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| Toh Zya |
A Burmese meal is generally started with an appetizer of fresh vegetables and a dip that oozes umami in every bite.
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| Serve with Fresh Vegetables |
or
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| Serve with Dumplings |
My brother makes the best Toh Zya, but this version comes in a close second. Besides raw vegetables, this dip goes great with dumplings or gyoza.
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| Crab Paste |
It's quite quick to assemble if pureed tomatoes (e.g. Hunt's tomato sauce) are available. Shrimp paste imparts the umami flavour we all crave, but Hubby is allergic to shrimp so I used crab paste that comes pre-cooked in a glass jar. The hardest part was to blanch a couple of onions and a whole pod of garlic which are added to the rest of the ingredients and blended to a paste before being simmered on the stove until oil resurfaces. There is sufficient oil in the crab paste so no oil needs to be added.
Ingredients
1 (8 oz.) can Hunt's tomato sauce (or freshly puréed tomatoes)
2 medium onions, peeled, chopped and blanched for 3 minutes
1 pod garlic, peeled and smashed
1 tsp. shrimp paste or 2 tsp. crab paste
2 tsp. paprika/Kashmiri mirch or chili powder to taste
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
salt to taste
Directions
- Blend all ingredients to a coarse paste.
- Simmer over medium-low heat until oil floats to the surface.
- Cool to room temperature before serving as a dip.
Enjoy with raw vegetables or dumplings.
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