Burmese Tea Leaf Salad (Week 3, Myanmar)

This recipe is a part of my Global Vegan Challenge where each week I research and develop a recipe from a different country in the world. Many of these recipes are veganized based off their omnivore counterparts. While not all of these recipes are a one for one what you’ll find in their country, I hope you’ll still find them delicious!

I had never had Burmese food until I moved to California. In the San Francisco Bay area there’s an amazing Burmese palace called Burma Superstar, where I fell in love with the cuisine. That’s where I first had tea leaf salad and it’s since become one of my favorite dishes to date.

In general, I detest salad. It’s not that I dislike leafy vegetables, but as a vegan eating out and only having a poorly constructed salad as an option gets tiring. But Burmese tea leaf salad, Lahpet Thoke, is different. It’s not the typical meat and cheese covered greens you’d find at a random diner here in the US.

Lahpet Thoke comes from Myanmar (formerly Burma) and is a hearty salad full of delicious fats. It’s often found made with shredded cabbage, tomatoes, green chile, coconut, fried garlic, fish sauce, lots of crunchy bits like nuts and seeds, and of course it’s key ingredient, fermented tea leaves.

These fermented tea leaves are traditionally fermented 6 months or longer, which is a long time for an impatient person like myself to wait for a salad. For this recipe I went for a much shorter fermentation time period of 3 days. I can’t say how well the 3 day ferment stacks up next to the 6 month ferment as I’ve never had it, but it’s a good quick option if you can’t get your hands on fermented tea leaves.

This salad is often vegan, or very close to vegan with few modifications needed. But since it is often served with a fish sauce or even with shrimp, I decided to add a bit of kelp to give it more of a fishy umami flavor. I also opted to use romaine instead of cabbage because I wanted to have lots of contrasts in texture between the leafy and crunchy bits. If you’d like to go a bit more authentic with this recipe, swap the romaine for cabbage and omit the kelp. Either way I promise you it’ll still be delicious.

Burmese Tea Leaf Salad (Lahpet Thoke)

Note: You will need to start this recipe 2 – 3 days in advance to allow for your tea leaves to ferment and to prepare your split peas.

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Ingredients

• Vegetable Oil (for frying as needed)
• 2 – 3 Hearts of Romaine
• 1 Large Tomato
• 1 Large Jalapeno (more if you want it spicy)
• 1 Lemon
• 1 Lime
• 3/4 cup Canola or Vegetable Oil
• 1/4 cup Dried Yellow Split Peas
• 1/3 cup Sesame Seeds
• 1/3 cup Unsalted Roasted Peanuts
• 1/3 cup Unsalted Sunflower Seeds
• 9 Cloves of Garlic
• 8 tablespoons Green Tea
• 1 tablespoon Kelp Granules
• 1 inch Fresh Ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon Red Chili Flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt

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Tea Leaf Dressing

• Bring a small pot of water to a boil then pour over 8 tablespoons of green tea. Let sit for 3 minutes and drain off water.
• Taste the tea. If it tastes too bitter, repeat boil and soak until sharp bitterness is removed (a little bitterness is ok).
• Take the green tea in your hands and squeeze out as much excess water as possible. Once done, pack it into the bottom of a small cup or mason jar. Place lid on loosely to allow air in, and let sit at room temperature for 2-3 days. Once fermented place in fridge until ready to use.

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Salad

• The day before serving your salad soak dried split peas in water overnight or for at least 6 hours. Once ready, drain, rinse, and pat dry.
• Prepare your dressing by microplaning 1 clove of garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of ginger. Add garlic, ginger, juice of one lime, kelp granules, chili flakes, oil, salt, and tea leaves to blender. Once well blended, set aside until ready to serve.
• Prepare your fried toppings. Heat up a small pot on the stove over medium high heat. Fill with vegetable oil about 1 inch deep. Once up to temperature carefully add in your yellow split peas. Let fry in the oil for 2 – 4 minutes or until crispy. Remove from oil and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.
• Slice remaining 8 cloves of garlic into thin coins on a diagonal. Add to oil and keep a close eye on them. Let fry 2-3 minutes or until they begin to turn golden. Remove from oil and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside. Turn off stove and save oil for future frying use.
• Prepare remaining vegetables. Remove seeds and ribs from jalapeno. Dice jalepeno and tomato and set aside. Slice lemon into wedges. Slice romaine into 1/2 inch pieces wash and dry in salad spinner. Set romaine aside in a serving bowl.
• To serve, place tea leaf dressing in a small bowl in the center of a large plate. Place sesame seeds, peanuts, sunflower seeds, fried garlic, fried peas, tomato, jalapeno, and lemon wedges around the tea leaf dressing. Allow guests to choose the amounts of each topping to mix in themselves, or alternatively mix all ingredients in a romaine bowl prior to serving. Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side.