Glutinous Rice - Foods - Burmese Traditions

Burmese Traditions

Glutinous rice, called kao hnyin (ကောက်ညှင်း), is very popular in Myanmar (also known as Burma).

• Kao hnyin baung (ကောက်ညှင်းပေါင်း) is a breakfast dish with boiled peas (pèbyouk) or with a variety of fritters, such as urad dal (baya gyaw), served on a banana leaf. It may be cooked wrapped in a banana leaf, often with peas, and served with a sprinkle of salted toasted sesame seeds and often grated coconut.
• The purple variety, known as kao hynin ngacheik (ကောင်းညှင်းငချိမ့်), is equally popular cooked as ngacheik paung.
• They may both be cooked and pounded into cakes with sesame called hkaw bouk, another favourite version in the north among the Shan and the Kachin, and served grilled or fried.
• The Htamanè pwè (festival) takes place on the full moon of Dabodwè (February), when htamanè is cooked in a huge wok. Two men, each with a wooden spoon the size of an oar, and a third man coordinate the action of folding and stirring the contents, which include kao hnyin, ngacheik, coconut shavings, peanuts, sesame and ginger in peanut oil.
• Si htamin (ဆီထမင်း) is glutinous rice cooked with turmeric and onions in peanut oil, and served with toasted sesame and crisp-fried onions; it is a popular breakfast like kao hnyin baung and ngacheik paung.
• Paung din (ပေါငျးတငျ) is another ready-to-eat portable form cooked in a segment of bamboo. When the bamboo is peeled off, a thin skin remains around the rice and also gives off a distinctive aroma.
• Mont let kauk (မုန့်လကျကေါကျ) is made from glutinous rice flour; it is donut-shaped and fried like baya gyaw, but eaten with a dip of jaggery or palm sugar syrup.
• Mont lone yei baw (မုန့်လုံးရေပေါ်) are glutinous rice balls with jaggery inside, thrown into boiling water in a huge wok, and ready to serve as soon as they resurface. Their preparation is a tradition during Thingyan, the Burmese New Year festival.
• Htoe mont (ထိုးမုန့်), glutinous rice cake with raisins, cashews and coconut shavings, is a traditional dessert for special occasions. It is appreciated as a gift item from Mandalay.
• Nga pyaw douk, banana in glutinous rice, wrapped in banana leaf and steamed and served with grated coconut - another favourite snack, like kao hnyin baung and mont let kauk, sold by street hawkers.

• Ngacheik paung with pèbyouk (boiled peas) and salted toasted sesame

• Hkaw bouk - dried cakes of ngacheik glutinous rice with Bombay duck, both fried

• Htamanè - glutinous rice with fried coconut, roasted peanuts, sesame and ginger

• The traditional way of making special glutinous rice htamanè is still practiced

• Si htamin - glutinous rice cooked in oil with turmeric and served with boiled peas and crushed salted sesame

• Mont lone yei baw - glutinous rice balls with jaggery inside and covered with shredded coconut - a New Year tradition

• Paung din - glutinous rice, both purple and white varieties, cooked in bamboo tubes

• Paung din (ngacheik) with to hpu (Burmese tofu), mashed potato and urad dal fritters