Burmese Laphet Thoht - The Recipe

Burmese Tea Leaves Salad

A very unique salad that Myanmar is famous for, the local population relishes and that visitors to the country must seek out is Laphet Thoht or Pickled Tea Leaves Salad. This is the recipe for that salad for which the sources for some of the ingredients and details (with photographs) of the procedure were described on my blog recently.


Ingredients: (makes 2 servings)



2 tsp. flavoured ready-to-eat pickled tea leaves or
3 oz. unflavoured pickled tea leaves, pounded with

• 2 tsp. dried shrimp powder with chili (hot)
• 2 tsp. dark sesame oil
• 1 green chili, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled 
• 1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste

Crispy Accompaniments:

1 Tbsp. double fried crispy spices

1 Tbsp. fried beans (pe hlaw kyaw)

1 Tbsp. fried peas (ka lar pe)

1 Tbsp. dry-roasted unsalted peanuts (optional)

Salad Ingredients:

1 Korean/Chinese cabbage or 1/4 head regular cabbage, shredded

1 green chili, diced

1 seedless English cucumber, julienned

2 Roma tomatoes, julienned

Sauce Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. dark sesame oil

2 tsp. rice wine (aji mirin)

2 Tbsp. Thai fish sauce

Garnishes:

1 small onion, sliced

2 Tbsp. deep fried onions

Juice of 1 lime

Directions:

1. Prepare pounded pickled tea leaves.
2. In a large bowl, layer salad ingredients, crispy accompaniments, sauces, pounded pickled tea leaves and mix well by hand.
3. Top with garnishes and serve.