Burmese curry: Difference between revisions

{{short description|Dishes in Burmese cuisine made with curry base}}

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'''Burmese curry''' refers to a diverse array of dishes in [[Burmese cuisine]] that consist of meat or vegetables simmered or stewed in an aromatic curry base. Burmese curries generally differ from other Southeast Asian [[Curry|curries]] (e.g., [[Thai curry]]) in that Burmese curries make use of dried [[spice]]s in addition to fresh herbs and aromatics, and are often milder. Burmese curries are readily available in curry houses throughout the country. They are traditionally accompanied with rice and a variety of side dishes, soups, and [[A thoke|Burmese salads]] called ''athoke.'' Burmese curries may also be paired with [[Indian bread]]s like [[naan|''nanbya'']], [[Paratha|''palata'']], [[Puri (food)|''aloo puri'']], and [[Dosa (food)|''toshay'']].

== Ingredients ==

A curry base of fresh aromatics including [[onions]], [[shallot]]s, [[garlic]], [[chili pepper|chilis]], [[ginger]], and dried spices, in the form of [[turmeric]] powder and [[paprika]], is typically used to prepare most Burmese curries. Other dried spices such as [[chili powder]] and [[spice mix]]es like [[garam masala]], generically called ''masala'' in Burmese ({{lang|my|မဆလာ}}), also feature in many Burmese curries. The Burmese ''masala'' spice blend typically consists of ground [[cinnamon]] or cassia, [[cardamon]], [[cloves]], and [[black pepper]].

The curry base and dried spices are then fried in heated oil, in a process called ''hsi that'' ({{lang|my|ဆီသတ်}}, {{lit|to kill the oil}}). Some Burmese curries also require the use of fresh herbs, such as [[Cymbopogon|lemongrass]], [[Curry tree|curry leaf]], ''[[Clausena excavata|pyindawthein]]'', and fresh [[tamarind]] paste. [[Shan people|Shan]] and [[Kachin people|Kachin]] curries make more liberal use of fresh herbs such as [[galangal]] and [[Eryngium foetidum|sawtooth coriander]], while Mon curries often use [[Bouea macrophylla|marian plum]] as a souring agent. Burmese curries are generally seasoned with [[fish sauce]], salt, and/or ''[[ngapi]]'' (fermented shrimp or fish paste), and are traditionally cooked in a blend of [[peanut oil]] and [[sesame oil]].

== Terminology ==

The [[Burmese language]] does not have a single word for "curry;" the closest approximation is the word ''hin'' ({{lang|my|ဟင်း}}), which is used to describe most protein-based dishes eaten with rice. Burmese curries can be generally categorized by cooking technique, incorporated ingredients, or region.

The most common variety is called ''hsibyan'' ({{lang|my|ဆီပြန်}}; {{lit|oil returns}}), which is typified by a layer of oil that separates from the gravy and meat after cooked. The name itself refers to the cooking technique that is used. In ''hsibyan'', the curry ingredients are simmered in a combination of water and oil until the water has completely boiled off, leaving a layer of oil that separates and rises to the top, which enables the raw and potent curry paste ingredients to properly blend and become milder in taste. Another common variety of curries is called ''hnat'' ({{lang|my|နှပ်}}; {{Literal translation|tenderized}}), in which gamier proteins like goat are braised or slowly simmered. The names of other Burmese curries are typically suffixed with ''–hin'' ({{lang|my|–ဟင်း}}) or ''–chet'' ({{lang|my|–ချက်}}).

== List of Burmese curries ==

[[File:Burma lunch.jpg|thumb|A traditional Burmese meal includes several curry dishes, side dishes, and a tray of parboiled vegetables with a fermented fish paste (''[[Ngapi|ngapi yay]]'') dip.]]

The repertoire of Burmese curries has not been codified. Common variations of Burmese curries are listed below.

* Pork ''sibyan'' ({{lang|my|ဝက်သားဆီပြန်}}) – classic Burmese curry with fatty cuts of pork

*Pork ''hnat'' ({{lang|my|ဝက်သားနှပ်}}) – a sweetened pork curry braised with vinegar and soy sauce

*Fermented tea leaf pork ''hnat'' ({{lang|my|ဝက်သားလက်ဖက်နှပ်}}) – a sour and spicy curry of pork braised with ''[[lahpet]]'' (pickled tea leaves)

* Chicken ''sibyan'' ({{lang|my|ကြက်သားဆီပြန်}}) – the classic Burmese curry, served with a thick gravy of aromatics

* Bachelor's chicken curry ({{lang|my|ကြက်ကာလသားချက်}}) – a red and watery chicken curry cooked with [[calabash]]

=== Goat and beef ===

* Beef ''hnat'' ({{lang|my|အမဲနှပ်}}) – a braised beef curry similar to Indonesian [[rendang]]

* Goat ''hnat'' ({{lang|my|ဆိတ်သားနှပ်}}) – a braised goat curry spiced with ''masala'', cinnamon sticks, bay leaf, and cloves

* Goat and chickpea curry ({{lang|my|ဆိတ်သားကုလားပဲချက်}})

* Fried fish curry ({{lang|my|ငါးကြော်ချက် or ငါးကြော်နှပ်}}) – a curry of deep-fried steak cuts of fish and tomatoes

* [[Nga thalaut paung|Steamed hilsa curry]] ({{lang|my|ငါးသလောက်ပေါင်း}}) – a curry of [[Ilish|hilsa]] fish and tomatoes, which is slowly simmered to melt the fish bones

*Catfish and morinda ''sibyan'' ({{lang|my|ငါးခူရဲယိုရွက်ဆီပြန်}}) – a curry of [[walking catfish]] and [[morinda]] leaves

* Egg curry ({{lang|my|ဘဲဥချဥ်ရည်ဟင်း}}) – a sour curry made with hardboiled duck or chicken eggs, cooked in tamarind paste and mashed [[tomato]]es

* Eggplant curry ({{lang|my|ခရမ်းသီးချက်}}) – a curry of slow-cooked [[eggplant]]s and tomatoes

* Tofu curry ({{lang|my|တိုဟူးချက်}}) – Sliced [[Burmese tofu]] curried with fresh tomatoes, onions and garlic, cooked in peanut oil and [[fish sauce]], and garnished with coriander and green chilli

=== Noodle curries ===

Specially prepared curries also form the base for several Burmese noodle dishes, including:

* [[Ohn no khao swè|''Ohn no khauk swe'']] ({{lang|my|အုန်းနို့ခေါက်ဆွဲ}}) – a coconut milk noodle soup, served in a broth of chicken curry

* ''Shwedaung khauk swe'' ({{lang|my|ရွှေတောင်ခေါက်ဆွဲ}}) – a dry noodle dish of egg noodles, served with chicken curry and coconut milk

* ''[[Panthays|Panthay]] khauk swe'' ({{lang|my|ပန်းသေးခေါက်ဆွဲ}}) – a fried noodle dish of Chinese Muslim origin, served with a chicken curry cooked in a blend of spices including [[cardamom]], [[clove]]s, [[Illicium verum|star anise]], and [[bay leaf]]

== Regional adaptations==

===Kaeng hang le===

''Kaeng hang le'' is a pork curry and a regional specialty in [[Northern Thailand]]. It is a local adaptation of similar Burmese pork curries; the name "''hang le"'' is derived from the [[Burmese language|Burmese]] word "''hin lay"'' ({{lang|my|ဟင်းလေး}}, transcribed ''hang le''), which means "heavy curry." Many [[restaurant]]s in [[Chiang Mai]] call it ‘Burmese curry.’

===Khow suey===

{{Main|Khow suey}}

''Khow suey'', also known as ''khausa'', is a South Asian adaptation of the Burmese coconut milk curry noodle soup called [[ohn no khao swè]]. It was introduced to the region by the [[Memon people|Memon]] community of [[India]] who adapted this dish, likely coinciding with the emigration of South Asians from Burma in the 1960s, and is now a Memon specialty.

== See also ==

{{Portal|Food

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* [[Burmese cuisine]]

* [[Kaeng hang le]]

{{Burmese cuisine}}

[[Category:Burmese cuisine]]

[[Category:Burmese curries|*]]

[[Category:Southeast Asian curries]]

{{二次利用|date=20 December 2024, at 22:52}}