British-born to Burmese parents, food writer MiMi Aye has always moved between two worlds, and she has spent her whole life soaking up Burmese food, language, and culture through endless trips to see family and friends in Myanmar, as well as back in the UK.
Her latest book “Mandalay: Recipes & Tales from a Burmese Kitchen” was chosen by the Financial Times as one of its Best Books of 2019, and was described by British author and television star Nigella Lawson as “a really loving and hungry-making introduction to a fascinating cuisine” and by food critic Tom Parker-Bowles as “a glorious revelation … autobiography, history and recipes all rolled into one magnificent whole ... a brilliant, beguiling book."
Here are two recipes from her new book to whet your appetite. Follow MiMi Aye on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, where she also runs the Burmese food and culture page Burmese Food and Beyond.
Braised Beef Curry (Amè Hnat)
Amè Hnat is the dish that we like to serve at family gatherings, as it’s so rich that it can be the star with lots of different side dishes. It reminds me of the Malaysian dish beef rendang but has more sauce. You can add a couple of quartered boiled potatoes to the curry near the end of the cooking time, which will soak up all the lovely juices—my eldest niece likes to fish these ‘gravied potatoes’ out for herself and I think she likes them more than the beef!
Serves 6 as a main dish
- 8 tablespoons groundnut oil or other neutral-tasting oil
- 1kg beef, cut into 5cm cubes
For the base
- 3 medium onions, roughly chopped
- 1 spring onion, roughly chopped
- 2 medium, ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 5cm piece of ginger, peeled
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled
- bunch of coriander, stems only
- 1 green finger chilli
- 6 curry leaves
For seasoning
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon MSG or ½ tablespoon chicken bouillon
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
Heat 4 tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat and add the beef. Fry for 20 minutes, turning the cubes from time to time so they don’t stick to the pan. Juices will seep out but these will reduce down and the meat will brown. Meanwhile, add the base ingredients along with 1 tablespoon of water to a blender, food processor or mortar. Blitz or pound to a rough paste.
Transfer the meat from the pan to a dish and set aside. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of oil to the pan used to brown the beef. Heat over a medium-high heat and add the onion-tomato paste.
Add the seasonings, stir and then fry for 5 minutes until fragrant. Add the beef and 1.5 litres of water and cover the pan with a lid. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for 2½ hours until the beef is tender and falling apart, stirring occasionally to stop the curry from sticking to the base of the pan.
When it's ready, serve the curry with steamed rice, any of the soups and a vegetable dish or salad to balance the richness. It also goes well with Indian breads, such as naan, puri and paratha.
Charred Tomato Salsa (Pan Htway Hpyaw)
This popular condiment is ladled on top of rice and served with soupy curries, such as Bachelor’s Chicken Curry. It’s made from surprisingly very few ingredients, but it will dance on your tongue like fireworks. Pan Htway Hpyaw is traditionally made as a smooth salsa, but feel free to keep it chunky. The important thing is to be brave and let the ingredients blacken and burn, as that’s the magic that makes the salsa sing.
Serves 4–6 as a side dish
- 3 medium, very ripe tomatoes
- 6 garlic cloves, skin still on
- 3 green finger chillies
- 5cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- juice from ¼ lime
- coriander leaves, shredded
Place the tomatoes, garlic and chillies on a piece of foil and char their skins using a cook’s blowtorch, or under a very hot grill. Do this outside, open your windows or turn
on your extractor fan as it will get very smoky and pungent especially when charring the chilli. You want the skins to blacken quickly without cooking the flesh inside. Remove and leave to cool, then peel the garlic and place in a food processor, blender or mortar. Keep the skins on the tomatoes and chillies, and blitz or pound these together with the garlic to a rough paste.
Alternatively, if you prefer a chunkier-textured salsa, you can chop all the ingredients by hand. Scoop out the mixture and place in a small bowl. Add the ginger, salt and lime juice, and mix well. Top with the coriander leaves and serve with any soupy curry and steamed rice, or with fritters.
