Burma: Rivers of Flavor by Naomi Duguid

By Naomi Duguid

Naomi Duguid’s heralded cookbooks have consistently transcended the class to develop into “something higher and extra important” (Los Angeles Times). each one in its personal manner is “a step forward ebook . . . an incredible contribution” (The big apple Times). And as Burma opens up after a part century of seclusion, who greater than Duguid—the esteemed writer of Hot bitter Salty Sweet—to introduce the rustic and its meals and flavors to the West.

Located on the crossroads among China, India, and the international locations of Southeast Asia, Burma has lengthy been a land that absorbed outdoors affects into its daily life, from the Buddhist faith to foodstuffs just like the potato. within the approach, the folks of the rustic referred to now as Myanmar have constructed a wealthy, advanced delicacies that mekes artistic use of simply to be had elements to create fascinating style combinations.

Salads are the best access issues into the glories of this delicacies, with gleaming flavors—crispy fried shallots, a squeeze of unpolluted lime juice, a touch of garlic oil, a pinch of turmeric, a few crunchy roast peanuts—balanced with a gentle hand. The salad culture is versatile; Burmese chefs rework all types of meals into salads, from fowl and roasted eggplant to spinach and tomato. And the engaging Tea-Leaf Salad is a signature dish in critical Burma and within the japanese hills which are domestic to the Shan people.

Mohinga, a scrumptious mixture of rice noodles and fish broth, provides as much as convenience foodstuff at its most sensible. at any place you move in Burma, you get a marginally assorted model simply because, as Duguid explains, each one quarter layers its personal touches into the dish.

Tasty sauces, chutneys, and relishes—essential parts of Burmese cuisine—will develop into mainstays on your kitchen, as will a fowl roasted with potatoes, turmeric, and lemongrass; a seafood noodle stir-fry with shrimp and mussels; Shan khaut swei, an fabulous noodle dish made with pea tendrils and red meat; a hearty chicken-rice soup professional with ginger and soy sauce; and a breathtakingly uncomplicated dessert composed of just  sticky rice, coconut, and palm sugar.

Interspersed in the course of the one hundred twenty five recipes are fascinating stories from the author’s many journeys to this interesting yet little-known land. One such attractive essay exhibits how Burmese girls enhance themselves with thanaka, a white paste used to guard and beautify the outside. Buddhism is a valuable truth of Burmese existence: we meet barefoot clergymen on their morning quest for alms, in addition to nuns with shaved heads; and Duguid takes us on excursions of Shwedagon, the amazingly grand temple complicated on a hill in Rangoon, the previous capital. She takes boats up Burma’s large rivers, highways to areas inaccessible via street; spends time in village markets and residential kitchens; and takes us to the farthest reaches of the rustic, alongside the way in which introducing us to the attention-grabbing humans she encounters on her travels.

The top technique to know about an unexpected tradition is thru its foodstuff, and in Burma: Rivers of Flavor, readers will be transfixed via the splendors of an old and lovely state, untouched by way of the skin global for generations, whose uncomplicated recipes pride and fulfill and whose everyone is one of the so much gracious on earth.