Mostly Rice

Beyond the meals centered around plain fresh rice, leftover rice is breakfast for many, lightly fried, with perhaps an egg or some cooked beans or meat on top. Rice is also cooked in coconut milk, or with oil and flavorings (see Fried Rice with Shallots, and Peanut and Rice Porridge). Sticky rice is the everyday rice of the Tai Koen people in eastern Shan State; it’s also the main ingredient in many of the dishes in the Sweets chapter.