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A Moegyo volunteer chef prepares shan tohu, a versatile, tofu-like Burmese staple made with chickpea flour
SPICY, SWEET & PORKY
Written and photographed by Annie Lazar
WOODSIDE — The PS12 lunch room, tiled floor-to-ceiling in institutional-green, is an unlikely place for the 3rd Annual Moegyo Burmese Food Fair. Yet one Saturday this June, the cafeteria was ringed by 30 Burmese food stations with homey hand-lettered Burmese/English signs, describing each item and the number of pink carnival tickets it would set you back.
Burma, officially called Myanmar, has at least 135 known native languages with seven distinct cultures. My wonderful guide Nyi Nyein Aye explained that the country sits between India and China. Its culinary traditions are heavily influenced by both countries but remain distinctly separate; even in Burma, a menu of both influences would be hard to find. (Read more here.)
My first taste of Burmese food was lahpet thohk, a Burmese standard customary to the Shan people, a Thai ethnic group in southern Burma. It is made with a lahpet base (green tea leaves that have been fermented underground for months), adding a distinct, bittersweet taste and leafy texture to the fish sauce and fried garlic-topped salad. I had been warned that Burmese food was spicy but this one was quite mild.
Cute and crunchy mini samosas for the samusa thohk salad
Next up was samusa thohk, an Indian-inspired dish with a Burmese twist — a “salad” made with thinly sliced raw cabbage and onions, fresh mint, masala, and the cutest mini samosas you have ever seen, finished with a dusting of chili powder and a twist of lime. This was the spiciest (and crunchiest) salad I have ever tasted.
The mohinga did not seem too spicy for this guy!
Mohinga is considered the national dish of Burma. This concoction of thin rice noodles is served in a broth made with chili, a fish paste called ngapi, and onions, ginger, fried garlic, lemon grass, banana shoots and boiled eggs. My mohinga was spicy enough to send me running for the child-sized water fountain anchored to the green tile wall. Once my palate had been doused, I returned to finish the entire satisfying, sweat-inducing serving.
The mild and delightful Byriani-style chicken and rice dish danbauk was a perfect follow-up to the blowtorch noodles I had just eaten. It was delightfully scented with whole sticks of cinnamon and freshly chopped mint leaves. Mercifully the scorching hot mango pickle was served on the side.
Pork is a staple in the Burmese kitchen. While I didn’t try these dishes myself, my friend assured me that the “deep fried pork innards” were not to be missed; I was happy to take his word on that. The ruby land mogok, a pork dish from the Mandalay region, is considered to be an “identity dish” for the Chinese. I was assured that this dish, so spicy it bore a posted warning, was delicious. The tamarind sauce was fragrant, the cilantro gave it a fresh feel, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.
While my friends porked out, I selected a small container of young coconut agar-agar, cut into diamond-shaped pieces. It was mildly flavored with coconut and slightly sweet. Unfortunately its base was a viscous substance derived from red algae that proved a bit too cartilaginous for me. Luckily I followed up with a delicate cake called sanwinmakin, made of semolina, sweetened with honey and laced with nuts.
"Night Market" shaved ice - cubed flavored agar-agar will be topped with syrup, condensed milk, and shaved ice
Once I started on the sweets, I figured I might as well keep going. Another favorite was the "night market" shaved ice with three types of Jell-o-like and brightly colored cubes, shaved ice, psychedelic-colored syrups, topped off with sweetened condensed milk. Trust me — it was delicious. And I managed to keep enough enamel on my teeth to try the neon green cream soda, made with gooey, peppery tukmaria (basil seeds).
As I left the festival, I rued the fact that there is only one Burmese restaurant in New York. If I’m lucky, maybe I’ll make a Burmese friend who will invite me over for dinner.
The 3rd Annual Burmese Food Fair, P.S. 12 James B Colgate School, 42-00 72nd St., Woodside, www.moegyo.org
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