After months of travel I have finally returned to my home kitchen. September saw me in Southern Florida and Thailand, while October moved me to Burma. November was an exploration of Thailand's Isaan region and a return to Laos, a country I visited and loved ten years prior. My last weeks in Asia were split between Taipei and Bangkok, two opposing but equally alluring cities. Finally, I spent the holidays in my native Maryland, holed up with family (save a night in Philadelphia to bankrupt myself at Vedge and V Street – worth every penny).
I'm trying to recount some of my favoured and most interesting dishes, and as usual my notes read like those of a drunk preschooler: "flavour of whatever it is...".
What?
Myanmar is a salad-eating country, and among the most interesting is this simple yet flavourful concoction of pennywort leaves and a dressing typical of many Burmese dishes. Pennywort is a grassy and somewhat bitter leaf that my partner says reminds him of the smell of a florist shop. Not everyone will love it, but the flavour (which is balanced by the dressing) is unique enough to at least try it once.
In London you can find pennywort at Longdan Express supermarkets and many other Asian markets (such as those along Mare Street in Hackney). One 100 gram package will yield about 60 grams of leaves.
Ideally you will serve myin kwa ywet thoke, the Burmese name for pennywort salad, with a spread of other similarly sized dishes and a heaping mound of steamed rice for all.
Burmese Pennywort Salad (myin kwa ywet thoke)
This Burmese pennywort salad recipe, or myin kwa ywet thoke in Burmese, makes a single serving on its own, but it is meant to be served as part of a larger spread of Burmese dishes. The ingredients can easily be doubled and quantities are forgiving of inaccuracy – experiment and add more or less of the flavours you enjoy, but don’t skimp on the oil. If you don't have shallot oil, which is the oil left after deep frying shallots, simply use more garlic oil or toasted sesame oil.
- 30 grams (a good handful) pennywort leaves
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced shallot, soaked in ice cold water for 10 minutes
- 1 teaspoon garlic oil with crispy garlic
- 1 teaspoon shallot oil
- 1 teaspoon crushed roasted peanuts
- ½ teaspoon thinly sliced garlic
- ½ teaspoon lime juice
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
- ½ - ¾ teaspoon Fermented bean paste
- ⅛ teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons fried shallots
- Salt or vegan fish sauce (optional, for extra flavour)
- Rinse the pennywort leaves and leave to mostly dry (or throw ‘em in a salad spinner). Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix by hand (a technique utilised in Burmese salad-making), massaging the leaves until they are well coated with dressing.
- Author: Kip Dorrell
- Cuisine: Burmese
Great to see my favorite salad! You may find it tastier with the leaves and stems cut super thin. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Hi Mee! Thanks for the tip. I'll try that next time 🙂
Where do you get pennywort leaves in Maryland? I can't find them in any asian/indian grocery stores. Thanks.
Hi Nate,
I'm not sure where you would buy them in Maryland. Perhaps you might look up the different names of this plant and ring up Indian/Malay/Vietnamese/etc stores to see if they carry it?
Thanks Kip, I didn't realize you now live in London. You can add mashed potatoes, sweet onions, hemp seeds, etc. Anyway that is how I would make the pennywort salad 🙂 Yours look amazing too.
Well, you weren't too far off! I grew up in MD but moved to the UK twenty years ago. I do visit MD a couple times a year to see family, so would love any SEA food shopping recommendations (my mother lives in between DC and Baltimore).
Lovely recipe, I cant wait to try it one day. I was looking to see if is known here in the western world and glad to have found your recipe.
Pennywort is very popular in Sri Lanka and India as well. It's considered a herb thats rich in medicinal values. Good for your memory and used to improve your concentration.:) You get them in London in almost all Sri Lankan grocers who sell vegetables. They wouldn't know as pennywort and if you ask them for 'Vallarai' they will get it to you. its usually kept in the colder section of the shop separately.
There are many ways we prepare, simple salad with finely chopped onions, tomato, finely chopped pennywort, lemon juice, pepper and salt to taste.
Other ways are to add it to the dal with ground coconut or saute them gently with black gram dal, red chilli, a small ball of tamarind and grind it with salt to a chutney. 🙂
Hi Kajo, thank you for all of this great information! I live near an area with a lot of South Asian restaurants and shops (East Ham), so I will keep an eye out.
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