Sasha's Guide
Are you ready to bring the flavors of Myanmar (Burma) to your home? Setting up a Burmese kitchen might seem like a challenge, but it’s easier than you think! With Burmese pantry essentials, cookware, and a bit of cultural understanding, you’ll be well on your way to mastering the art of Burmese cooking. Whether you’re craving traditional dishes like Ohn no khao swè or Lahpet Thoke, this guide will help you create an authentic Burmese kitchen that reflects the rich culinary traditions of Myanmar!
Essential Ingredients for Your Burmese Kitchen
When I first started cooking Burmese cuisine it used to take me a long time. I would prepare everything on the day. Thankfully those days are long gone as I became more experienced in preparing meals for myself and hubby. Have the below Burmese pantry essentials on hand ready to go and you will be able to whip up the most tastiest of meals in the shortest of times.
- Rice: Being a Persian and Burmese household we stock ample rice in our pantry.
- Noodles: I always keep two types of noodles stocked in my pantry; XL rice noodles and yellow flat noodle on hand. I also buy fresh Japanese noodles when I know I plan on making Ohn no khao swè or Khauk swè thoke during the week.
- Flour: Roasted gram powder, rice flour, glutenous rice flour.
- Key umami condiments for Burmese flavor: Fish Sauce, tamarind paste, sriracha sauce, belacan (fermented shrimp paste), dried shrimp (pounded), Dukes Food pea chips, crushed red chilli.
- Herbs and Spices: Paprika, Tumeric, Ayam curry powder, Knorr Chicken powder.
- Legumes & Seeds: Bè-byohk (Burmese peas), Red lentils, yellow split peas, roasted sesame seeds.
- Pickles: Lahpet (pickled tea leaves), Mango pickle.
- Ingredients: Brown onion, Garlic, Potatoes, Coconut milk, Seejak (garlic turmeric oil).
- Vegetables: Cabbage, red onion, coriander, cucumber.
Must-Have Burmese Kitchen Equipment
The Burmese food I have learnt to cook is quick, inexpensive and uses equipment I already have on hand. With that being said these are the main items, other than a chopping board and knife, that I use regularly to prepare Burmese food.
- Non-stick deep fry pan: A versatile piece for stir-fries and curries.
- Colander: To strain all the rice and noodles.
- Sieve: Essential for when making the roasted gram powder.
- Mortar and Pestle: For grinding spices and making pastes.
- Blender: For the times when the Mortar and Pestle needs modernising for the time poor.
- Large mixing bowl: A lot of the thokes (salads) require tossing and mixing.
- Serving Bowls: To serve the salads, curries and meals in style.
Setting Up Your Burmese Kitchen
Burmese food isn’t the only food I cook in my kitchen but it is one I make often given the pros; cost effective, quick, my picky husbands cuisine of choice. I make a point of allocating kitchen space for Burmese pantry essentials that I wouldn’t use for anything other than Burmese cooking, chucking them in a Kmart pantry roller, and storing in a cupboard for easy pull out access.
- Organizing Storage: It is best to assess how and what you cook on a day to day basis and optimise your kitchen storage locations from there. As an example do you already have space where you store spices, legumes, condiments etc. In those cases it would be best to store the communal ingredients in those locations.
- Preparation Stations: Set up zones for chopping, cooking, preparing and plating. This all sounds standard but when it comes to making the noodle salads you will have a lot of items around that you need to juggle, so make sure there is ample space.
Burmese Cooking Techniques You Should Know
The number one thing that you should know about Burmese cooking techniques is that if you think you have enough oil… you probably don’t. Salad too dry? Add some oil!
Having come from a Persian upbringing I never used to cook with a lot of oil. I didn’t realise how oily Burmese food was until I was trying to cook my mother in laws Burmese chicken curry for the first time. The volume of gravy is proportional to the amount of onions and oil.
Most Burmese dishes centre on this blended onion puree in oil situation. It is essential to get the cooking technique down pact because a failure to do so will leave terribly bitter undertones in your dishes. The recipes I post requiring this cooking technique mention the importance of this technique in the recipe notes.
Basically the onion paste needs to literally fry, like shallow fry in the oil. It needs to be suspended and somewhat swimming in the oil as it cooks. When the cooking process is finished the oil will separate and rise to the top to give you that infused curry oil look.
To achieve this the pan needs to be on high heat. When the onion paste hits the pan you need to hear major sizzling noises. If there’s no sizzle the onion gravy will struggle to become sweet and caramelized. If the ratio of oil to onion looks off, don’t be shy, add in more oil to the pot to encourage full caramelization.
Exploring Burmese Flavors: Sweet, Sour, Salty, and Spicy
As with most cuisines there are a lot of competing flavours that need to be balanced to create harmony. On top of that not everyone enjoys the same salt, sour, sweet or spicy levels as each other so a lot of Burmese cooking is a juggling act using:
- Fish sauce for balancing of salt
- Tamarind paste for balancing of sour
- Sriracha for balancing of spice
- Jaggery for balancing of sweet
When cooking keep in mind these ingredients when you are looking to balance your final dish.
And there you have it! Setting up a Burmese kitchen is a bit more than just organizing your space—it’s about embracing the rich flavors, techniques, and culture of Myanmar. With the right ingredients and cookware, you’ll be cooking up authentic Burmese dishes in no time. Start small, and gradually expand your collection as you dive deeper into Burmese culinary traditions. Ready to get cooking? Set up your kitchen today and try some Burmese recipes to experience the incredible world of Burmese flavors!
