Myanmar is a country situated only an hour away from Thailand by flight. Because Thailand and Myanmar are so close, the cuisines are similar and complementary—if you love spices and rice or noodles, Burmese cuisine has lots of it and are also rich in flavours and nutrients. It’s time to get to know the cuisine of Thailand’s neighbour better, so here are five dishes you definitely shouldn’t miss if you happen to cross the western border of Thailand any time soon:
Mohinga is a classic dish often served for breakfast in Myanmar, so much so that it is regarded as the country’s national dish. (Mohinga hawkers in Myanmar are as prevalent as 7-Elevens in Bangkok, to put it into perspective.) Mohinga is essentially a fish soup with rice noodles, flavoured with garlic, onion, banana tree stems, ginger and lemongrass, but the recipe differs from city to city. You can also choose various options of topping, from deep-fried vegetable to other kinds of fritters.
One of the best things about Burmese cuisine is that it welcomes experimentation. The noodle salad was born from mixing rice noodles with someone’s desired ingredients. The Noodle salad is often enjoyed in Myanmar as a light in-between meal.
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Nangyi thoke is a local dish from Mandalay. Contrasting the noodle salad, which is modified by its accompanying ingredients, nangyi thoke offers three options of noodles, from thickest to thinnest.
Like most countries in this region, rice is the staple carbohydrate most meals are based around, and in Myanmar, rice’s best friend is curry and there’s plenty of it. Not only are there so many variations for each type of meat, the choices of vegetables that can go into a curry are also vast. Rice and curry is a common meal in the country, eaten daily for lunch and dinner, as well as on special occasions. Some of the popular curries you can try in Myanmar are Tiger Prawn curry, Chicken and Gourd curry and Spicy Eel clay pot.
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After a filling Burmese lunch or dinner, it is only fitting to have a dessert, and the famous one in Myanmar is the shwe yin aye. Shwe yin aye, which translates to “cooling down your golden heart”, is, as you can guess, a refreshing dessert served chilled. The dish comprises of coconut milk, assorted jellies and sometimes ice cream and bread. Traditionally, you would dip the bread in the coconut milk and top it with jellies of your choosing.
