Food Culture in Myanmar
What’s the food culture of Myanmar? Knowing some information about food culture of Myanmar makes you better taste the food of Myanmar. Due to Burmese unique natural environment, customs, religious beliefs and other factors, it has gradually formed their unique traditional food culture. Influenced by neighboring countries and Western culture, foreign culture has gradually integrated and influenced the traditional food culture of Myanmar. Myanmar is a multi-ethnic country. Different ethnic groups also have different food cultures. Here recommend you food culture of Myanmar for your reference.
Characteristics of Burmese food
Myanmar is a multi-ethnic country. Different ethnic groups also have different food culture. The Burmese people are the main ethnic groups in Myanmar and believe in Buddhism. The devout Burmese people strictly abide by the Buddhist customs. They only eat two meals a day, mainly eating rice, preferring to eat vegetables, eating less or not eating meat.
Another large ethnic group in Myanmar is the Kachin, which has a certain gap with the Burmese in terms of food culture. The Kachin people are not to avoid meat and like to tear the meat with their hands. However, there are many common dietary characteristics among different ethnic groups in Myanmar. For example, when eating, they are all around the table and holding rice with their hands. They all like to eat food cooked with curry. They all like to smoke after meals or chew betel nut.
Burmese people pay attention to the richness of the dishes, pay attention to the quality of the dishes. The general taste is not too salty, love sweet, sour and spicy. Rice is the main food. Burmese also like to eat dumplings, pies, scones, and siu mai. Non-staple foods include chicken, fish, shrimp, duck, eggs and various vegetables. Condiments of Myanmar include ketchup, shrimp soy sauce, chili oil, chili sauce and curry powder. The method of cooking is divided into roast, blast, fry, roasting, sauce, and mix.
Burmese people love to drink beer, soda, orange water, etc.. After eating, there is a habit of drinking coffee or hot tea. But they love to drink strange tea (that is, tea with soy flour, shrimp soy sauce, onion head, fried chili seeds, etc.). As far as fruit is concerned, Burmese people like to eat bananas, coconuts, mangoes, papayas, citrus, pineapples and other fruits.
Main food in Myanmar
The basic foods in Myanmar are mainly rice and curry. Rice is usually eaten with other dishes and soups. Fish soup noodles made from rice noodles and fish soup, coconut milk noodles made from coconut, chicken curry and noodles are traditional Burmese cuisine and are the favorite breakfast and light meal food for Burmese.
Popular dishes and snacks in Myanmar
Travel to Myanmar, in addition to visiting famous tourist attractions in Myanmar, food is also an indispensable part of the trip. What are the popular food or snacks in Myanmar that you can’t miss? Here gives you some references.
No.1 Traditional food in Myanmar - Fish soup rice noodles
The fish soup rice noodles in Myanmar is one of the Burmese delicious cuisines and can be used as a snack or as a staple food. Generally speaking, the office workers in Myanmar like to eat a bowl of fish soup rice noodles on the roadside before going to work in the morning, which is quick and can fill the stomach. In addition, fish soup rice noodles are sometimes used to entertain guests.
No.2 Traditional food in Myanmar - Rice with coconut milk
Rice with coconut milk is a very common dish in Myanmar. The production of rice with coconut milk is very special. Under the premise of rice as a staple food, it is served with eggs, cucumber, side dishes, hot sauce, lemon and so on. Traditional ingredients of rice with coconut milk are hot and have a dampness effect.
No.3 Traditional food in Myanmar – Dessert and snack
Unlike Western desserts, Burmese desserts (collectively called moun) are not eaten as sweets alone, but as snacks, especially in the morning and afternoon with tea. Sweets in other countries of Southeast Asia are inseparable from sugar. The sweets in Myanmar are different from these places. Burmese sweets are usually sweetened from ground coconut, yoghurt, rice flour, tapioca and fruit.
No.4 Street food in Myanmar - Fried food
What’s the street food in Myanmar? Fried food is a famous food in Myanmar. Burmese people have a special liking for fried food. In fact, fried food can be seen anywhere in Myanmar. Most of the snacks that can be found on the street or in the teahouse in Myanmar—dumplings, spring rolls, fritters, desserts, breads, etc., are fried.
No.5 Popular food in Myanmar - Tea leaf salad
This food is more accurately said to be fermented tea leaves. It is maybe the most famous food in Myanmar. Burmese people often use tea as a dessert, but sometimes tea also appears as a raw material for tea leaf salad. Tea leaf salad can be a snack, a plate of appetizers, or a dish of rice to make a meal. How to make this dish? To make this dish, you need to mix the sour and slightly bitter tea leaves with the torn cabbage, sliced tomatoes, crispy beans, nuts and peas, then add garlic oil and chopped peppers.
Burmese daily eating habits
1、Burmese people have the habit of chewing betel nuts and sitting in teahouses during their leisure time. The usual snacks include palm sugar, cakes and various fruits.
2、Traditional Burmese families eat two meals a day at 9:00 in the morning and 5:00 in the afternoon. In the morning, Burmese just have a cup of coffee and eat a bit of snacks.
3、Burmese people used to grab rice with their hands when they are eating. When traditional Burmese families eat, their parents sit in the main position. When the parents are absent, the children should also give up the main position. After the death of the father, the mother sits in the main position. When the parents are healthy, the mother sits on the left of the father, the eldest son is on the right side of the father, and the eldest daughter sits on the left side of the mother, etc.. Eating is done in order of generation. When the father is temporarily absent, the mother must put the good food into the dish prepared for the father, and then everyone can eat. When children have something to eat first, they must first leave food in advance for their parents.
4、Burmese people use betel nuts, cigarettes and tea to treat guests when they arrive at home. The betel nut box is a must for every family. The betel nut tastes spicy and slightly astringent. The Burmese only chew and don’t swallow the betel nut. They spit the betel nut water while chewing and finally spit out the betel nut residue. There are two types of cigarettes: one is cigarette, the finished cigarette made from betel leaf, corn leaf, and tender palm leaves. The other is homemade cigarette.
5、Burmese people love to drink tea. Going to the Burmese family to be a guest, the owner used to entertain guests with tea. They believe that tea needs to be tasted. Understanding thoughts of the Burmese is as good as drinking tea. The best place to taste tea in Myanmar is the tea house, where people who like to express their opinions when drinking tea .
