Letter from Burma 9

Feb 25th, 1930

Dear Rosalind,

I find I have time on my hands, so will write a bit more for your project – this time
about the food. They use the technique called stir frying, and produce curries which can be hot, but are lightly spiced and nearly always with fish paste as well as onions, garlic, ginger, dried chilli and turmeric. Rice (htamin) is the staple, although noodles (hkauk swè), salads (a thouk), and breads (paung mont) are also eaten. Green tea is often the beverage of choice, but tea is also traditionally pickled and eaten as a salad called lahpet.

The best tea leaves are selected for fermenting and the rest for drying. They are steamed for about five minutes. Young leaves are packed into bamboo vats set in pits and pressed by heavy weights; the fermentation process is checked at intervals and the pulp may occasionally require re-steaming. No special occasion or ceremony in Burma is considered complete without lahpet. Apart from its bittersweet and pungent taste and leafy texture, many also believe in its medicinal properties as beneficial for the digestive system and controlling bile and mucus. It has a stimulant effect to ward off tiredness and sleepiness is especially popular with students preparing for exams, pwè goers at all-night theatrical performances, and helpers at funerals who keep watch overnight.

The most well-known Bamar-originated dish is mohinga - rice noodles in a fish broth.

Soon it will be the Full Moon of Tabaung. This is a special day for venerating Buddha and the workers will have the day off. Their goal for the day is to do only good, not sin and purify their minds. They go to the closest pagoda, which I will tell you more about later, and light many candles. I always have candles lit in the house on the day to show my support for their beliefs.

Although we are a very small part of Burma, it was this region that the British first came to control back in 1826.

I enclose another photo. This time you see us inspecting the land, with our bungalow just showing at the top of the hill. I will send a close up view of the bungalow later.
 

Love from Mummy