It has been a really long time since I last shared a curry recipe. I’m not sure why that is because we do eat curry often. Regardless, it’s about time a new curry recipe was posted here on Spicie Foodie.
Have you ever eaten Burmese curry? It is quite unique in flavor, and I mean unique in a good way. Burmese curries, and food, incorporate ingredients from the major surrounding cuisines. For example, soy sauce and sesame oil are used much like in Chinese cuisine. Typically a Burmese curry uses less spices then Thai or Indian, and no curry powder/paste is used. Often times a Burmese curry may be served over rice noodles rather than rice.
When you cook Burmese curries you always start with a sauce base made of turmeric, ginger, chili, onion and garlic. These ingredients are ground and lightly fried to form the curry base. Don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients in my recipe. This curry recipe is quite simple and fast to prepare. In fact I had it on the table in about 35 minutes. My schedule has been incredibly busy and lately I’m gravitating towards simple and fast dinners. Hence the bag of frozen vegetables used. If you have extra time you could of course chop up some fresh vegetables to replace the frozen ones.
- 500 g or 1 lb. boneless, skinless pork or chicken, cut into strips or cubed
- 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 tsp. lemon grass powder
- 1-2 tbsp water or oil
- 2 large Roma tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 green chile, finely chopped
- 1 pack frozen vegetable mix*
- 1.5 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp chile powder
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- salt or soy sauce to taste
- 1 tbsp. fish sauce
- 1 tbsp tamarind concentrate
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium potato, peeled and boiled
- 1 cup or 250 ml water or chicken broth
- finely chopped green onion, to serve
- rice noodles
- * My mix was carrots, cauliflower, green beans, leeks
- Place the onion, garlic, lemon grass powder and a little bit of water or oil in a blender. Blend into a smooth thick paste then set aside. Heat the oil once warm add the pork strips/cubes and saute until cooked all the way through. Drain off most of the liquid and fat. Add the chopped chile and saute for 2 minutes. Next turn the heat up to high and add the paste from the blender, cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, frozen vegetables, spices, fish and soy sauce, tamarind concentrate and stir until well combined. Pour the water or broth into the pan and stir until well combined. Turn the heat down to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Mash the boiled potato and add to the pan, stir to well combine. Simmer uncovered under low heat for another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired. Either serve now or continue to simmer under low heat until ready to serve.
You will notice that very little chile was used, therefore qualifying this as mild curry. The taste is a mild, thick curry perfect for serving over rice noodles. Enjoy!
Have a great weekend everyone! Please don’t forget to either donate or bid on a bake sale and cook book auction for Cody, it ends this Sunday the 5th.
Here’s how you can help.
– Visit Family of Spice for more information on Coookies for Cody Online Bake Sale & Cookbook Auction
– Visit The Recipe Renovator for more information on Coookies for Cody Online Bake Sale & Cookbook Auction
– Donate via Cody’s Update page and include “Cookies for Cody” in the message line.
I love curry but I don’t believe I’ve ever tried Burmese curry, thanks for sharing. I love your presentation over the rice noodles!
It’s an exotic one, thanks Laura:)
A beautiful curry! I love those rice noodles. Yummy!
Cheers,
Rosa
Thank you Rosa!
Ohhh you have made the curry look so beautiful Nancy!!! Just love the way it looks on the white noodles :)
Thank you Nandita!
That is one gorgeous curry! Best it’s as flavorful as it is beautiful!
Thanks!
This curry looks amazing. Thanks (again) for reminding people about Cookies for Cody. XOXO
Thank you Stephanie. My pleasure and I hope you raise more than enough to cover the bills. xoxo back:)
Your curry looks fantastic! As a curry lover I’d love to try this. Would be my first Burmese curry :) As usual your photography blows me away.
Thanks Victoria!
Beautiful Curry….
I really like how wonderfully you have clicked this.. Not easy to work with curry… Brilliant…
B/W Happy 3rd Blog Anniversary… I hope I am not too late..
Wishing you n your blog loads n loads of success…
Thank you Reem:)!
I really love the rice noodles here. I don’t usually make mild curries, but I trust you. Looks very flavorful.
You could easily turn it into a hot curry with some chilies:)
Beautiful & vibrant colors – what’s not to love? I cook with turmeric all the time, but I don’t like curry. I need to investigate which spice in curry I don’t like because this looks delish!
Thanks Laura! Sorry to hear you don’t like curry. I stopped buying pre-made curry spice packs because they don’t taste good. I think it’s because of the cheaper spices they use, like coriander seed-don’t like it too much.
My husband makes a curry every weekend. Last night we had Fijian Chicken Curry and it was good but a little odd. I have never knowingly tried a Burmese curry but I should give him this recipe to try. Great photos.
Wow, Fijian curry? I need to check that out. Thanks Suzanne!
I haven’t travelled in Burma and don’t know much about its cuisine (I do have one cookbook from there though!), but this curry is a lovely introduction. Thanks for posting it.
I think it is a good place to start with Burmese cuisine. Enjoy!
As much curry as I make… I have never tried my hand at Burmese curry. It sounds very interesting indeed. Thanks for introducing me to it… now I need to try to challenge my curry making skills. :) Have a wonderful weekend! ~ Ramona
You should give it a try Ramona. I’m sure yours will come out scrumptious. Happy Sunday:)
The noodles are a beauty of a base for this curry.
Thanks Sandra!
Somehow, about a decade ago, I saw and could not pass my first Burmese dishes! I looked left and right on the map: these were SO elegant and stylish and moreish! So, besides still trying to learn all about Ethiopian cuisine, the Burmese has become a delightful study regime ever since: and please believe me, their beef recipes with cinnamon sticks and cloves etc, are beyond compare! This one is absolutely lovely, but I do use my own lemon grass, make my own tamarind liquid and do use fresh vegetables! Sorry: this is so precious, I do want to begin from scratch :D ! And soy, not salt; the second time today I just have had to say that, I am truly not being ornery . . . . :) !
Hi Eha,
I think it’s great that you want to prepare everything from scratch. I normally do but when I have little time I take shortcuts where I can. Yes, soy sauce is better:) Thanks Eha!
There is a famous Burmese restaurant in SF and I totally forgot about it until you shared this recipe. Now I’m craving for their delicious food, but I feel like I can make this myself! It’s pretty straightforward and all I need is lemongrass powder (I might even have it at the back of cabinet…). Love that you used rice noodles instead of rice. I can eat noodles for dinner and leftover with rice next lunch. Drool… :D
Oh how lucky to have a Burmese restaurant close by. Yes, Nami this is really simple to prepare. I loved switching the rice for noodles but it really is great with both. Thanks:)!
Nancy, I have just nominated you for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award on my blog because Spicie Foodie is one of my favourites. If you wish to pick up the award, please come visit my blog.
Thank you so much Suzanne:) I’ll stop by in a bit.
Curry is extra delicious and I know that it’s not that easy to take a tasty picture of it. You did it. It looks amazing!
Thank you Marta:)!
Curry without curry powder or paste…now that sounds like my ideal kind of cooking during busy times! I’ve honestly never tried making a Burmese dish so this is really quite intriguing for me and makes me want to research further on this cuisine. Your food styling, as usual is exemplary, no one can top it!
Hi Maya! I think you would love Burmese cuisine, give it a try. Thank you sweetie, you’ve made my day:)
This looks perfect for colder months but of course, my love for curry knows no seasons!
We eat curry all year long, but it is extra special in the colder months.
This looks really good, and even with a long list of ingredients it desn’t look like anything too complicated. Is the fish sauce necessary for the taste? I usually avoid it incase it has shellfish in it.
It really is very simple and easy to prepare. No problem, you can leave out the fish sauce. Enjoy Holly!
hmm i have never tasted burmese curry! the long list of spices looks intriguing though. i will definitely have to try it!
I hope you do Anna!
I love curry, made a red chicken curry last week using peppers from my garden, but it’s not something I normally make at home-will have to change that! Your recipe looks delicious and the noodles look perfectly prepared-nice change from the usual rice;-) Don’t have any lemon grass powder, will have to look for that;-)
How great that you used peppers from your own garden:) You could substitute whole fresh lemon grass for the powder. Just add one. Thanks Patty!
I love overhead shots. And this recipe is sensational. Hard to decide between pork and chicken here – I may have to make it both ways! Thanks.
Thanks John! I think it would be just as delicious with chicken. Enjoy!
Burmese cuisine is one I have yet to try, but I just love the flavors here…delicious stuff!
I think you would really like it Alisha:)