What's Cooking in... Myanmar

One of the things that I love about Asian food is that the preparation is so easy. 

I once mentioned to a Myanmarese, “There are no fast-food restaurants in Myanmar.” The reply was, “All food in Myanmar is fast food.” 

Indeed, with many Myanmar recipes, once you have the ingredients, creating the dish is quick. In addition, simple alterations to many recipes can create equally delicious dishes. Such is the case with Myanmar Ginger Salad. 

I took a cruise in Myanmar on the Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady) River from Mandalay to Bagan in March 2016. This was aboard the RV Kindat Pandaw of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company (Great West House, Great West Road, Brentford, England, TW8 9DF, U.K.; phone, in the US/Canada, 800/729-2651, www.pandaw.com).

For the one-week cruise, all-inclusive of food, local libations, tours, site admissions and tips for the crew, my husband, John, and I paid $1,750 per person for an upper-deck cabin. (On some departures, if you book by a certain date, you can get a cabin to yourself without having to pay a single supplement.)

During the week, there were several onboard cultural presentations, such as how to apply thanaka (the pale yellow makeup commonly worn in Myanmar), how to wear a longyi (the wraparound garment worn by men and women), a puppet show and a dance performance.

Also, every day there were shore trips to temples, pagodas, handicraft shops, villages and other fascinating places. 

Near Amarapura, one excursion was a rowboat ride on Taungthaman Lake for a close-up look at the picturesque U Bein Bridge, thought to be the oldest and longest teakwood bridge in the world. One of the crew brought along sunset cocktails. How’s that for service?! We sat in the rowboat sipping our cocktails while watching the sun set. Beautiful!

One of the shore trips was to a market in Pakokku, where Yan Myo Aung, our guide, pointed out all the ingredients needed to make Green Tea Leaf Salad and Ginger Salad. Many of the items, like ginger, were already julienned and ready to use. 

My favorite salad was the Ginger Salad, which is usually served as an appetizer or salad in the United States but in Myanmar is often a dessert or palate cleanser. 

In a cooking demonstration on board, Chef Wai Myo Ham showed how to prepare a Ginger Salad, with Mr. Yan translating.

Mr. Yan related, “The simplicity of the recipe defines Myanmar cuisine, which is a blend of textures and flavors utilizing available items from the market or locally farmed.”

He also noted, “Pickling and salting of vegetables is widespread due to the lack of refrigeration.”

There was one awkward moment during the lesson. When the salad was ready to serve, Mr. Yan asked our group of 10, “Who is the oldest? The oldest gets served first.” 

One woman in our group said, “You never ask a lady how old she is.” 

To avoid an embarrassing situation, I volunteered that I was the oldest. Who knows? Maybe I was.

Sandra Scott can be reached c/o ITN.