The food in Myanmar, also known as “Burmese Cuisine,” utilizes a lot of fish and fish-flavored products for their ingredients. Of course, there’s also a lot of influence from nearby countries, such as Thailand, India, and China. Myanmar’s national dish is a breakfast meal called “Mohinga” which is rice vermicelli in shallot sauce with-you guessed it-fish. They eat a lot of other soups as well, like Chin (corn soup) and Oùn-nó k’auq-s’wèh (coconut chicken soup with noodles). Side dishes consist of carb-enriched and fried foods, like naan bread and “Buthi Kyaw,” which is battered and deep-fried chunks of gourd. If you want something healthier, indulge in a salad where you can add an array of toppings like tea leaves, peanuts, desert flower, or seaweed. They also eat a lot of noodles or “Hkuauq-swèh.” If you’re feeling brave, you can always try goat testicles or fried cow brains. The food in Myanmar is almost as mysterious as the country itself, but on a tour, you’ll get to know the cuisine real well.
Breakfast:
Mohinga- rice vermicelli with fish and shallot broth
Soup:
Oùn-nó k’auq-s’wèh (coconut chicken soup with noodles)
Peh-hìn-ye (lentil soup, or dhal)
Chin Corn Soup
Sides:
Onions, lemongrass, garlic, lime, courgette fritters, fried bean crackers, chilli, coriander, T’ămìn (rice), naan bread.
maung jeut rice crackers, pe byouk boiled peas, bouq si steamed dumplings
buthi kyaw battered and deep-fried chunks of gourd
(Lots of Oil)
Salads – Thouq
Laphet with fermented tea leaves and peanuts
Maji-yweq with tamarind leaves
Shauq-thi, with indigenous lemon.
T’ămìn with rice
Diyote Saga with desert tree flower
Tohoo with Tofu
Japwint with seaweed
Gyin with pickled ginger
Nàn-gyì with thick rice noodles,
(tossed with lime juice, onions, peanuts, roasted chickpea powder and chillies)
Noodles / Hkuauq-swèh.
Kyeq k’auq-s’wèh (noodles in garlic oil, with pork and a watery soup),
Mì-she (rice noodles in a meat sauce accompanied by pickle)
Móun-di – spaghetti-like noodles with chicken or fish.
Oùn-nó hkauq-swèh -thick noodles in coconut milk
Shàn k’auq-swèh (Shan-style noodle soup)
Ngà t’ămìn jin, Shan ‘kneaded fish rice’,
Hto-hpu nwe warm tofu
(mixed with sesame seeds, fried peas, dried shrimp, chicken, fried garlic)
House Specials:
Goat testicles
Bat skewers
Fried cow brains
Duck blood
Rice and Burmese Curry (spicy):
Chicken dan-bauq (biryani)
Vegetarian thali
Poori (deep-fried bread served with a potato curry)
Chapati
Onions / Samosas
Sauces:
Ngapi ye watery, fishy sauce
Balachaung dry, spicy mixture of chillies, garlic and dried shrimp fried in oil.
Dessert:
Chunks of jaggery (palm sugar)
Pickled tea leaves
Nuts
Hsa nwin ma kin small cakes of crumbly semolina flour
Coconut milk
Bein moun and Moun pyit thalet Burmese-style pancakes
Drink:
Black Canyon Coffee
Yenwejan tea / milk tea / Green tea
Falooda, Avocado shakes
Beer:
Myanmar Beer, Mandalay Red, Mandalay Blue, ABC Stout
Wine and Spirits:
Red Mountain and Aythaya
Palm wine or Toddy
Mandalay Rum
Pegu Club cocktail
Sugar Cane juice
Hana LaRock is originally from New York, though has called other places around the world her home for the last two years. She currently lives in South Korea as an English teacher and freelance travel writer. When she’s not working, she enjoys writing, reading, spending time with her dog, and of course, traveling. You can find her at www.hanalarockwriting.com.
