Salads

Salads are one of the best entry points into Burmese cuisine. Their special quality is the balance of flavors and textures between tart and sweet, crunchy and tender, fresh and cooked. There are no heavy-handed dressings here, just an enticing lightness of touch. The word for “salad” in Burmese is thoke, meaning “mixed or blended by hand.”

Burmese cooks are incredibly inventive; they can transform almost any ingredient into a salad, from banana flowers and green mango to poached fish. All it takes is the addition of flavorings from Burma Basics (pages 19–41), such as roasted peanuts, fried shallots, and toasted chickpea flour, as well as lime juice and seasoning. Vegetable-based salads include Intensely Green Spinach and Tomato Salad with Peanuts, Long-Bean Salad with Roasted Peanuts, and Roasted Eggplant Salad. Then there are salads made of shrimp, Shan tofu, grapefruit, and more, each one distinctive.