OFFERINGS AT DAWN
At a monastery in Mandalay, a monk’s begging bowl and several small steel cups (for holding liquids) sit out drying on a wooden step.
MONKS OF EVERY AGE are treated with respect in Burma. Women make sure not to touch them, and everyone opens a path to let them pass through a crowd or lets them go ahead when there’s a line. Every boy from a Buddhist family spends some time ordained as a monk, usually entering a monastery for just a few days in a celebratory ceremony at around the age of eight. The family gives a party, and guests donate supplies to the monastery in honor of the occasion. Later on, a young man will spend a month or more as a monk, his head shaved, living in a monastery.
To an outsider, the most obvious rule followed by monks is that they must go out and accept alms every morning. At dawn all over the country, monks of all ages walk barefoot in single file through the streets, each carrying an alms bowl. Householders who have prepared rice and other food stand waiting by the side of the road. As the monks pass, the laypeople put a small amount of their offering in each monk’s bowl, accepting the monk’s blessing.
Once the alms round is completed, the monks return to the monastery. Most of these morning offerings become the monks’ breakfast. Their big lunch, taken just before noon, is often paid for by donations. They then take no food or drink until the next morning.
Mandalay and the towns surrounding it have the greatest number of monasteries, many of them renowned centers of Buddhist scholarship. Some monasteries have also begun to take an active role in these towns and villages, establishing clinics and schools for children and families in need.
In September 2007 the monks of Burma engaged openly in political action. During this period—known as the Saffron Revolution (“saffron” because Buddhist monks in many places, though not in Burma, wear saffron yellow robes)—they marched in peaceful protest against the government. The demonstrations started in the town of Pakkoku, on the Irrawaddy River north of Bagan, and spread to Rangoon, Mandalay, and elsewhere. When the army opened fire, many monks as well as laypeople were killed or injured. Many others were imprisoned; they were released in 2012 as the country opened to democracy.
These days, monks are treated with extra respect by the people. They’ve earned it.
Monks line up outside a temple in Myinkaba, south of Old Bagan.
SERVES 4 OR 5
Once the capital of a Shan princedom, Hsipaw is five hours northeast of Mandalay on the road to Lashio and the Yunnanese border. The town is small: after a few minutes’ walking, you can be out in the countryside, with the sounds of birds and the wind in the trees.
Just outside town one day I came upon a small family-run noodle stand and stopped for a bowl of khaut swe (pronounced “kao sway”), rice noodles topped with simmered meat and pea tendrils. It’s a first cousin of the noodle dishes found at morning markets along the Mekong River in Yunnan and Laos. In Kengtung, farther east, a version of these noodles, called khao soi, is sold streetside for breakfast every morning.
The
five-spice powder, a reminder that China is a short distance away, gives the tomato-laden chopped-pork sauce a little warmth. There’s no chile in the sauce itself; instead, diners can add chile powder or chile oil if they want. There are many other possible condiments—choose the ones you like. I sometimes make the sauce as a topping for rice, adjusting the recipe by adding extra water to make it more liquid.
3 tablespoons peanut oil
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 cup thinly sliced shallots
1 tablespoon minced garlic
¾ to 1 pound pork tenderloin or boneless pork roast, such as shoulder, cut into cubes less than ½ inch across
2 cups crushed or finely chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon Five-Spice Powder (recipe follows), or substitute ½ star anise, ground, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS AND CONDIMENTS (CHOOSE ANY OR ALL)
About 2 cups pea tendrils, raw or briefly blanched in boiling water
3 tablespoons chopped pickled Chinese mustard greens (see Glossary)
1½ pounds fresh rice noodles or 1 pound dried rice noodles (see Glossary)
Heat the oil in a large heavy pot or a wok over medium-high heat. Add the turmeric and then the sliced shallots and cook until the shallots are translucent, 3 or 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Add the pork and stir and turn to expose all surfaces to the hot oil. After several
minutes, once all the meat has changed color, add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the mashed soybeans or miso paste, fish sauce,
five-spice powder (or alternative spices), and salt, and stir to blend into the sauce. Taste for seasonings, and add extra salt if necessary.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Put out the optional toppings and condiments, and set out the individual bowls for your guests near your stove. Drop the rice noodles into the boiling water and boil gently until softened, about 1 minute for fresh noodles, 4 minutes for dried noodles. Drain and then distribute the noodles among the bowls. Top each pile of noodles with a generous helping of meat sauce.
Invite your guests to add the toppings and condiments as they like.
five-spice powder
MAKES A GENEROUS ¼ CUP
Five-spice powder is traditionally made of a blend of cassia (cinnamon), star anise, cloves, fennel, and
Sichuan pepper. You can buy five-spice powder, but blends and freshness vary, so do try making your own.
About 2 tablespoons star anise pieces
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
One 1-inch cassia (cinnamon) stick
2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns
Scant ½ teaspoon ground cloves
Combine the star anise, fennel, and cassia in a spice or coffee grinder and grind to a powder. Pick over the Sichuan peppercorns and discard any black seeds. Add the peppercorns to the grinder and grind to a powder.
Transfer to a clean, dry jar, add the ground cloves, and mix, then seal well. Store in a cool, dry place.
Shan Village Khaut Swe, with side dishes of extra toppings: blanched pea tendrils, peanuts, and pickled mustard greens.
mandalay noodles with chicken curry
SERVES 6
This Mandalay classic, called Mandalay mondi locally, is a dish of fat round rice noodles. Mondi noodles are topped with a little chicken curry and served with a small bowl of broth alongside, as well as an array of toppings and condiments. The cooked noodles are tossed with oil and a little toasted chickpea flour, which gives them a textured surface.
Traditionally a whole chicken is used: the meat goes into the
curry sauce and the carcass and bones are used to make the broth. You can, if you like, take a shortcut and use store-bought stock and boneless chicken.
One 3- to 4-pound chicken or 1½ pounds boneless legs and breasts, rinsed
BROTH (IF USING A WHOLE CHICKEN)
8 cups water
2 slices ginger
1 large or 2 small shallots, quartered
1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, smashed
CURRY SAUCE
¼ cup peanut oil
¼ teaspoon turmeric
½ cup minced shallots
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup water
2 tablespoons fish sauce
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
1½ to 2 pounds fresh round rice noodles, or 1 pound dried rice noodles (see Glossary)
GARNISHES AND CONDIMENTS
2 hen or duck eggs, hard-boiled, cut into slices (optional)
2 limes, cut into wedges
½ cup chopped coriander
2 tablespoons minced scallion greens
If using a whole chicken, cut off the legs, then cut the meat off the breast and legs. Cut the meat into approximately 1-inch pieces and refrigerate. Or cut the boneless chicken into 1-inch pieces and refrigerate.
To make the optional broth: Place the chicken carcass, wings, and bones in a large pot. Add the water, ginger, shallots, and garlic and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook at a simmer for about 1 hour. Remove from the heat.
When the broth has cooled, lift out the chicken pieces and discard. Strain the broth through a sieve into a pot and discard the solids. Set the broth aside. (The broth can be made ahead and stored, once completely cooled, in a well-sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; it can also be frozen for up to 1 month.)
Heat the oil in a large wok or a wide pan over high heat and stir in the turmeric. Lower the heat to medium-high, toss in the minced shallots, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until it has all changed color, about 7 minutes.
Add the water, fish sauce, and salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the chicken is very tender. Taste for salt and adjust if necessary. Set aside.
Meanwhile, 10 minutes before you want to serve, bring the chicken broth to a boil over medium-high heat, then keep at a simmer over low heat. Set out six wide soup bowls or plates.
Bring a medium or large pot of water to a boil. Toss in the noodles and cook until tender, 1 minute or so for fresh noodles, 3 to 5 minutes for dried rice noodles. Drain and immediately transfer onto the soup bowls or plates. Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon shallot oil and 1 tablespoon chickpea flour onto each serving and toss gently. Top each serving with some chicken and sauce, then sprinkle with 1 or 2 teaspoons fried shallots, a teaspoon or so of peanuts, a slice of hard-cooked egg, if using, a squeeze of lime, a pinch of chile powder, and about 2 teaspoons chopped coriander. Top with a couple of tablespoons of fried noodles, if using.
Invite guests to use forks and spoons to mix their noodles and toppings together Burmese-style. While they do that, add the fish balls, if using, to the simmering chicken broth and cook for 3 minutes. Ladle the broth (and fish balls) into small side bowls, top each with minced scallion greens, and serve. Put out the remaining toppings on a platter or in small bowls so that guests can add extra if they wish.
seafood noodle stir-fry
[KAGYI KAI]SERVES 4
Every little roadside eatery in the southern coastal town of Dawei serves a version of this dish (pronounced “ka-gee kai”). The usual combination is squid, shrimp, and mussels or oysters. If you can find only two of the three kinds of seafood called for, increase the quantity of each, or add another that you like. In Burma the shrimp are cooked head-on and in the shell. Guests then suck all the flavor possible from them as they eat. If you prefer, you can remove the heads, or the heads and the shells, before you cook them.
The shrimp paste gives a depth of flavor, but you can omit it if you wish and just add a little extra oyster sauce or soy sauce. In my experience, the noodles in Dawel are always mild. That’s why the dish is served with hot condiments even though there are no chiles in the recipe. But sometimes as a variation I toss a couple of minced chiles in with the shallots and shrimp paste.
I like to serve one of the palate fresheners as a side, most often
Shallot Chutney with Chiles. You can also put out a plate of sliced cucumbers or chopped tomatoes.
¾ pound head-on shrimp or 2/3 pound headless shrimp
¼ pound shelled mussels or oysters (from 8 to 10 mussels or oysters; see Glossary)
¼ pound cleaned squid
½ cup water
1 pound fresh rice noodles or ¾ pound dried rice noodles (see Glossary)
¼ cup peanut oil
½ cup thinly sliced shallots
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon thinly sliced garlic
1 teaspoon shrimp paste (ngapi; see Glossary; optional)
3 scallions, cut into 1-inch lengths
3 to 4 cups bean sprouts, rinsed
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oyster sauce or soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced Chinese celery leaves or coriander
ACCOMPANIMENTS
3 or 4 limes, cut into wedges
Rinse the shrimp. Remove and discard the shells and heads, if you wish; set aside. Rinse the mussels or oysters; chop into bite-sized pieces if they are large, and set aside. Rinse the squid, chop the tentacles, and cut the bodies crosswise into ¼-inch-wide rings or strips; set aside.
Stir the mashed soybeans or miso into the water and set aside.
If using dried rice noodles, soak in a large bowl of cold water for 10 minutes, then drain and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a wok or large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Set 2 tablespoons of the shallots aside and add the remaining shallots and a pinch of turmeric to the hot oil. Stir-fry for several minutes, until the shallots begin to soften. Add the garlic and stir-fry until lightly brown and beginning to crisp, 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to scoop out the shallots and garlic, pausing to let the excess oil drain off, and set aside.
Add the remaining turmeric, the reserved sliced shallots, and the shrimp paste, if using. Stir to dissolve the shrimp paste in the oil, then stir-fry until the shallots are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the squid and scallions, increase the heat to high, and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the mussels or oysters and shrimp and stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the soybean or miso mixture. Cook for another minute or two, until the shrimp have just changed color, then turn out into a bowl and set aside.
Unless your wok is huge, you’ll need to cook the noodles in two batches: Divide the sprouts, noodles, and reserved cooked seafood in half; for each batch, use 1 tablespoon oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon oyster sauce or soy sauce. Put out a large platter. Place your wok over high heat and add the oil. Add the bean sprouts and salt and stir-fry for 2 minutes, or until the sprouts are just starting to wilt. Add the noodles and cook for 1 minute or so, pressing them against the hot sides of the wok, then turning them and pressing again. If using soaked noodles, cook them for an extra 2 or 3 minutes, until softened. Add the reserved seafood together with the oyster sauce or soy sauce and stir-fry gently, for a minute or so, until well combined. Add the chopped herbs and turn out onto the platter. Repeat with the second batch of the ingredients.
Serve on the platter or on individual plates. Top with the reserved fried shallots and garlic and squeeze on lime juice generously. Put out the remaining lime wedges and other condiments, along with a palate-refreshing side, if you wish.
Sometimes these stir-fried noodles are made with only one or two kinds of seafood, and with thin strips of omelet. Make a simple 2- or 3-egg omelet (see Easy Coriander-Tomato Omelet, page, for guidance). Let cool for 5 minutes. Slice into ½-inch strips. Add to the noodles when you add back the seafood.
