Why Khao Suey Represents My Family More Than Any Desi Recipe

Divija Singh finds herself at the confluence of two cultures brought together through food. She travels to Burma to trace the cuisine that has defined her family’s culinary culture in India.

My grandfather was born in Mandalay, Burma, which at the time, was still part of the British Empire. Many Indians settled there in the colonial years, doing extremely well for themselves. But a mass exodus began in 1942, during the Second World War, after the Japanese invaded. My family was amongst them.

We moved into our ancestral home in Lasurikalan, a village now in Pakistan, and my grandfather, joined the army where he served as a Brigadier, AVSM, with the 8th Light Cavalry. But Burma remained a large and invisible part of his life — and therefore, ours — influencing our food, dinner table conversations, our collective memory. My family remained at the confluence of two cultures brought together through food.

After years of planning, my mother and I journeyed to Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan and Inle, seeking to trace my family’s history. My hair stood on end when we arrived in Yangon; I felt Nanu’s presence so intensely. Every story, every memory he shared with us, came alive. In Mandalay, we visited the neighbourhood where the Indian community still resides; where my Nanu’s house once stood, until it was bombed during the war. The pagodas, the historic buildings, and most importantly, the food, were pictures he had painted for us. To see it all with our own eyes, was both emotional and surreal.

The Soul of Burma

The most tangible experience of our shared history remains food. And the best way to describe Burmese food is — sour, salty and spicy! Burma was an absolute treat for the senses — the sights and smells of food; the sound of busy streets. Some evenings, we ate at 19th Street, where a sea of people sit on both sides of a narrow lane in small barbeque restaurants. Hawkers sell every kind of meat, seafood and even insects —pick what you want, and they will cook it, to be washed down with some excellent locally brewed beer.

Tea houses are the soul of Burma. From modern and sophisticated, to local houses serving deep fried savoury snacks. Fried food is an obsession here — fried samosas, pork dumpling, flat chickpea fritters and of course, the most hearty fish Mohinga.

The Burmese love their noodles, both dry and with broth. Shan noodles, flat rice noodles, tossed with meats and vegetables, garlic and chilli oil; warm tofu made with chickpea flour, served with noodles and chilli oil; is as comforting as it is delicious.

A standard Burmese buffet comprises over 40 dishes, including meats, vegetables and salads, all served with white rice. What a culinary experience! Salads are popular in Burma, using both raw and cooked ingredients  like the banana flower, green tomato, fried onions and tamarind leaves, all dressed with a tamarind vinaigrette. The Tea leaf salad, Laphet Thoke, is easily the most popular, where fermented tea leaves tossed with peanuts, crunchy fried beans, sesame, garlic oil and chilli with a sour tamarind dressing.

Parallel Cuisines

There were, of course, many parallels to our curries; the use of spice was familiar, the use of coconut milk, reflected strong cross-cultural influences with neighbouring countries, China, Thailand and India. There is a popular Burmese rhyme - ‘Of all the fruit, the mango's the best; of all the meat, the pork's the best; and of all the leaves, lahpet's the best.’

At home, we ate khao suey a long time before it made an appearance on Indian tables. Over the years, Nanu tweaked and perfected our secret family recipe. On our trip, we realised that the khao suey is actually a wholesome breakfast dish, along with fish mohinga, another beautiful, fragrant Burmese curry.

My Nanu would often ask my grandmother to make lauki pakoras for him, which she tirelessly experimented with, but somehow never got right. We finally discovered them on our trip. Gourd fritters, a common snack, served with tamarind dipping sauce. My mother and I ate gourd fritters to our heart’s content, on a sunset cruise over the River Irrawaddy, remembering Nanu’s stories of being caught in a dangerous whirlpool here, to be rescued just in time by his father.

Food is Memory, Nostalgia, Emotion

On that trip, we understood more than ever, that food is so much more than taste and satiation. In some ways, it is nature’s great equalizer, bringing people together from different walks of life. It is a wonderful way to nurture relationships, and offers incredible insight into people’s lives. Food is emotional; tied to memory and nostalgia, it transcends language, cultural and age barriers. Though I am Indian, having lived most my life without ever seeing Burma, my strong feelings towards the culture makes one thing certain: I definitely have Burmese blood in me.

Here is my family’s recipe.

Khao Suey

(serves 2)

Ingredients 
Chicken marinade
400g boneless cubes of chicken (thigh or breast)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder or crushed chilly flakes
Salt, to taste
Pinch of sugar 

To fry
1 tsp sliced garlic
1 tsp chopped ginger
1 medium onion, chopped  

Method
Marinate chicken cubes in the ingredients above and rest for a few hours
In a pan heat oil, on show fire cook the sliced garlic and chopped ginger, and chopped onions. Brown nicely and add the marinated chicken cubes.
Cook till chicken is brown and tender. (You can add some chicken stock so it does not stick to the pan).
Once the chicken is cooked, let all the water evaporate.

For the Curry 
Ingredients
400 ml chicken stock diluted well with water
2 tbsp gram flour/ besan powder
100 ml coconut milk
Salt, to taste
Pinch of sugar
1 medium onion, sliced
Coriander stem, chopped
Fish sauce, optional 

Method
In a deep casserole, add the chicken stock diluted with water, bring to boil.
Make a paste with the besan and mix in with the water/ stock. Cook for 30-45 minutes on medium heat. There should be no taste of uncooked besan. It will result in a thick curry.
To this, add salt and sugar, and in the end, half a cup of thick coconut milk. Add some water incase it is too thick.
Now add the sliced onions and coriander stems for flavor, and cook until they soften, and it smells gorgeous and fragrant.
Note - You can add fish sauce to the curry if you like, but I noticed this included in most houses in Burma. 

Condiments
Sliced and fried onion
Fried garlic
Chopped coriander leaves
Roasted and pounded peanuts
Lemon wedges
Hard boiled eggs – sliced
Chilly flakes or chilli oil  

To assemble  
Add the chicken to the curry and bring to a good boil.
Prep a batch of thin egg noodles – boil and keep at the ready.
In a bowl, on a bed of noodles, pour in the curry and chicken, and adjust and top with condiments as per choice, flavor and taste.

 Banner image credit: https://www.chompslurrpburp.com/

 ALSO ON THE GOYA JOURNAL