Traditional Myanmar Cuisine (Thingyan Food)

The Myanmar New Year is just around the corner. When Thingyan arrives, everything associated with the festival – its decorations, scents, music, and festive atmosphere – fills the air. Thingyan songs, Thingyan drums, Thingyan dances, mandats (pandals or pavilions), festival flowers, and Thingyan accessories all come alive during this season. Among them, Thingyan food is also an essential part of the celebration.
Therefore, instead of our usual weekly feature on regional dishes, this week we highlight Thingyan foods that appear only once a year, during the Thingyan festival.
Mont Lone Yay Baw
(Glutinous Rice Balls with Jaggery Filling)
Mont Lone Yay Baw is traditionally prepared during Thingyan as part of the festival customs. Families make it at home to offer as alms, to enjoy together, and to share with neighbours. That is why this dish is often regarded as one of the signature foods of Thingyan.
Here is a simple recipe that you can try at home; it’s not complicated and doesn’t take much time. Give it a try!
Ingredients
1. Glutinous rice flour – 120 grammes
2. Rice flour – 40 grammes
3. Salt – about ¼ teaspoon
4. Water – 110 millilitres
5. Jaggery – 80 grammes
6. Fresh coconut (as desired)
Method
Mix the glutinous rice flour, rice flour, and salt in a bowl.
(If you use only glutinous rice flour, the dough becomes too sticky, so a small portion of regular rice flour is added.)
Gradually add the 110 millilitres of water into the bowl and knead until a soft, pliable dough is formed – not too soft, not too hard.
Cover and let the dough rest for about 15 minutes.
Cut the jaggery into small chunks. Prepare a pot of boiling water for cooking the rice balls.
After 15 minutes, start shaping the dough. Take a small portion (about the size of a longan fruit) and roll it in your palm. Flatten it slightly and make a small indentation with your finger. Place a jaggery piece inside and cover it with dough, sealing it well.
(If not sealed properly, the jaggery may leak out during boiling.)
Once the water is at a rolling boil, drop the balls in. When they float to the surface, boil for one more minute, then remove with a strainer. Place them briefly (about 1 minute) in cold water.
Remove from the cold water, coat with freshly grated coconut, and your delightful Thingyan Mont Lone Yay Baw is ready to serve.
Shwe Yin Aye
(A Cool and Refreshing Thingyan Dessert)
Thingyan falls in the peak of the hot summer season. That is why the Myanmar people created a dessert perfectly suited to the heat, called Shwe Yin Aye, a name that itself evokes coolness and refreshment.
Here is the recipe for this iconic Thingyan dessert.
Ingredients (for 10 servings)
1. Mont Let Saung jelly – 1,000 millilitres
2. Sago pearls – 25-tical portion, cooked
3. Glutinous rice (steamed) – 3 cups
4. Plain bread – 10 slices
5. Coconut jelly — one 25-gramme packet, cooked
6. Coconut milk — 1½ cans (about 600 millilitres)
7. Sugar — 250 grammes, melted with a little water
8. Ice (as desired)
9. A pinch of salt
Method
For convenience, buy ready-made Mont Let Saung jelly from a shop.
(For those who want to make it themselves: mix 8 tablespoons of rice flour, 2 tablespoons of corn flour, and a little salt in hot water. Cook on low heat until thick, add food colouring, then pour slowly into cold water to set.)
To make the coconut jelly: boil 300 grammes of sugar with 1 can of coconut milk, water (1.5 litres) and 50 grammes of gelatin until dissolved. Pour into a tray about 2 inches deep and let it cool and set. Cut into cubes.
To prepare the steamed glutinous rice: rinse until the water runs clear, soak for at least 6 hours, drain, place on a steaming tray lined with a thin cloth, and steam until cooked. Turn the rice occasionally for even cooking.
Dilute the coconut milk (600 millilitres) with 1,000 millilitres of water.
Melt the sugar with a little water into a syrup.
To serve:
In a bowl, add the Mont Let Saung jelly, steamed glutinous rice, coconut jelly, sago, bread pieces, and ice. Pour in the coconut milk mixture, drizzle with sugar syrup, add a couple of ice cubes, and your delightful, cooling Shwe Yin Aye is ready to enjoy with your whole family. — MOON

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