Myanmar can offer you some mean cuisine

When travelling to Myanmar, you shouldn’t miss out on the delicious food it has to offer. From noodle soup to tofu fritters, be sure to try a few of the below meals.

1. Mohinga

This comforting noodle soup is considered one of the national dishes of Myanmar. The hot and sour fish-based broth is poured over noodles or rice vermicelli, and made with an aromatic blend of onions, garlic, ginger, lemon grass, chilli and shrimp paste and sliced tender core of banana-stem.

Mohinga is usually served with boiled eggs, fried fish cake (nga hpe) and fritters (akyaw). It is popular for breakfast but is also eaten throughout the day at restaurants and tea houses and bought from street vendors.

2. Mont di

Mont di is a collective term for Myanmar cuisine dishes made with thin rice noodles. The vermicelli is used fresh, as it ferments quickly in Myanmar’s tropical climate. It is made with chickpea flour, chicken, fish cake (nga hpe), onions, coriander, spring onions, crushed dried chilli and dressed with fried crispy onion oil, fish sauce and lime. It comes in two forms, as either salad or soup.

Rakhine Mont di favours the use of marine fish and is more often than not prepared as soup.  Mandalay Mont Di uses meat instead which is cooked as a sauce and added to the noodles like a salad. This dish is extremely popular as an economical fast food choice.

3. Htamin gyin

This is a staple dish, particularly for inhabitants of the Inle region.  It consists of either fresh or fermented rice, tomato and potato or fish sauce, kneaded into round balls that are dressed and garnished with crisp fried onion in oil, tamarind sauce, coriander and spring onions, garlic, chives roots, fried whole dried chilli, grilled dried fermented beancakes and fried dried tofu on the side. It is similar to Japanese rice and has a very rich texture.

4. Nga hpein

This is the local name for Inle carp and is the staple diet of the villagers living on the lake.  It is kneaded with fermented rice or potatoes, and served with twice-fried tofu. Villagers tend garden beds of vegetables and fruit that float on the river.  Farmers gather weeds from the bottom of the lake in the deepest parts of the lake. The lake water is laden with nutrients and the gardens are incredibly fertile, ensuring locals and visitors of meals that are packed with goodness.

5. Ngapi

The local cuisine is full of condiments; sweet, sour and savoury and Ngapi plays a major part in them. The most popular is one made with pickled mango, shrimp and ngapi floss, and fried ngapi and preserved vegetables in rice wine. Ngapi is a paste made from either fresh or salted fermented fish or shrimp and there are many variations depending on the region.

The ngapi of Rakhine State contains little or no salt, and uses marine fish. It is used as a soup base in Mont di. Pé ngapi is made from fermented beans and plays a major role in Shan cuisine.  Another popular version is made from dried beans made into a thick, salty black paste using fermented soy beans. It goes particularly well with pork, which is eaten often by the local people.

6. Thoke

Typically all meals are accompanied by a salad (a thoke) that is centred on one major ingredient; ranging from starches like rice, wheat and rice noodles, glass noodles and vermicelli, to potato, ginger, tomato, kaffir lime, long bean, pickled tea leaves and fish paste (ngapi). Thokes are popular as take-away street food.

7. Hnapyan gyaw

Tofu fritters are ‘twice fried’ and served with a side salad (thoke) of cabbage, spring onions, coriander, crushed garlic and sesame paste, peanut oil and chilli oil. Fried tofu is a very popular meal; it is high in protein and goes with just about anything.

Experience the delicious flavours of Myanmar. Lekker Adventures specialises in providing you with the complete travelling experience to Myanmar. Click here to find out more about travelling to Myanmar with the assistance of Lekker Adventures.