Burmese Kyazan Thohk - Bean Thread Vermicelli Noodle Salad

Burmese Noodle Salad

Similar to Htamin Let Thohk (Hand-Mixed Rice Salad), this salad is made with bean thread vermicelli noodles and is also mixed by hand.

Bean Thread Vermicelli Noodles

When these noodles are soaked in hot water and allowed to cool, they soften, turn from opaque to transparent and develop a bouncy bite. On their own, the noodles are tasteless which is why, after softening, I soak them again in a mixture of sauces so that the taste of the ingredients are distributed throughout the salad.

Hand-Mixed Noodle Salad

Ingredients: (serves 2)

1 pkg. bean thread vermicelli noodles

2 cups boiling water

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. fish sauce

½ tsp. vinegar

4 Tbsp. chili-garlic oil

1 (8 oz.) cup tamarind juice

1 tsp. chili powder

salt to taste

¼ cabbage or 1 Romaine lettuce, shredded

2 eggs, boiled & chopped

4 Tbsp. chickpea flour (besan), toasted

2 Tbsp. dried shrimp powder

1/2 cup deep-fried onions

1/2 cup deep-fried garlic

2 limes, cut in eighths

Directions:

1. Boil 2 cups of water, remove from heat, add noodles and soak until cool. 
2. Drain noodles and mix with soy sauce, fish sauce, vinegar, chili-garlic oil and tamarind juice and set aside to allow flavours to permeate.
3. Combine all ingredients (except eggs) and mix thoroughly by hand.
4. Garnish with chopped eggs and serve.

Chicken Salad Burritos

Chicken Salad Burritos

There was a package of rotisserie chicken breast slices from the deli in the fridge and it was close to lunch time, so the quickest thing to do was make chicken salad sandwiches. 

Diced Ingredients

Any kind of cooked chicken works well in a chicken salad, but the tastiest probably would be to poach a fresh boneless chicken breast and chop that up. To the chicken I added half a Fuji apple, a red shallot, half a beefsteak tomato, a red chili, mayonnaise and salt. Everything was diced and placed at the ready.

Combine in a Bowl

The ingredients were all dumped into a mixing bowl and thoroughly mixed together.

Transfer to a Serving Dish

The salad was transferred to a serving dish and two tortillas were toasted in the toaster oven.

Fill the Tortillas

Two tablespoons of the chicken salad were placed down the center of each tortilla. The larger whole wheat tortilla is Hubby's preference, while I like a white flour tortilla.

Roll & Slice

The tortillas were rolled, burrito style, sliced down the middle and served. This was a light lunch that came together in a jiffy.

Ingredients (all diced except tortillas):

2 tortillas, toasted

1 (9 oz.) package sliced deli chicken

1/2 beefsteak tomato

1/2 Fuji apple

1 Thai red chili pepper

1 red shallot, peeled

4 Tbsp. Hellman's Real Mayonnaise

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
2. Toast 2 tortillas and fill with 2 Tbsp. each chicken salad.
3. Roll up like a burrito, slice each tortilla in half and serve.