Mohinga

Mohinga

Mohinga with fritters
Alternative names	Mont hin gar
Course	Breakfast
Place of origin	Myanmar
Associatedcuisine	Burmese cuisine
Main ingredients	Rice vermicelli,catfish
Ingredients generally used	Fish sauce, fish paste, ginger, banana stem, lemongrass, onions, garlic, chickpea flour
Variations	Many; see§Regional varietiesbelow
Media: Mohinga

Mohinga(Burmese:မုန့်ဟင်းခါး;MLCTS:mun.hang: hka:,IPA:[mo̰ʊɰ̃hɪ́ɰ̃ɡá];also speltmont hin gar) is thenational dishof Myanmar. Mohinga is fish soup made with rice noodles, typically served as a hearty breakfast. It features a rich broth flavored with lemongrass, turmeric, and fish sauce, often garnished with boiled eggs, cilantro, and crispy fritters.Mohinga is readily available in most parts of the country, sold bystreet hawkersand roadside stalls in larger cities. Mohinga is traditionally eaten forbreakfast,but today is eaten at any time of day.

Description and ingredients

The main ingredients of mohinga aregram flourand/or crushed toasted rice,garlic,shallotsoronions,lemongrass,ginger,fish paste,fish sauce,andcatfish(or other types of fishes, such asMrigal carp).The ingredients are combined in a rich broth, which is cooked and kept on the boil.Mohinga is served withrice vermicelli,dressed and garnished with fish sauce, a squeeze oflime,crisp fried onions,coriander,spring onions, crushed dried chillis, and, as optional toppings, deep-friedBurmese fritterssuch as split chickpeas,urad dal,gourd,sliced pieces ofyoutiao,as well as boiled egg and friedngapifish cake.Mohinga is eaten withChinese soup spoons,which are known asmohinga zun(lit. 'mohinga spoons') in Burmese.

Mohinga is a very common breakfast dish in Myanmar, and available as an "all-day breakfast" in many towns and cities.Mohinga can be served as a formal dish made from scratch as well as from a ready-made powder used for making the broth. Mohinga used to be available only early in the morning and at streetpwès (open air stage performances),zat pwès (open air dance performances) or theatres at night.Street hawkersoften sell mohinga, with some carrying the soup cauldron on a stove on one side of ashoulder pole,with rice vermicelli and other ingredients, along with bowls and spoons, on the other.Trishaw peddlers began to appear in the 1960s and some of them set up pavement stalls making mohinga available all day.

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  Amohingatrishaw peddler inMandalaywill stop for customers.
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  Mohingais available all day from pavement stalls such as this in Mandalay.
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  Ready-made packages containing powder to cookmohingasoup is also available.
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  Mohinga streethawker in Mandalay

History and origins

The origins of mohinga are difficult to pinpoint in the absence of extant records.Food processing tools used to fermentricedating to thePyu city-stateshave been discovered, showing that the tradition of making rice vermicelli, the key starch used in mohinga, has a long history. The earliest reference to mohinga dates to theKonbaung dynasty,in the poetU Ponnya'salingaverse poem.Burmese history historianKhin Maung Nyunthas concluded that during pre-colonial times, mohinga was likely a commoner's dish, as a formal recipe for mohinga has not been found in royal records or cookbooks.

During the latter half ofBagyidaw's reign, a poet by the name of U Min wrote about mohinga using the phrase "mont di"(မုန့်တီ). Whilemont dinow commonly refers to another type of rice vermicelli dishes, a small minority continue to use "mont ti"in reference to mohinga. Various regions in the country call mohinga"mont"(မုန့်) or"mont hin"(မုန့်ဟင်း).

Regional varieties

There are different regional varieties of mohinga throughout Myanmar, depending on the availability of ingredients and culinary preferences. For example,Rakhinemohinga has morefish pasteand less soup. The most commonly prepared version comes fromLower Myanmar,where fresh fish is more readily available. These varieties ofmohingaoriginate from theIrrawaddy delta,which are often dubbedtawchet mohinga(lit. 'rural stylemohinga').Several well-known mohinga shops in Yangon serve Irrawaddy delta-style mohinga, including Myaungmya Daw Cho and Bogalay Daw Nyo.

Versions of mohinga from the Irrawaddy delta include:

• Bogalemohinga – cooked in a broth of fish and abundant black pepper,
• Myaungmyamohinga – cooked with three varieties of fish, namelystriped snakehead,walking catfish,andHamilton's carp,
• Pyaponmohinga,
• Patheinmohinga,
• Yangonmohinga – cooked in a broth of catfish, chickpeas, and peanuts).

Versions of mohinga from theBago Regioninclude:

• Hinthadamohinga – cooked withhilsain lieu of catfish,
• Madaukmohinga – cooked withpickled shrimp,and served with raw tomatoes,
• NyaunglebinandPyuntazamohinga – cooked withpickled fish,served with pickledjujube,
• Taungoomohinga – served in a thinner broth more akin to a dry noodle salad, with raw tomatoes, chopped green beans, and a side of pickled white jujubes.

Versions of mohinga from Southern and Eastern Myanmar include:

• Daweimohinga – similar to conventional mohinga, withblack pepperin lieu ofpaprika,
• Kayinmohinga – served in one of two broths (sweet or spicy), served with raw tomatoes,bean sprouts,green beans,andmintin lieu of coriander,
• Mawlamyinemohinga – cooked to a thinner broth consistency with boiled peas, green beans, mint, fish cakes, andjaggery,
• Monmohinga – similar to conventional mohinga, cooked without banana stems and rice flour,
• Thatonmohinga – served withHamilton's carp,mint, green beans, bean sprouts, tomatoes, and fermented yellow rice cake patties.

InUpper Myanmar,variants of mohinga include:

• Anyamohinga – mohinga cooked in a broth of chicken, fish, and chickpea flour in lieu of toasted rice flour), which is common toUpper Myanmartowns likeMonywa,Wetlet,Shwebo,Kyaukpadaung,andMyingyan,
• In mohinga – cooked in a broth of catfish and green onions.

See also

• Burmese cuisine
• Laksa
• List of soups
• Noodle soup

External links

• Mohinga recipefromMandalay: Recipes & Tales from a Burmese Kitchen