconut shreds, raisins with milk
• Theezohn chinyay, lit. vegetable all- sorts sour broth, with drumstick, lady's finger, egg plant, green beans, potato, onions, ginger, dried chilli, boiled egg, dried salted fish, fish paste and tamarind

Shan-inspired

• Htamin jin (Template:My‌ ), a rice, tomato and potato or fish salad kneaded into round balls dressed and garnished with crisp fried onion in oil, tamarind sauce, coriander and spring onions often with garlic, Chinese chives roots (ju myit), fried whole dried chili, grilled dried fermented beancakes (pè bouk} and fried dried topu (topu jauk kyaw) on the side
• Lahpet thohk (Template:My) ), a salad of pickled tea leaves with fried peas, peanuts and garlic, toasted sesame, fresh garlic, tomato, green chili, crushed dried shrimps, preserved ginger and dressed with peanut oil, fish sauce and lime
• Meeshay, (Template:My ), rice noodles with pork and/or chicken, bean sprouts, rice flour gel, rice flour fritters, dressed with soy sauce, salted soybean, rice vinegar, fried peanut oil, chilli oil, and garnished with crispfried onions, crushed garlic, coriander, and pickled daikon/mustard greens
• Papaya salad (Template:My )
• Shan tohu (Template:My ), a type of tofu made from chickpea flour or yellow split pea eaten as fritters (tohpu jaw) or in a salad (tohpu thohk), also eaten hot before it sets as tohu byawk aka tohu nway and as fried dried tohpu (tohu jauk kyaw)
• Shan khao swè (Template:My ), rice noodles with chicken or minced pork, onions, garlic, tomatoes, chili, crushed roasted peanuts, young vine of mangetout, served with tohu jaw or tohu nway and pickled mustard greens (monnyinjin)
• Wet thachin (Template:My ), preserved minced pork in rice
• Wet tha hmyit chin (Template:My ), pork with sour bamboo shoots

Mon-inspired

• Thingyan Rice (Template:My) - fully boiled rice in candle-smelt water served with mango salad.
• Htamane (Template:My) – dessert made from glutinous rice, shredded coconuts and peanuts
• Banana pudding – dessert made from banana boiled in coconut milk and sugar.
• Wet mohinga – like mohinga but vermicelli is served while wet
• Durian jam – also known as Katut jam
• Nga baung thohk (Template:My)– Mixed vegetables and prawn, wrapped in morinda leaves and then banana leaves outside.
• Sanwinmakin (Template:My) – dessert cake made from semolina, sugar, butter, coconut.

Rakhine-inspired

• Monte-de - an extremely popular and economical fast food dish where rice vermicelli are either eaten with some condiments and soup prepared from nga-pi, or as a salad with powdered fish and some condiments. The American Conger, Conger oceanicus, called Nga-shwe in Arakanese and Burmese, is the fish of choice.
• Jar-zun thohk - glass vermicelli salad with boiled prawn julien and mashed curried duck eggs and potatoes.
• Ngapi Daung - an extremely spicy condiment made from pounded ngapi and green chili
• Khayun thee nga chauk chet - Brinjal cooked lightly with a small amount of oil, with dried fish and chilli
• Ngha-pyaw-thi-bohn - bananas stewed in milk and coconut, and garnished with black sesame. Eaten either as a dish during meals, or as a dessert.
• Saw-hlaing Monte - a baked sweet, made from millet, raisins, coconut and butter
• Sut-hnan - millet cooked in sweet milk with raisins

Starches

The most common starch (staple food) in Myanmar is white rice. Glutinous rice called kauk hnyin is also very popular including the purple variety known as nga cheik especially as a breakfast dish. Various types of noodles are commonly used in salads and soups or fried. Vermicelli noodles and rice noodles are often used in soups, while thick rice and wheat noodles are used in salads. Palata, a flaky fried flatbread is often eaten with curried meats while nan-bya, a baked flatbread is eaten with any Indian dishes. Another favourite is aloo poori - puffed-up fried breads eaten with potato curry.

Ingredients

Ingredients used in Burmese dishes are often fresh. Many fruits are used in conjunction with vegetables in many dishes. The Burmese eat a great variety of vegetables and fruits, and all kinds of meat.

A very popular vegetable is the danyin thi, which is usually boiled or roasted and dipped in salt, oil and sometimes, cooked coconut fat.

Ngapi

Ngapi is considered the corner stone of any Burmese meal or dish. It is used in a versatile manner in that it is used in soup base, in salad, in main dishes and also in condiments. Popular varieties depend on the region,such as in Rakhine State, Shan State, Ayeyarwady Division and Tanintharyi Division.

The Ngapi of Rakhine State contains no or lesser salt, and uses marine fish. It is used as a soup base for the Rakhine 'national' cuisine, Mont-de. It is also used widely in cooking both vegetables, fish and even meat.

In the coastal Ayeyarwady and Tanintharyi divisions, the majority of ngapi is instead based on fresh water fish, with a lot of salt. The ngapi is also used as a condiment such as ngapi-yay (an essential part of Karen cuisine, which includes runny ngapi, spices and boiled fresh vegetables). In Shan State, ngapi is made instead from fermented beans, and is used as both a flavoring and also condiment in Shan cuisine.

Condiments

Burmese cuisine is full of condiments, from sweet, sour to savory. The most popular are pickled mango, balachaung (shrimp and ngapi floss) and ngapi gyaw (fried ngapi in various manners) and vegetables preserved in rice wine (from Shan State). Ngapi plays a major part in condiments, as a dip for fresh vegetables.

Bean ngapi from the Shan states plays a major role in Shan cuisine. Dried bean ngapi chips are used as condiments for various shan dishes.

Fruits

Myanmar has a wide range of fruits, and most are of tropical origin. However, some notable Western fruits such as strawberries are also popular. Durian, guava and others are commonly served as desserts. Other fruits include mango, banana, jackfruit, plum, lychee, papaya, pomelo, water melon, pomegranate, mangosteen, sugar-apple and rambutan.

Eating customs

Traditionally, Burmese eat their meals with dishes on a low table, while sitting on a bamboo mat, and dishes are served more or less at the same time. A typical meal would include steaming hot rice as the staple, a curried freshwater fish or dried/salted fish dish, if affordable a curried meat or poultry dish instead, soup (hinjo) which if sour is called chinyay, and fresh or boiled vegetables to go with a salty dish almost invariably a curried sauce of pickled fish (ngapi yayjo) in Lower Burma. Fritters such as gourd or onions in batter as well as fish or dried tohpu crackers are extra.

Out of respect, the eldest diners are always served first before the rest join in; even when the elders are absent, the first morsel of rice from the pot is scooped and put aside as an act of respect to one's parents, a custom known as oo tcha (lit. first serve). Burmese people eat with their right hand, forming the rice into a small ball with only the fingertips and mixing this with various morsels before popping it into their mouths. Chopsticks and a Chinese style spoon are used for noodle dishes, although noodle salads are more likely to be eaten with just a spoon. Knives and forks are used rarely in homes but will always be provided for guests and are available in restaurants and hotels. Drinks are not often served with the meal and, instead, the usual liquid accompaniment is in the form of a light broth or consomme served from a communal bowl. Outside of the meal, the Burmese beverage of choice is light green tea (yay nway jan; ).

Influences

The countries that border Myanmar, especially India, China and Thailand - have influenced Burmese cuisine. Indian influences are found in Burmese versions of dishes such as samosas and biryani, and Indian curries, spices and breads such as nan (naan) and palata (paratha). Ethnic Indians have a monopoly on such dishes. Chinese influence in Burmese cuisine is shown in the use of ingredients like bean curd and soya sauce, various noodles as well as in stir-frying techniques. Fried insects are eaten as snacks as in neighbouring Thailand and Laos.

Gallery

See also

Burmese recipes

References

1. Yin, Saw Myat (2007). Culture Shock!: Myanmar. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Inc. p. 133. ISBN 9780761454106. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
2. BBC NEWS | Business | Burma cyclone raises rice prices

External links

• Burmese breakfast at Mae Sot
• Burmese Recipe iPhone Application
• Mi Mi Khaing, Cook and Entertain the Burmese Way. Rangoon, 1975

• Burmese cuisine