Sweet Treats

Appears in

Published 2012

About

In Burma sweets are a pleasure for the moments in the day when you’re not eating a meal and just want a little pick-me-up. Most of them are made from rice or rice flour and sweetened with palm sugar in inventive combinations with coconut or banana, or sesame seeds and peanuts.

One place to find sweet treats is at morning markets; another is in tea shops, especially in the afternoon. Many sweets, such as Doughnut Rings Dipped in Palm Sugar Syrup and Street-Side Seductions, as well as the wonderful Shan Burmese version of fried bananas, Fried Sesame-Seed Bananas, are made and sold by street vendors, especially in the cities. They’re also a big favorite at temple festivals. Other sweets are made in home kitchens. That’s where I learned to make Magic Rice Balls and the sweet morning treat Sticky-Rice Sweet Buns with Coconut.