Talabaw
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Talabaw (, , ; also transliterated as talapaw, in
Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding white woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand * House of Karen, a historic ...
), is a soup that originated in
Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding white woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand * House of Karen, a historic ...
cuisine. It is typically prepared with
bamboo shoot Bamboo shoots or bamboo sprouts are the edible shoots (new bamboo culms that come out of the ground) of many bamboo species including '' Bambusa vulgaris'' and '' Phyllostachys edulis''. They are used as vegetables in numerous Asian dishes a ...
s,
snakehead fish The snakeheads are members of the freshwater perciform fish family Channidae, native to parts of Africa and Asia. These elongated, predatory fish are distinguished by their long dorsal fins, large mouths, and shiny teeth. They breathe air with ...
and
basil leaves Basil (, ; , ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' (, )), also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variet ...
. A small amount of rice and some shreds of meat or seafood may also be added. The Karen traditionally used the soup to supplement rice, which was not cheaply available to them, consuming a large amount of soup with a small amount of rice in order to conserve the valuable rice. Talabaw is one of the most well-known soups in
Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
, and widely considered to be the essential dish of
Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding white woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand * House of Karen, a historic ...
cuisine.


Origin

Traditionally, the Karen people lived in wooded areas, only rarely visiting nearby towns. As, in lieu of buying food at the town market, they foraged in the forest where there was often plenty of
bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...
especially during the
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
season, bamboo shoots have become the primary and essential ingredient of the talabaw soup.


Ingredients and preparation

Bamboo shoots are used either fresh or fermented; some recipes call for lacto-fermented shoots, which are usually used when bamboo is not in season. The common preference is for
giant bamboo Giant bamboo is a common name for several large species of bamboo and may refer to: * Large species in the genus '' Bambusa'' include: ** "Giant timber bamboo" (''Bambusa oldhamii''), a large (to 20 m) bamboo species originating from Taiwan ** '' Ba ...
whenever it is available, as it has a sweeter taste. It can be cooked mainly with
rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan (from Malay language, Malay: ''rotan''), is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the clos ...
buds,
long pepper Long pepper (''Piper longum''), sometimes called Indian long pepper or ''pippali'', is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. Long pepper has a taste sim ...
catkins A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster (a spike), with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated (anemophilous) but sometimes insect-pollinated (as in ''Salix''). It contains many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged cl ...
, and unripe
jackfruit The jackfruit or ''nangka'' (''Artocarpus heterophyllus'') is a species of tree in the Common fig, fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). The jackfruit is the largest tree fruit, reaching as much as in weight, in length, and in d ...
. Typical additional ingredients are snakehead fish (and/or other types of seafood, or meat),
lemongrass ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, oily heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some ...
, drumstick leaves,
basil Basil (, ; , ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' (, )), also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a hardiness (plants), tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" r ...
leaves, climbing wattle leaves,
okra Okra (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in some English-speaking countries as lady's fingers, is a flowering plant in the Malvaceae, mallow family native to East Africa. Cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions aro ...
, fish paste,
bean curd or bean curd is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness: ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', and ''extra (or super) firm''. It originated in China and has been consu ...
, pepper powder, chicken powder, green chillies,
fish sauce Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, L ...
, tamarind juice, and rice powder along with salt. Preparation involves rinsing bamboo shoots in water several times before boiling the inner shoots. Recipes typically call for cutting the shoots into thin slices, then giving them an extended boil to tenderize before adding other ingredients in a specified order for further simmering. A small amount of ground rice as well as shreds of meat or seafood may also be added. The soup is cooked until the rice and meat have become tender, and then chopped vegetables are added. The soup is typically served with a small amount of cooked rice. There are multiple regional and family variations; some versions are as thick as stew and some are closer to a broth.


Cultural promotion and tourism

The first Karen traditional food exhibition and talabaw cooking competition were held at Zwekabin Hall in
Hpa-an Hpa-an (, ; ; , also spelled Pa-an) is the capital and largest city of Kayin State (Karen State), Myanmar (Burma). The population of Hpa-an as of the 2014 census was 421,575. Most of the people in Hpa-an are of the Karen ethnic group. Legend Le ...
on July 8, 2018, by
Myanmar Restaurant Association The Myanmar Restaurant Association (MRA; ) is Myanmar's food industry The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has beco ...
and
Kayin State Government Kayin State Government () is the cabinet of Kayin State. The cabinet is led by chief minister, Nang Khin Htwe Myint. Cabinet (April 2016–present) See also State and Region Government of Myanmar The State and Region Governments () are ...
. The event was designed to showcase traditional foods of the Karen people as tourist attractions. The Chief Minister
Nang Khin Htwe Myint Nang Khin Htwe Myint (, also spelt Nan Khin Htwe Myint; born 10 May 1954) is a Burmese politician who served as Chief Minister of Kayin State, the head of Kayin State Government. She is one of just two women to secure a spot among the chief mini ...
said that she wanted everyone visiting Kayin State to get into the habit of eating talabaw.


See also

*
Menma is a Japanese condiment made from lacto-fermented bamboo shoots. The bamboo shoots are dried in the sun or through other means before the process of fermentation. Menma is a common topping for noodle soups, notably ramen. Menma is primarily ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talabaw Burmese soups Culture of Myanmar Soups