Burmese Fermented Tea Leaf Salad (Lephet Thoke)

Burma is one of very few countries where tea is eaten as well as drunk. Its pickled tea is unique in the region, and is not only regarded as the national delicacy but plays a significant role in Burmese society. Its place in the [1]cuisine of Myanmar is reflected by the following popular expression:

"Of all the fruit, the mango's the best; Of all the meat, pork's the best; Of all the leaves, lahpet's the best".

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^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahpet}

The beauty of this national delicacy is that we can add whatever suitable ingredients we like as well as different preparation techniques to change the taste, texture and presentation of this popular Burmese snack. In this recipe, i will be adding toasted chick peas powder to give this salad both a creamy texture as well as a nutty flavour. By the way, i have posted two posts on fermented tea leaf. Below are the links for these two posts.
How to marinate fermented tea leaves
Fermented tea leaves salad mixed with rice (lephet htamin)

Recipe for Lephet Thoke

First, marinate the fermented tea leaf (lephet) with oil, fish sauce and lime or lemon juice

Ingredients needed for Lephet Thoke

1. cabbage, thinly sliced

2. tomatoes, thinly sliced

3. onions or shallots, thinly sliced

4. dried shrimps

5. toasted chick peas powder

6. mixed crispy fried garlic, crispy fried yellow beans, roasted peanuts, 

    sunflower seeds and sesame seeds ( Ready-made)

Preparation

Add everything inside a big bowl and mix well.

Let's tuck in :)

You can eat this with garlic and green chili.

For a drink, a cup of hot Burmese tea goes well with this.

I hope you enjoy my recipes as much as i enjoy sharing these humble recipes on my blog.