SHAPED LIKE A KITE WITH A LONG TAIL, Burma is the largest country in mainland Southeast Asia. It lies between the giants of Asia—India and China—and it has a long border with Thailand. For centuries it’s been a cultural crossroads, a destination for traders and travelers from India and China and the rest of Southeast Asia. Buddhism traveled here from India about two thousand years ago and then spread eastward. The Mongols invaded Burma in 1271, then retreated back to China.
In this well-watered land of huge rivers and fertile valleys, kingdoms flourished and distinctive food traditions developed over the centuries. As a result, Burma’s culinary scene today is rich and multilayered. From the brilliant salads, sparkling condiments, and easy curries of the Bamar people living in the central river valleys, to the inventive aromatic dishes of the peoples in the hills, Burma has a mother lode of delicious and accessible food traditions.
In the last 150 years, the people of Burma have seen invasions, conquests, war, and civil strife. Through it all they have maintained their culture, their pride, and their sense of self-respect. But the news stories Westerners read about Burma deal with large-scale events and rarely touch on the warmth and humanity of individuals.
Let me take you there, to that more personal layer of life in Burma. Food is an inextricable part of daily life and local culture everywhere in the world, and as an artist friend said to me a couple of years ago, “Food is the last refuge.” The kitchen and the dinner table are places where people can relax and feel safe, where they can take a break from the challenges of the world outside. That’s especially true for people in Burma, where government has until recently been more of a threat than a support. So the Burmese army and government are not invited into the kitchen in this book, nor will you find discussions of human rights mixed in with the recipes here.
A market vendor in Mandalay puts an offering into the bowl of an older nun.
Instead, political and historical details about the country can be found in the section called Burma over Time. There’s also an Annotated Bibliography, so that you can engage with travelers, historians, novelists, and memoirists who have explored aspects of Burma’s past and present. And you’ll find a detailed Glossary of ingredients, cooking terms, ethnographic terms, and place-names. Finally, I’ve included Traveling in Burma, which gives some suggestions for those who would like to learn more about Burma with their own eyes and ears. There’s nothing like immersing yourself in daily life in a new place to give you a sense of other people’s lives and culture.
In the meantime you can travel in your imagination—and in your kitchen—using these recipes, photographs, and stories to transport you. The subtle hiss and delicate aroma of turmeric as it fizzes in hot oil will connect you to the people of Burma and to the mysteries and pleasures of their culture: the processions of monks as they collect food offerings at dawn; the colors and sounds of markets from Myitkyina to Hpa’an; the generosity of the noontime rice meal, with its enticing array of curries and condiments; the gleam of a golden pagoda on a hilltop near Mandalay; and much more that I hope will seduce you in the pages that follow.
In Burmese, the combination “ky” is pronounced “ch,” and “gy” is pronounced like the soft “g” in the name George. The currency, written “kyat” in English, is thus pronounced “chat,” and the sarong-like garment worn by men, spelled “longyi,” is pronounced “lungee.”
In 1989, the government—then a repressive military regime—decreed that the country’s official name would no longer be Burma but Myanmar. The government said that “Burma” was a relic of colonial times. But in fact Burma is the only name that has ever been given to the whole country, because historically the name “Myanma” was used for only a small area, the central valleys where the dominant Bamar population lived. It’s a name that excludes the huge outlying areas that make up the rest of the country, and it excludes the people (Shan, Kachin, etc.) who live there. Therefore, I use Burma in this book.
The government also changed the names of many places. In general I try to use the name that I think readers will find easier. For example, I use the more familiar Rangoon, Irrawaddy, and Moulmein rather than the replacement names Yangon, Ayeyarwady, and Mawlamyine.
For a list of place-names old and new.
Two monks walk down the main street in Dawei in the early morning, before the shops are open, each with his begging bowl and umbrella.
