Soups
In Myanmar, soups generally fall into two categories. Brothy soup—often made sour with tamarind pulp—is sipped throughout a meal. Some say it stimulates the appetite and helps you eat more rice. The other, heartier kind of soup is substantial enough to be a meal on its own.
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The most famous dish in this chapter is mohinga, which is by all accounts the country’s national dish. On the Burma Superstar menu, Mohinga is one of those sleepers, overlooked in favor of Tea Leaf Salad or Samusa Soup. Yet it’s long been a favorite of both Desmond and Joycelyn. And in Myanmar, it’s served everywhere from tea shops to fancy hotel buffets to crowded street stalls where people start lining up in the morning for their fix. Consisting of whole catfish cooked in a peppery broth and served with noodles, it’s a favorite breakfast food that tastes just as good at other times of the day. In Myanmar, mohinga is so pervasive that every region has its own version. The central part of the country uses freshwater fish, while the coasts use seafood and inland areas use chicken. It’s such an important dish that we included two recipes in this book: Classic Mohinga and Rakhine Mohinga, a spicier version from the coastal Rakhine State.
While classic European-style soups are thickened with a roux made of flour and butter, hearty Burmese soups tend to rely on chickpea flour or toasted, ground rice to thicken the broth. It’s a clever trick that feels completely modern, especially for anyone who cooks gluten-free. But it’s also great for flavor, as neither thickener masks the main ingredients of the soup. And some soups, like Chin Corn Soup, are closer to porridge than soup (yellow hominy, beans, and greens make a filling—and absurdly healthy—meal).
The key to success with the recipes in this chapter is working ahead and simplifying when necessary. For this reason, toppings are provided as nice-to-have, not need-to-have, options. The soups can stand alone without them. You can also make the toppings a day or two ahead. For the mohingas, Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup, and Samusa Soup, the bases can be made the day or two before the soup is served. No matter what you do, always add your noodles right before serving so they don’t overcook in the broth.
SAMUSA SOUP
For whatever reason, Burmese-English menus often write samosas with a “u” instead of an “o”—hence Samusa Soup. Yet a bowl of this soup—whether served in Yangon or San Francisco—includes more than those namesake savory fried filled pastries (however you want to spell them). There are also fried bits of potato and fritters made with yellow split peas (what Burma Superstar employees call falafel). Brimming with South Indian flavor, it is by far the most popular soup on the menu.
The most important component is the broth. Toasted chickpea flour thickens it while curry powder and garam masala add fragrance. If making samosas and falafel for the sole purpose of this soup is a tall order, skip them; make the broth and add a cup of cooked diced potato for a simple, healthy alternative. The broth, samosas, and falafel freeze well, so you can make the various recipes at different times, freeze them, and then serve them all together down the road. If you have the Mustard-Cumin Spice Blend, you can use 2 teaspoons of it in place of the cumin seeds and mustard seeds called for here.
SERVES 4 TO 6
Soup
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
⅓ cup canola oil
4 small dried chiles
3 bay leaves
2 cups finely diced yellow onion
¼ cup minced garlic
1½ teaspoons paprika
½ teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon Tamarind Salt (optional)
¼ cup toasted chickpea flour (see this page)
6½ cups water
½ cup Tamarind Water
½ jalapeño or 2 Thai chiles, minced
½ teaspoon Garam Masala
¼ cup loosely packed, torn mint leaves
Serving
6 Samosas, at room temperature
6 Yellow Split Pea Falafel, at a warm room temperature
2 cups shredded green cabbage
1 cup cilantro sprigs
1 lime, cut into wedges
In a dry wok or skillet over medium heat, toast the cumin and mustard seeds until the cumin is fragrant and the mustard seeds start to pop, no more than 30 seconds. Transfer to a mortar with a pestle or a coffee grinder and pulverize to a coarse powder.
In a heavy pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the mustard-cumin blend, dried chiles, and bay leaves and cook briefly to draw out the aromas, 20 seconds. Stir in the onions and garlic, lower the heat to medium, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are softened, 5 minutes. Stir in the paprika, turmeric, salt, and tamarind salt and cook for 3 minutes more or until the water has been cooked down and a thin film of oil rises to the surface.
In a small bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour and ½ cup of the water until the flour no longer has lumps. Stir the flour mixture into the pot. Pour in the remaining 6 cups of water and the tamarind water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Stir in the jalapeño, garam masala, and mint. Taste the broth—you may want to add more salt or a squeeze of lime. (At this point, you can cool the broth and refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month.)
To serve, break up the samosas and falafel into pieces and divide among 4 large bowls or 6 small bowls. Ladle the hot broth over the top. Top with shredded cabbage and cilantro, and serve lime wedges on the side.
SOUR LEAF SOUP
This brothy soup gets its pucker from sour leaf (pictured here and this page, also see this page), a favorite green among the Burmese. You don’t have to wait to find sour leaf to make this soup though. A mix of sorrel leaves and spinach leaves can be used in its place with the help of tamarind water. But keep your eyes peeled for fresh sour leaf. Or ask a Burmese friend where to buy it frozen.
This soup makes for a light lunch with rice served on the side or it can be served in small bowls as part of a larger meal. To make it richer, add thinly sliced lotus root. For the fish, any kind of white-flesh variety—catfish, cod, or rockfish—will do. Or skip the fish and use peeled and deveined shrimp.
SERVES 4 TO 6 AS PART OF A LARGER MEAL
12 ounces boneless, skinned white fish fillet, such as rockfish
1¼ teaspoons salt
¼ cup canola oil
2 cups finely diced yellow onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons shrimp paste (see this page)
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon turmeric
2 to 3 Thai chiles, each cut crosswise into 3 pieces
4 cups firmly packed fresh, stemmed sour leaf; or 1 cup frozen and thawed sour leaf (about 1 bunch); or 4 cups spinach and 2 cups stemmed and coarsely chopped sorrel leaves
1 tablespoon fish sauce
4 cups water
¼ cup Tamarind Water
½ cup thinly sliced yellow onion or shallot
10 cilantro sprigs, for garnish
Trim away any bones from the fish fillets. (Rockfish fillets often have a set of ribs running halfway down the center. Simply slice down both sides of the bones to cut them out.) Cut the fish into ½- to 1-inch pieces. Transfer to a bowl and mix with a ½ teaspoon of the salt. Let sit at room temperature while you prepare the other ingredients.
In a 4-quart pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the onions and cook, stirring often, until the onions have browned around the edges and softened, 4 minutes.
Stir in the garlic and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is very aromatic, about 2 minutes. Stir in the shrimp paste and cook for 1 minute.
Stir in the paprika, cayenne, turmeric, chiles, and the remaining ¾ teaspoon salt and cook briefly, about 30 seconds. Add the fish and stir to coat in the aromatics. (It’s okay if the fish begins to break into smaller pieces.)
Add the sour leaf, packing it down so it all fits in the pot, and cook until wilted if fresh and warmed through if frozen, about 4 minutes. If it has been previously frozen, use a spoon to break up the chunks. If it’s fresh, stir it to encourage the leaves to wilt.
Add the fish sauce, water, and tamarind water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and stir in the sliced onions. Cook for 3 minutes more. By now, the fish should be fully cooked and the sliced onions softened but still slightly crunchy. Taste, adding more fish sauce, tamarind water, or salt as needed. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro.
COCONUT CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
If you like Coconut Chicken Curry, try this noodle soup, which is essentially the same curry in soup form. Ohn no khaut swe is probably one of the most popular soups in Myanmar among tourists, especially those who are fans of Thailand’s khao soi, a soup that is similar enough for some to say it evolved from this Burmese classic. For yet another variation on the coconut chicken noodle theme, try the Nan Gyi Thoke.
SERVES 4 TO 6
Soup
1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons turmeric
½ teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons salt
¼ cup canola oil
2 cups finely diced yellow onion
¼ cup minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 (13½-ounce) cans unsweetened coconut milk
3 tablespoons fish sauce
4½ cups water
¼ cup toasted chickpea flour (see this page)
10 to 12 ounces flat rice noodles
Serving
2 hard-boiled eggs (see this page), sliced into wedges
Dried red chile flakes
1 cup cilantro sprigs, coarsely chopped
1 lime or lemon, cut into wedges
Trim the chicken thighs and cut into ½-inch pieces. Transfer to a bowl and use your hands to mix with the paprika, turmeric, cayenne, and salt. Let marinate at room temperature while you prepare the other ingredients.
In a heavy 6-quart pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the onions, decrease the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring often to prevent scorching, for 8 minutes or until the onions are very soft and have started to brown at the edges. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes more.
Add the chicken and stir to release the spices into the onions. Pour in the coconut milk and bring to a near boil. Let the coconut milk simmer briskly for about 8 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the fish sauce. Stir in 4 cups of the water and bring the pot back to a near boil.
In a small bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour and the remaining ½ cup water until no lumps remain. Stir into the broth.
Lower the soup to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is tender, 50 to 55 minutes. If time permits, let the soup sit for at least 20 minutes before serving. This allows the chicken to become tender and to soak in the flavor of the soup as it cools.
To cook the noodles, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook, stirring often with tongs or chopsticks to prevent sticking, 5 to 6 minutes or until softened. Turn off the heat and let the noodles sit in the water for 3 minutes. Drain in a colander, rinse under cool running water, and give the colander a shake to remove excess water. If not serving right away, mix some canola oil into the noodles with your hands to keep them from sticking together. (You can also cook the noodles in advance and soak them in warm water before serving to loosen them up.)
To serve, divide the noodles among the bowls. Bring the soup to a simmer and taste, adding more salt or fish sauce if desired. Ladle the soup over the noodles and top with the hard-boiled eggs, chile flakes, and cilantro. Serve lime wedges alongside.
CLASSIC MOHINGA
Unless you’ve been to Myanmar or have a Burmese friend, you’ve probably never heard of mohinga, which is too bad: it’s essentially the national dish, made in nearly every corner of the country. When sister restaurant Burma Love was newly opened, Desmond noticed the mohinga served there wasn’t quite hitting the mark. To troubleshoot, he asked Ma Htay, one of the restaurant’s cooks who had been working on the salad station, to show the other cooks where they were going wrong. She nailed it.
Ma Htay grew up in Thanlyin, a city across the river from Yangon. She worked at a factory there until she and her husband and daughter secured a diversity visa to come to the United States. Ma Htay started cooking when she was ten years old, beginning with rice and working her way up to fried eggs until she finally learned how to make mohinga. The trick to this classic dish is achieving the right balance of ingredients, from the toasted rice powder to the freshness of the fish. And classic mohinga should contain lemongrass to counteract the fishy aroma. In Myanmar, Ma Htay says, lines form at the mohinga stalls that get the ratio of ingredients correct. Each mohinga is built to order: the noodles (cooked separately) go into the bowl first, followed by a ladleful of soup and a handful of toppings that you can choose from. At home, mohinga is made in a big pot on special occasions. The richer you are (so the logic goes), the more fish you add to the pot.
The mild lemongrass-infused broth is thickened with toasted rice that is ground to a powder. A clean coffee grinder works well for grinding the rice. This recipe uses whole catfish, the bones of which add flavor and body to the broth. Fitting a whole catfish in a pot can be tough, though, so ask the fishmonger to cut it into thirds, retaining all the bones and the head, or be prepared to bend the fish to get it to fit in the pot. The fish flesh is later removed from the bones and mashed into a paste with aromatics, losing its shape. (Customers ordering mohinga for the first time often ask where the fish is.)
Classic mohinga is not typically a spicy bowl of noodles. For a spicier version, try the Rakhine Mohinga. When selecting bay leaves, avoid fresh California bay laurel leaves and opt for milder bay leaves at Indian and Southeast Asian markets or leave them out. Use any or all of the garnishes suggested here.
SERVES ABOUT 6
½ cup uncooked jasmine rice
Broth
3 quarts water
3 stalks lemongrass (see this page), cut into 3-inch pieces
2-ounce piece ginger (unpeeled), thickly sliced crosswise into slabs
5 bay leaves
1½ teaspoons ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 scaled and gutted catfish (about 3 pounds)
Soup
⅓ cup vegetable oil
1 stalk lemongrass, minced (see this page)
¼ cup minced garlic
3 tablespoons minced ginger
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 red onions, diced into ½-inch pieces (about 3½ cups)
¼ cup fish sauce
Salt
10 ounces fine round rice noodles
Serving
6 hard-boiled eggs (see this page), sliced
12 Yellow Split Pea Crackers, broken into pieces
½ cup chopped cilantro
2 limes, cut into wedges
Thinly sliced red onions
Heat the oven to 350°F. Spread the rice across a rimmed baking pan and bake, giving the pan an occasional stir, until the rice is an even golden color and aromatic, 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature and then pulverize in a clean coffee grinder.
To make the broth, select a large wide pot that will fit the catfish comfortably with room to spare. (An 8-quart pot works well.) Add the water, lemongrass, ginger, bay leaves, black and white pepper, and salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Carefully lower the fish into the pot. The fish may not be completely covered in water, but that’s okay. Bring the pot to a brisk simmer, lower the heat, and cook gently for 15 minutes. Using tongs, carefully turn the fish over or at least rotate it slightly to cook the side that was sticking out of the water. Simmer for another 5 minutes or until the fish flesh pulls away cleanly from the bone. Using tongs and a spider or slotted spoon, lift the fish out of the broth and transfer to a bowl. Turn off the heat and let the broth sit on the stove.
When the fish is cool enough to handle, pull off the skin and discard. Separate the cooked fish from the bones, trying to keep the skeleton (or skeleton portions if the fish is cut in pieces) intact. Set aside the cooked fish. Return the skeleton (including head and tail) to the pot.
Bring the pot to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. The broth should have a mild ginger-lemongrass flavor and be slightly cloudy. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer. You will have about 10 cups. Give the pot a quick rinse (when it’s cool enough to handle), and return the broth to the pot.
In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered rice and a ladleful of the broth until no lumps remain. Stir into the broth. Bring the broth to a simmer and cook, stirring often, until it starts to barely thicken, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low and cook the broth at a gentle simmer while preparing the soup.
To make the soup, in a wok or large skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Add the lemongrass, garlic, and ginger and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the cooked fish, paprika, and turmeric, mashing the fish gently with a spoon to turn it into a coarse paste, and cook for about 1 minute. If you see any errant bones, pick them out.
Pour the contents of the wok into the broth and bring to a brisk simmer. Add the red onions and fish sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes more or until the flavors start to come together. Taste the broth: it should be on the salty side because the noodles will not have any salt. If it’s not that salty, add some salt or fish sauce. (At this point, the soup can be cooled and served the next day.)
To cook the noodles, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook, stirring often with tongs or chopsticks to prevent sticking, for 5 to 6 minutes or until softened. Turn off the heat and let the noodles sit in the water for 3 minutes. Drain in a colander, rinse under cool running water, and give the colander a shake to remove excess water. If not serving right away, mix some canola oil into the noodles with your hands to keep them from sticking together. (You can also cook the noodles in advance and soak them in warm water before serving.)
To serve, divide the noodles among the bowls. Ladle the soup over the noodles and serve the hard-boiled eggs, crackers, cilantro, and lime wedges alongside.
RAKHINE MOHINGA
Rakhine State hugs the Bay of Bengal, and mountains on its eastern border cut it off from central Myanmar. Their coastal location means the residents of Rakhine State cook with ocean-caught fish instead of catfish, like they do in inland Myanmar. And while geography doesn’t quite explain it, Rakhine food uses a sweat-inducing amount of chiles and pepper. Even the most innocuous-looking fish salads can deliver a punch. These two elements are on display in the Rakhine version of mohinga. This soup isn’t overpoweringly spicy, but it goes heavy on black pepper. It’s also brothier than classic mohinga, which helps alleviate some of the heat.
When making Rakhine Mohinga at home, choose any whole, non-oily fish you like. Whole tai snapper is a good option. It’s okay if the fish is smaller or larger than 3 pounds. Ask your fishmonger to gut, scale, and cut the fish in half or thirds. This makes it easier to fit the fish in the pot. (If the fish is kept whole, you’ll just need to bend it to fit into the pot.) Ginger and galangal (a similar-looking rhizome with a clean flavor; see this page) are both classic ingredients in Rakhine Mohinga, though you can leave the galangal out and double down on the ginger. What really sells this dish to heat-seekers at the table is sprinkling raw minced Thai chiles and garlic over the top before eating.
SERVES ABOUT 6
Broth
3 quarts water
2 yellow or red onions, diced into ½-inch pieces (about 3½ cups)
One to two 3-ounce pieces ginger (unpeeled), thickly sliced crosswise into slabs
2 tablespoons shrimp paste
2 tablespoons minced galangal (optional)
1½ tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon turmeric
2 chopped serrano chiles or 2 to 5 Thai chiles, halved
1 scaled and gutted fish (about 3 pounds), such as tai snapper
Soup
⅓ cup canola oil
2 cups minced yellow onion
⅓ cup minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced galangal (optional)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup Tamarind Water
10 ounces fine rice noodles
Serving
¼ cup minced garlic
¼ cup minced Thai, jalapeño, or serrano chiles
1¾ cups Fried Onions
A large bowl of cilantro sprigs
To make the broth, select a large wide pot that will fit the fish comfortably with room to spare. (An 8-quart pot works well.) Add the water, onions, ginger, shrimp paste, galangal, salt, pepper, turmeric, chopped chiles, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. The shrimp paste should break down in the broth.
Carefully lower the fish into the pot. The fish may not be completely covered in water, but that’s okay. Bring the pot to a brisk simmer, lower the heat, and cook gently for 8 to 10 minutes. If necessary, using tongs, carefully turn the fish over or at least rotate it to cook the side that was sticking out of the water and cook for a few minutes more or until the fish flesh pulls away cleanly from the bone, a total of 12 to 15 minutes for tai snapper but longer for catfish. Using tongs and a spider or slotted spoon, lift the fish out of the broth and transfer to a bowl. Turn off the heat and let the broth sit on the stove.
When the fish is cool enough to handle, pull off the skin and discard. Separate the cooked fish from the bones, trying to keep the skeleton (or skeleton pieces if the fish is cut in pieces) intact. Set aside the cooked fish. Return the skeleton (including head and tail) to the pot.
Bring the pot to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. The broth should have a ginger flavor and be on the salty side. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer. You will have about 10 cups. Give the pot a quick rinse (when it’s cool enough to handle) and return the broth to the pot. Turn the heat to low and cook the broth at a gentle simmer while preparing the soup.
To make the soup, in a wok or large skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Add the onions and cook for 4 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic, ginger, and galangal and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the cooked fish, turmeric, and salt, mashing the fish gently with a spatula or spoon to turn it into a coarse paste, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. If you see any errant bones, pick them out.
Pour the contents of the wok into the broth and bring to a brisk simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes more or until the flavors start to come together. Add the tamarind water. Taste the broth: it should be assertive because the noodles are unseasoned. If it tastes underseasoned, add more salt. (At this point, the soup can be cooled and served the next day.)
To cook the noodles, bring a pot of water to a boil. Stir in the noodles and cook, stirring often with tongs or chopsticks to prevent sticking, for 5 to 6 minutes or until softened. Turn off the heat and let them sit in the water for 3 minutes. Drain in a colander, rinse under cool water, and give the colander a shake to remove the excess water. If not serving right away, mix some canola oil into them with your hands to keep them from sticking together. (You can also cook the noodles in advance and soak them in warm water before serving.)
To serve, divide the noodles among the bowls. In a small bowl, stir together the garlic and chiles. Ladle the soup over the noodles and serve the garlic-chile mixture, fried onions, and cilantro alongside.
CHIN CORN SOUP
This hearty porridge comes from Nang Khan Cin—“Afoo”—who heads the kitchen at the Alameda location of Burma Superstar. Ethnically Chin, he left Myanmar to seek work in Malaysia before eventually coming to Oakland with the help of the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Afoo was the first cook Desmond hired from the IRC program. Everyone who is Chin has their own version of this simple soup, which is brought to life by mixing roasted tomatoes, ginger, garlic, and chiles together like salsa.
For this soup, look for dried golden hominy, which looks like broken popcorn kernels, in Mexican or Asian grocery stores. The brand Goya makes one. In Chinese grocery stores, it’s called “dried broken corn.” If you find only canned hominy, look for “golden corn hominy,” and give it a rinse before using. (If you have super-artisanal hominy, read the label to see if it requires further treatment before it can be cooked.) The recipe calls for small red beans, which can be anything from pinto to kidney to borlotti (cranberry) beans.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
Soup
8 ounces golden hominy or dried broken corn
8 ounces dried small red beans
1 tablespoon salt
About 8 cups leafy greens, such as chard, collard greens, or red or green amaranth (for chard and collards, cut the thickest part of the stems into small pieces; for amaranth, remove the thick stems)
Pounded Sauce
4 Roma tomatoes
2-inch piece ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 jalapeño chile, coarsely chopped (seeds removed for less heat)
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro
In separate bowls, cover the hominy and the beans with 2 inches of water and soak overnight at room temperature. Drain. Add both soaked ingredients to a 6-quart or larger pot and cover with 1 inch of water.
Bring to a boil. Lower to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the hominy and beans are cooked through, about 1½ hours. Add more water to the pot halfway through to ensure the hominy and beans stay covered. To check for doneness, cut a kernel of hominy in half and split a bean in half. If either is still chalky in the center, keep simmering.
When the hominy and beans are done, stir in the salt and greens and add more water if the soup is as thick as oatmeal (although the soup should not be watery). Simmer for 10 minutes more or until the grains, beans, and greens are fully integrated. Taste, adding more salt if needed. The soup will taste bland, but it will come to life when eaten with the salsa.
Meanwhile, make the pounded sauce. Preheat a broiler. Line a rimmed baking sheet or pan with aluminum foil and place the tomatoes on the foil. Broil until the tomato skin starts to blister, 3 to 4 minutes. Rotate the tomatoes and broil for another 3 to 4 minutes or until most of the skins have blistered. (Alternatively, char the tomatoes on a grill.) Coarsely chop the tomatoes.
In a mortar with a pestle, mash the ginger, garlic, and chile together into a coarse paste. Add the salt and cilantro and mash some more. Add the tomatoes and continue to mash until a chunky salsa forms. Taste, adding more salt if needed (the sauce should taste assertive to bring flavor to the hominy and beans).
To serve, ladle the soup into the bowls and serve the sauce alongside. Before eating the soup, heap a generous spoonful or two of the sauce on top, and continue to add sauce as you eat.
CHIN STATE
Many of the Burmese refugees who have come to Oakland are from the Chin State, a mountainous region bordering India and the home of the Chin people, one of Myanmar’s minority groups. The Chin State is a remote and difficult place to live, especially when the monsoon rains wash away roads and leave people stranded without food. In the summer of 2015, when we were in Myanmar researching this book, the flooding in the Chin and Rakhine states was so severe that bags of rice and other aid relief were piled up in the domestic terminal of the Yangon airport, their distribution routes washed out.
While Chin food may be elusive in Myanmar, the influx of Chin refugees in the United States is opening up this world to Americans. Chin food is simple and healthy, brimming with leafy greens, tomatoes, chiles, eggplant, and potatoes. Some find it similar to Nepalese food. Rice is rare, but beans and hominy grow easily there and are used in simple, hearty soups.
