Burmese cuisine

Burmese cuisine encompasses the diverse regional culinary traditions of Myanmar, which have developed through longstanding agricultural practices, centuries of sociopolitical and economic change, and cross-cultural contact and trade with neighboring countries at the confluence of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia, including the modern-day nations of India, China, and Thailand. Mohinga, a savory fish soup with lemongrass and banana leaves are eaten for breakfast with rice noodles, lunch is rice accompanied with small side dishes of vegetables, a small soup and a meat or fish dish. Dinner is consumed in a similar fashion to lunch. Burmese stews or curries are not Indian curries but milder with reliance on the trio of onion garlic and ginger to create savory gravies. Burmese food does not rely heavily on coconut such as in Thai cuisine. Burmese however enjoy spicy food with addition of chilis mixed into the dishes.

Burmese cuisine is typified by a wide-ranging array of dishes, including traditional stews Burmese curries, Burmese salads, accompanied by soups and a medley of vegetables that are traditionally eaten with white rice. Burmese cuisine also features Indian breads as well as noodles in many forms, such as fried, in soups, or as most popularly consumed as salads. Street food and snack culture has also nurtured the profuse variety of traditional Burmese fritters and modern savory and sweet snacks labeled under the umbrella of mont.

The contrasting flavor profile of Burmese cuisine is broadly captured in the phrase chin ngan sat (ချဉ်ငံစပ်), which literally means "sour, salty, and spicy." 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 vegetables, lahpet's (tea leaves are) the best" — sums up the traditional favourites.