Eli van der Rijn Topaz Monday, Dec 9 About two hours.

Myanmar has a diverse culture, and a highlight of that is their food. Since the country is mostly Buddhist, they eat a lot of vegetarian, but they also eat a lot of fish, coming from the sea around them. Also, the way they eat their food reflects culturally and globally.

Their so-called national dish, Mohinga is a soup made of fish stock, noodles, and many different vegetables and seasonings. People who have tried Burmese food from in and out of the country agree that Mohinga made outside of the country pales in the face of Mohinga made by Burmese. Another of their dishes is made by taking a fish with very many bones, and cooking it for so long in vinegar and water that the bones simply melt away. A lot of their dishes don’t come solely from Myanmar, but were adapted from other cultures, like the Chinese and the Indian. This shows that Myanmar was once a country that shared with other cultures, unlike the shut-off Myanmar of today.

The way that Burmese eat is interesting, because unlike a lot of cultures, with a first course, etcetera, the Burmese serve all of their food at once. They eat at a low table, while sitting on bamboo mats, like many other Asian cultures. They will lie all of their food out on the table, say a prayer, and then eat. This is a lot different from most western cultures. In Italy, for example, food is served in courses. There is first an appetizer, then a pasta course, and then a meat course. One reason that Burmese might eat the way that they do is because they are sharers. If they have nothing to eat, they’ll give you half. I believe that setting all of their food out on the table symbolizes sharing, that what ever is on the table is there for you to eat.