Burmese cuisine - popular food (Part 2)

In this second part of the article, we continue to talk about some of the salads and main dishes of Burma.

Salad (thohk) Myanmar salads are a combination of raw, boiled or preserved vegetables, cooked meat or fish, slices of onion, tamarind juice, chili powder, fish sauce, fried shredded garlic in cooked oil, and pounded dried prawn, all mixed thoroughly by hand. They are served to accompany most meals, although often they are just as tasty as the main dish. Rice and noodle salads are also commonly found throughout the country. One of the most popular is the Laphet or pickled tea leaves with a dash of oil and served with sesame seeds, fried garlic and roasted peanuts, is another popular snack typical of Myanmar. Its appeal lies in the slight bitterness and smokiness of the leaves, which are mixed with a highly seasoned combination of fried garlic, roasted sesame seeds, peanuts, fish sauce and lime juice. In Burma it is served as a snack, a palate cleanser, a welcome to guests and a stimulant to ward off sleep.

Ginger salad is made of peeled, julienne of ginger with many of the same ingredients as the tea leaf salad, but the slightly hot ginger provides a completely different taste. The recipe is based on one from Ms. Win and Claudia Saw Lwin Robert, who lives in Yangon.

The green papaya salad is similar, but once again, the papaya enhances the other flavors while adding texture if not taste.

All three salads are easy to put together once you have made a trip to Indian and Asian markets for the staples, like fish sauce, ground roasted peanuts and ground dried shrimp

Main Dishes 

Main dishes can be classified as meat or fish, vegetables or salads, and some kind of soup. In the meat or fish category, dishes such as chicken, duck, pork, mutton, fish and prawns, and eggs cooked in water, oil and other spices. 
But beef is usually not served. Vegetables are cut and cooked in various ways, usually with a small amount of oil and dried prawn to enhance the taste. Salads are mostly made of raw, cooked or preserved vegetables, or sometimes meat, fish or prawn, added with a number of ingredients to enrich the flavour. There are four main types of soups: sweet broth, hot and spicy, sour, and bean soup.

Fish with green chili curry:  It is surprisingly light – a fish filet high on taste and low on heat.

Kausuetho (khow suey): Khow Suey, from Burmese , is a noodle dish that comes from the mountainous Shan State. It is a one-dish soup meal made of egg noodles and curried beef or chicken with coconut milk, served with a variety of contrasting condiments.  A squeeze of lemon also adds tanginess to Khow Suey. The dish is similar to the Burmese noodle dish ohn no khauk swe, literally “coconut milk noodles.”

Dessert 

Kyauk Kyaw or seaweed jelly, mostly with a coconut milk layer on top, is a common desert. Thagu or Thagu Byin , which may have acquired its name from the Malay origin, is sago or tapioca pudding sweetened with jaggery and enriched with coconut.  Myanmar traditional desserts is jaggery, a complimentary dessert provided in Myanmar meal shops and the only dessert popular with rural families especially in Upper Myanmar. 

Burmese cuisine - popular food (Part 1)

Burmese cuisine is appreciated for the beauty of what it is: an Asian cuisine fused from Southeast Asian, Chinese and Indian influences. Myanmar people enjoy rice as their main food and it comprises about 75% of the diet.

Main dishes in a typical Myanmar meal can be classified as meat or fish, vegetables or salads, and some kind of soup. In the meat or fish category, dishes such as chicken, duck, pork, mutton, fish and prawns, and eggs cooked in water, oil and other spices.

But beef is usually not served. Vegetables are cut and cooked in various ways, usually with a small amount of oil and dried prawn to enhance the taste. Salads are mostly made of raw, cooked or preserved vegetables, or sometimes meat, fish or prawn, added with a number of ingredients to enrich the flavour. There are many popular food in Myanmar. Below are more interesting dishes for you to take:

Snacks Most Myanmar snacks are made of rice or glutinous rice, milk or grated shreds of coconut, and sugar or jaggery as sweeteners. Although there are a number of traditional snacks, the most popular Mohinga (or mohinka): The unofficial national dish of rice vermicelli in a fish-based broth of onions, garlic, ginger, and lemon grass – all topped with sliced banana blossom, boiled eggs and fritters (akyaw). This dish is eaten for breakfast.

The other famous item is Ohnnoh Khauk Swe or noodle served with rich coconut soup flavoured with chicken. Kyarsan Chet or vermicelli in spicy chicken soup is another favourite snack. 

Fried chapati with peas/potatoes
Fried chapati, crispy and blistered, with boiled peas/potatoes is  another  popular breakfast .

Soups

In Burma soups are considered an indispensable part of their traditional cuisine, served at almost every meals from breakfast, lunch, dinner and even during snack time. The Burmese concept of soups and salads, ingredients, condiments, cooking styles and variations are quite different from that of the Westerners.

Burmese Soup Culture:

Soup is served along with the main course and other side dishes and are treated as beverage during meals. They do not serve wine or even a glass of water during meals, as they believe that brothy soup will help swallow the solid food easily. Sometimes if the soup is thick, they serve green tea at meals.

Soup also acts as an appetizer, hence they start taking the soup before the main dish and prefers to continue taking in little portions between other dishes through the meal.

Interestingly soup can be served at the breakfast table, with curried rice at lunch and dinner and also during tea times or with fast food combination.

The Elements of Fine Catering

The past few years has seen a phenomenal rise in catering agencies all across the world. While the service is now new, the trend of this service being offered in a highly professional format has begun just recently.

However, the actual percentage of catering agencies that know their trade well is yet a minority. There are specific aspects of fine catering that set the professional agencies apart from the run-of-the-mill ones.

Expertise: Catering being a highly specialized domain, it is imperative that the people leading it have the requisite expertise about the food and hospitality business. While even a layman may be able to appreciate good taste, yet it takes the mind of a seasoned professional to understand the subtle nuances that create that fine taste. Everything else notwithstanding, it is the quality and taste of the food that is central to the business of catering. Taste is something that lingers on for a long time and creates a fond remembrance of the event among the guests. More often than not, behind every successful catering agency is an experienced food and hospitality professional who has invested his skill and knowledge into the business.

Cuisine: The element of food being central to the business of catering, it is essential that the agency offers a wide variety of cuisines. Global boundaries are diminishing fast and people like to experiment with a wide variety of cuisines. The richness and diversity of cuisines offered can go a long way in enhancing the business prospects of a catering agency. In fact, research indicates that people appreciate food through a combination of senses such as sight, smell and touch, and not just taste. And this understanding can come only from a team of seasoned chefs.

Service: It is the service staff including the stewards and bartenders that actually completes the loop to deliver the final stroke of an efficient catering agency. Professional and courteous service staff is among the greatest assets of a catering agency. This is one aspect that can play a major part in enhancing the pleasurable experience of any event. The best stewards and bartenders are known from their uniform, presentable appearance and the quality of their smile. In fact, most professional agencies depute a Guest Relationship Manager who ensures that all aspects of the event go smoothly and the guests go satisfied. Needless to say, the Guest Relationship Manager has to be a person with exceptional soft skills and presentable personality.