Burmese Cookbookမြန်မာ့မီးဖိုချောင် · The Myanmar Kitchen

Rice & Foundationsထမင်း

Rice, fried shallots, ngapi, shan tofu — the quiet machinery underneath every Burmese meal.

Si Chet, Burmese Chili Oil

Rice & Foundations · 30 min · Beginner

Si Chet, Burmese Chili Oilဆီချက်

The essential Burmese table oil — peanut oil gently fried with chili flakes, garlic, shallot, and a little ngapi, then spooned red over rice, noodles, and salads.

Toh Sa Yar, the Vegetable & Ngapi Platter

Rice & Foundations · 40 min · Beginner

Toh Sa Yar, the Vegetable & Ngapi Platterတို့စရာ

The platter of raw and blanched vegetables around a pungent ngapi dip that no Burmese meal is complete without — the fresh, bitter counterpoint to curry.

Bai, the Everyday Vegetable Pot

Rice & Foundations · 60 min · Beginner

Bai, the Everyday Vegetable Pot

The Chin-Mizo daily vegetable stew — greens, pumpkin, and beans simmered with a whisper of alkali and a spoonful of fermented soybean, eaten at every meal.

Hsa Zein Be U, Salted Duck Eggs

Rice & Foundations · 35 min · Beginner

Hsa Zein Be U, Salted Duck Eggsဆားစိမ်ဘဲဥ

The delta larder's quiet workhorse — duck eggs brined in strong salt water for a month until the whites turn savory and the yolks set to dense orange gold.

Htamin Jin, Inle Sour Rice

Rice & Foundations · 75 min · Intermediate

Htamin Jin, Inle Sour Riceထမင်းချဉ်

Shan State's beloved sour rice — warm turmeric rice kneaded with tomato-simmered fish and potato, pressed into patties and crowned with sizzling golden garlic oil.

Nga Hpe, the Myeik Fish Cake

Rice & Foundations · 60 min · Intermediate

Nga Hpe, the Myeik Fish Cakeငါးဖယ်

Myeik's famous springy fish cakes, pounded from featherback and slapped until bouncy — fried golden for snacking or sliced into noodles and soups.

Ngapi Daung, Pounded Fish-Paste Relish

Rice & Foundations · 25 min · Beginner

Ngapi Daung, Pounded Fish-Paste Relishငါးပိထောင်း

Roasted fish paste pounded with charred chilies, garlic, and dried shrimp — the fierce relish at the center of the Mon table, eaten with rice and raw greens.

Ngapi Kyaw, Fried Fish-Paste Relish

Rice & Foundations · 25 min · Beginner

Ngapi Kyaw, Fried Fish-Paste Relishငါးပိကြော်

Rakhine's fried ngapi relish — fish paste sizzled with shallots, garlic, and green chili into a dark, fierce spoonful that seasons a whole table of rice.

Ohn Htamin, Coconut Rice

Rice & Foundations · 45 min · Beginner

Ohn Htamin, Coconut Riceအုန်းထမင်း

Jasmine rice cooked in coconut milk until rich and faintly sweet — the festive rice of Myanmar's coconut coast, born for chicken curry and balachaung.

Pazun Chauk, Dried Shrimp Floss

Rice & Foundations · 20 min · Beginner

Pazun Chauk, Dried Shrimp Flossပုစွန်ခြောက်

The dried prawns of the Myeik archipelago, toasted and pounded into the fluffy golden floss that quietly seasons half the Burmese table.

Pè Byouk, Teahouse Boiled Beans

Rice & Foundations · 70 min · Beginner

Pè Byouk, Teahouse Boiled Beansပဲပြုတ်

Yangon's teahouse boiled beans — matpe simmered with turmeric until creamy in their skins, finished with shallot oil. The quiet partner to naan and fried rice.

Pone Yay Gyi, Bagan's Black Bean Paste

Rice & Foundations · 260 min · Intermediate

Pone Yay Gyi, Bagan's Black Bean Pasteပုန်းရည်ကြီး

Bagan's fermented horse-gram bean paste, made the slow home way — boiled, soured, and reduced to a black umami jam that anchors Upper Burma's table.

Shat Jam, the Kachin Mixed Rice

Rice & Foundations · 65 min · Intermediate

Shat Jam, the Kachin Mixed Rice

Kachin mixed rice — warm rice hand-massaged with poached chicken, ginger, fresh herbs, and toasted Sichuan pepper. The far north's signature one-plate meal.

Thingyan Htamin, New Year Water Rice

Rice & Foundations · 55 min · Beginner

Thingyan Htamin, New Year Water Riceသင်္ကြန်ထမင်း

Cool water rice for the April new year — jasmine-scented, served with crisp dried fish and a green mango relish, a Thingyan custom the Bamar credit to the Mon.

Tua Nao, Shan Fermented Soybean Discs

Rice & Foundations · 210 min · Intermediate

Tua Nao, Shan Fermented Soybean Discsပဲပုပ်

Shan State's seasoning backbone — soybeans boiled, fermented, pounded, and sun-dried into discs you toast over flame and crumble into everything.

Bamboo-Tube Sticky Rice

Rice & Foundations · 95 min · Intermediate

Bamboo-Tube Sticky Riceဝါးခေါင်းထမင်း

Glutinous rice packed into green bamboo and roasted over embers until it steams in its own perfumed skin — the Kachin hills' portable rice, oven route included.

Wet Thar Chin, Shan Sour Pork

Rice & Foundations · 40 min · Advanced

Wet Thar Chin, Shan Sour Porkဝက်သားချဉ်

Shan sour pork — pork and sticky rice fermented in banana leaf until bright and tangy, then fried hard with garlic and chilies to eat over rice.

Htamin Gyaw with Boiled Yellow Beans

Rice & Foundations · 25 min · Beginner

Htamin Gyaw with Boiled Yellow Beansထမင်းကြော်

Burmese fried rice the honest way — day-old jasmine rice tossed in turmeric-stained shallot oil with buttery boiled yellow beans and fish sauce.

Shan Tofu from Chickpea Flour

Rice & Foundations · 40 min · Intermediate

Shan Tofu from Chickpea Flourတိုဟူး

Golden Shan-style tofu set from chickpea flour alone — no coagulant, just a besan batter stirred like polenta until glossy, then cooled into silken slabs.

Ngapi Yay, the Table's Dipping Sauce

Rice & Foundations · 35 min · Beginner

Ngapi Yay, the Table's Dipping Sauceငါးပိရည်

The delta's communal dip — fermented fish paste simmered with garlic and chili into a loose sauce, set at the center of the table with vegetables.

Balachaung, the Crispy Shrimp Relish

Rice & Foundations · 40 min · Beginner

Balachaung, the Crispy Shrimp Relishဘာလချောင်

The crackling dried-shrimp and shallot relish of Rangoon tables — fried until it shatters, balanced with tamarind and ngapi, rescuer of plain rice.

Crispy Fried Shallots & Shallot Oil

Rice & Foundations · 40 min · Beginner

Crispy Fried Shallots & Shallot Oilကြက်သွန်ကြော်

Slow-fried shallots and their amber oil, the twin seasoning that dresses half of Burma's salads — sliced evenly, started patiently, never rushed.

Perfect Pot Rice

Rice & Foundations · 30 min · Beginner

Perfect Pot Riceထမင်း

How to cook Burmese daily rice properly — rinsed clear, measured by knuckle, steamed dry and separate, the quiet center every curry and salad depends on.