The weekly floating market of Burma can be a colorful affair

 

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Monkeys chatter. Smoke rises from cooking fires. Wind stirs the leaves.

Two little girls - shirts tattered, hair wispy, skin golden - skip by, their toes barely stirring the dust. Two pixies holdings sprays of pink orchids.

The bold one, shoulder trust forward like a runway model, smiles triumphantly and waves her flowers in her fist like a torch. Her shy friend clutches a trio of blossoms, a couple of petals touching her chin.

The orchid girls want me to take their pictures.

They want me to play.

They flutter and twitter and spin.

. . .then they are gone

     . . . . memories of

                Burma

Burma

THE UNDISCOVERED TREASURES OF THIS LAND OF GOLD & GEMS ARE ITS CULINARY DELICACIES

KNOWN AS 'The Land of Gold and Gem' BY ANCIENT INDIAN AND CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS, BURMA HAS ONE OF ASIA'S LEAST KNOWN CUISINES.

AS BURMA - OR MYANMAR AS IT IS NOW OFFICIALLY CALLED - OPENS ITS DOORS, MORE PEOPLE ARE DISCOVERING ITS INTRIGUING CUISINES THAT IS FULL OF FLAVOR AND IMAGINATION, SOMETIMES HAUNTINGLY SIMILAR TO ITS NEIGHBOR'S BUT AT OTHER TIMES DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT.

BACKGROUND

Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-86) and incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony; independence outside of the Commonwealth was attained in 1948. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as military ruler, then as president, and later as political kingmaker. Despite multiparty elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party winning a decisive victory, the ruling military junta refused to hand over power. Key opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG SAN SUU KYI, under house arrest from 1989 to 1995, was again placed under house detention from September 2000 to May 2002; her supporters are routinely harassed or jailed.

ECONOMY

Burma is a resource-rich country that suffers from abject rural poverty. The military regime took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the "Burmese Way to Socialism", but those efforts have since stalled. Burma has been unable to achieve monetary or fiscal stability, resulting in an economy that suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including an official exchange rate that overvalues the Burmese kyat by more than 100 times the market rate. In addition, most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta suppressed the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently ignored the results of the 1990 election. Burma is data poor, and official statistics are often dated and inaccurate. Published estimates of Burma's foreign trade are greatly understated because of the size of the black market and border trade - often estimated to be one to two times the official economy. Though the Burmese government has good economic relations with its neighbors, a better investment climate and an improved political situation are needed to promote foreign investment, exports, and tourism.

THE BURMESE KITCHEN & TABLE

Breakfast in Burma is traditionally a light meal of fried rice; or yesterday's rice warmed up, served with boiled garden peas and green tea. Many delicious alternatives are now becoming popular though. It can take the form of steamed glutinous rice with roasted sesame seeds and fish or vegetables; thin rice noodles with fish soup; naan, flat bread fresh from the tandoor oven (Indian influence) with lamb bone soup. Another popular morning meal is a bowl of steaming hot chicken broth.

The main meal is not served in courses as in the West. All the dishes, soups, condiments, and vegetable dips are arranged in the middle of the table with a large bowl of rice for second helpings placed in the side. Meat and fish dishes are usually prepared in the form of curries. They are more popular in the lands bordering the lower reaches of the Irrawaddy River and the delta regions, while upcountry palates are partial to beans and their various by-products. Burmese curries are usually prepared with a thin gravy; which is then drizzled over rice, mixed in and eaten with the fish or vegetables and fish preserve.

Soup is almost always served during the course of the meal and helps wash down the rice. It may be a hot peppery soup (hingga) or a slightly milder concoction called hincho. Burmese soup is usually a clear broth with leaves, buds or slices of fruits. For a more formal occasions, a thicker broth of fish and vegetables is served with rice noodles. Vegetable and fruit salads are very  popular.

No meal would be considered complete without the condiment ngapi, fish or sometimes shrimps, boiled and garnished with crushed garlic, toasted dried chilies and chili powder.

After meal, fresh fruits such as mango, banana, pomelo and durian are usually consumed in lieu of cooked desserts. As a special treat, lephet, or fermented tea leaf salad might be served. The main ingredient of this unusual salad is fermented tea leaves. It is mixed with, or accompanied by peanuts, roasted sesame seeds, fried garlic, coconut and ginger slices. Though it may seem unusual to serve a savory dish after the main meal, this is when lephet is often eaten.

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ESSENTIAL FLAVORS OF BURMESE COOKING

Indispensable to the Burmese pantry are garlic, ginger and cilantro (coriander) leaves. A good supply of fresh jasmine rice is a must and glutinous rice would be useful for some dishes. Flavorings you will need to include fish sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil. Fresh chilies and dried chili flakes are a common addition to dishes as are dried shrimps and shrimp paste. Fermented tea leaves are easily found at all Burmese food stores and come ready packed with all the extras making for a great, instant Burmese snack.