Myanmar Cuisine

Tea Leaves
La-phet( tea-leaves) is not only eaten as a snack, but also for the essential food at ceremonies. The softened 'Pickled' tea, or La-Phat, is considered the best of leaves. The special Myanmar way of preparing tea leaves is to steam them after plucking, then pack them tightly in bamboo jars and bury them for about six month. The food is not only essential in ceremonies but also plays an important role in social affairs, such as ' Kadaw-Pwe.” “Kadaw-Pwe is the serving of pickled tea in a special bowl surrounded by coconut, three green bananas, auspicious leaves and a small tea leaf wrapped with betel leaf. 'Kadaw-Pwe' means to present a gift and respect.For the formal occasion of serving to monks or guest at a ceremonial, the pickled tea is steeped in oil and placed in a small pile on a plate. Piles of crisps fried beans, fried peanuts, fried garlic, roasted sesames seeds, whole or chopped fresh green chilies and some dry shrimp are presented around a pile of tea paste. Women have an especially great fondness for it. It is often served between friends, mixed thoroughly in a large bowl with ripe red tomatoes. This is called pickled-tea salad and is best eaten with cold rice. La-Phet is not only used in ceremonies for Myanmar, it is a symbol of communal closeness and plays an important role in Myanmar social affairs.

Fruits of Myanmar
Avocado: Pear-shaped tropical fruit. Mashed and sweetened, or whipped into a cool drink.

Banana: Varieties with different flavours and tastes. Grows wild throughout the country.

Durian: Strong smell with flesh gold, sweet,and creamy. Most are produce from Mon State.

Jackfruit: Huge, almost spherical with warly rind, it is one of the early monsoon fruits. Halve the fruit to rescue its seeds, each is embedded in a yellow sheath and you are supposed to chew up the sweet and juicy sheaths.

Orange: Orange in Myanmar means the loose-skinned tangerine, larger than the tangerine of Europe. It is delicious and juicy very much preferred to the real oranges.

Papaya (Pawpaw): Taste is quite sweet and the flesh is rich in Vitamin A and Calcium.

Pineapple: Plentiful in Myanmar. Sweet and juicy, local people like it with a dash of honey and lime over it.

Watermelon: Big, smooth-skinned melon with juicy flesh, red inside and fresh taste.

Food

The basic Myanmar food is mainly rice and curry. Some Myanmar curries are spicy and there is always fish paste in many forms with salad. Soup, mostly made of vegetables, is eaten together with rice and other dishes. Mohinga, (rice noodles with fish gravy) is a favorite for breakfast. Ohn-No-Khaukswe (noodles with coconut chicken gravy) is the most popular among Myanmar foods. Favorites desserts are Sanwin-ma-kin (Myanmar sweetcakes), made with semolina, sugar, egg, butter and coconut, Myanmar style Banana cakes, Kyaukchaw (sea weed- jelly). Chinese foods both contonese and Fukienese are popular among Myanmars and there are Chinese Restaurants in almost every town. Indian foods like Kababs, Biryani are also popular with Myanmar palate. European food is available only at restaurants and hotels.

Please do not be misled into thinking that the people of Myanmar eat well. These are the foods that can be bought in restaurants by tourists and the government. The majority of the citizens of Myanmar live in abject poverty, their diets consisting of small bits of chicken, rice, and water. Their food is often taken from them by the Burmese Army or the opposition groups.