Two Salad Recipes from The Rangoon Sisters
This is Amy and Emily Chung, and they are the Rangoon Sisters. They call themselves "two greedy sisters cooking traditional Burmese food"... our kind of people!
Born and bred in England but with Burmese heritage, their incredibly popular supper club has been giving London an introduction to Burmese food since 2013. Now we can all gorge on their phenomenal nosh from home thanks to their brand new eponymous cookbook.
And very generously, while we all melt into our chairs and try and decide what to cook next, they've come to the rescue with two salads which will make a change to your tricolore. Burmese salads are arguably the most interesting part of the cuisine; they're full of texture and flavour and pack a punch on the plate.
ONE | Khayan Jin Thee Thoke - Tomato and Crunchy Peanut Salad
“This salad contrasts crunchy peanuts with vibrant fresh tomatoes. Use the best-quality tomatoes you can buy to get the most out of this dish. It is best made fresh on the day, and can be served as a side with one of our curries or just simply with some rice.”
Serves 4 as a side
50g unsalted roasted peanuts
300g tomatoes, at room temperature, quartered
green finger chilli, deseeded (optional) and finely sliced
1 tbsp dried shrimps (optional)
1–2 raw shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
3–5 tbsp garlic oil
juice of ½ lime
2 tsp fish sauce (omit to make vegetarian, then season with salt)
small handful of coriander leaves
1 tsp gram flour, toasted
crispy fried shallots (shop-bought or see the recipe in their book), to garnish
Crush the peanuts using a pestle and mortar or pulse a few times in a food processor (to the size of the nubs you get in a shop-bought crunchy peanut butter).
Place the tomatoes, chilli, crushed peanuts and remaining ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Ideally, do this with clean hands to fully combine all the ingredients. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more fish sauce or chilli if necessary.
Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with the crispy shallots.
TWO | Kyet Thar Thoke – Spiced Chicken Salad
"Here we cook the chicken fresh for this salad, but you could always make it using leftover roast chicken. We would recommend keeping the skin on the thighs when roasting them, because it keeps the flesh moist and adds a wonderful crispy texture to the salad."
Serves 4 as a main
4 chicken thighs, skin on
½ tsp tumeric powder
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp chilli powder
pinch of salt
½ medium-sized white cabbage (about 450g), finely sliced
juice of 3 limes
5 tbsp garlic oil
5 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp chilli flakes
4 shallots, finely sliced
To serve
coriander leaves
chilli flakes
crispy fried shallots (shop-bought, or make the ones in their recipe book)
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.
Coat the chicken thighs with the spices and the salt and place on a baking tray in the oven. Roast for 35 minutes (check they are cooked by piercing them – the juices should run clear), then set aside to cool.
Roughly shred the chicken with a fork and knife and place in a large bowl.
Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the garnishes, and mix well.
When ready to serve, divide the salad among four plates, then garnish each with the coriander, a sprinkle of chilli flakes and a teaspoon of fried shallots. Serve immediately.
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P.S. You'll be needing something to serve them in. That's where we come in:
