Storm In My Kitchen

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Laphet, also spelled lakphet, lephet is fermented or pickled teal leaf, and it has a very long history in Myanmar. Thoke means salad. Myanmar’s national dish is a salad made of tea leaves.

Teashops around Myanmar pour gallons of green and black tea every day yet half of the tea consumption is eaten not drunk. An extraordinary characteristic of its national dish is the delicate use of fermented tea leaves.

The slightly bitter leaves are mixed by hand with shredded cabbage, sliced tomatoes, crunchy deep fried beans, nuts and peas, toasted sesame seed, crushed fried shrimp, a splash of garlic oil and slices of chili and garlic. It’s actually a versatile dish that can be eaten as a snack, an appetizer or with rice, a meal hard to miss when in Myanmar, actually. I instantly fell in love with it and prefer to take it as an appetizer – it has lovely textures and flavors that is umami, tangy, and savory in one mouthful.

Myanmar culture is diverse and multi-ethnic and their cuisine is testament to it.