Authentic Myanmar Cooking: Flavours from the Shan State.
Within a week of being in Yangon, Michael and I found a delightful restaurant that offered traditional and authentic Myanmar cooking. It soon became our favourite and is conveniently only a five-minute walk from where we’re staying while we complete the schooner refit. To be sure, it was more than the convenient location that kept us coming back. The food is AMAZING.
Each time we visited, we would try a new dish off the menu to go along with an ever growing list of favourites. On one particular visit, we discussed how being able to prepare an authentic Myanmar dish on board would be a unique change from the regular Thai cuisine. Knowing that the owner of the restaurant spoke excellent English, we had the idea that maybe she would be willing to share her knowledge and recipes. Her response was a resounding yes. I would be coming back the next morning, bright and early to begin my training!
My tutor for the day, Pansy, is originally from Shan State, a province in Northeastern Myanmar. The Shan Noodle dish she would be teaching me first is traditional from where she grew up, but is very popular all over Myanmar.
She took me back to the kitchen, which was bustling with activity – staff were filling and shaping dumplings, others washing and prepping the fruit and vegetables and yet others were stood over the flaming wok serving the breakfast orders.
Pansy explained that with Myanmar cooking, there is a lot of prep work for the ingredients used. For example the onions and garlic are first fried and stored in oil before used in a dish. Evidence of the extensive prep work was found in the many jars of spices, sauces and herbs on the counter within reach of each chef.
Shan noodles can be served “dry” or in a soup – the topping is the same. Pansy explained each ingredient as she added it to the wok, while I eagerly wrote down all of the items and steps. I was in awe of Pansy and the other chefs as they added ingredients to woks that were nearly engulfed in flames. They maneuvered around the flames with such skill as their creations sizzled in the heat, wafting such wonderful smells.
The topping on Shan Noodles is tomato based. First we picked out several fresh tomatoes and pureed them in a blender. Once we could smell the garlic and onion crackling in the wok, we added the puree and turned the heat on low. The tomatoes needed time to evaporate the water, which gave Pansy the opportunity to share with me how many of the ingredients used in restaurant come from her parent’s plantation in the Shan State. Her family works as farmers growing the vegetables and spices need for traditional Shan dishes and in the restaurant, they use only fresh, and often ‘home grown’ ingredients. Pansy warned that when I make some of these dishes on the boat, I may need to modify some of the ingredients!
Finally, we added spices and chicken to the tomato mixture. While that cooked we seasoned the noodles with sesame oil, soy, garlic and salt and pepper, then Pansy demonstrated the two ways in which the noodles can be plated. Armed with my chopsticks, we sat down to enjoy our creation – the best part! I can now enjoy and create authentic Myanmar cooking!
I’ll have the full Shan Noodle recipe available here next week.
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