Burmese Food - SOFT TOFU SALAD (tofu thoke) on the Streets of Yangon, Myanmar

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Rating: 4.0; Vote: 1

One of the many street food dishes to eat in Yangon, Myanmar is a salad made from yellow Shan tofu, known as tofu thoke. Years ago, on my first visit to Myanmar, I was confused as to what that yellow block of something was. I had thought it was cheese, because it looks like a giant wheel of cheese that the vendors sell. But I didnt think cheese was so popular, and I didnt think people would just eat a whole plate of cheese either. So I decided to just sit down at one of the street food carts, and order it. The vendor told me it was called tofu thoke, and said it was tofu, but I was still ultimately confused as to what it was - before this, tofu as I knew, was white and silky. But fast forward a few years, and on my most recent trip to Yangon, I knew that the tofu was from the Shan state of Myanmar, and is a tofu made with chickpeas - thats why it is so creamy and tasty. On my most recent trip, Ying and I decided to stop at one of the many street food mobile carts in Yangon for a quick bite to eat, two different salads. When looking for street food to eat in Yangon, there are a number of different clues to look for. One of the common street food carts is a double basket carrier with a bamboo pole in the middle. On one side youll see a variety of noodles and that big block of cheese (its actually tofu) and on the other side youll see a bunch of different sauces that are used for dressing on the salads. Usually the chef sits right in the middle, between each part of the cart, and he / she will set up a wooden plank in the front of the stall to be used as bar front table. The only other thing you need is a few red plastic stools, and youre good to go. When you see these signs and see an empty chair, thats all the clues you need to grab a seat and order whatever youd like. I got the tofu salad, known as tofu thoke, and I also decided to order the green papaya salad, but I wasnt sure what the name was, so I just pointed to the shredded green papaya and ordered one of that however the vendor wanted to prepare it. He made the green papaya salad first, grabbing a handful of shredded green papaya and mixing it with a number of different seasonings and sauces for dressing. The green Myanmar green papaya salad tasted almost like it was dressed in a nutty, almost like a Japanese miso dressing. It was quite delicious. Next, he got started making the tofu thoke, and first added a handful of slices chickpea tofu to a mixing bowl. He then added in a bunch of different seasonings as well, mixed it up, and then added kaffir lime leaves and fried shallots. The salad was nicely flavored, the zest from the kaffir lime leaves, and the crunch and fragrance from the delicious fried shallots. The yellow Shan tofu was creamy and thick, like harder pudding almost. Im a huge fan of all kinds of tofu, and Myanmar yellow tofu is something I had never thought of as tofu until eating it in Myanmar. Yangon is full of street food surprises, and one of the many things you can try is tofu thoke - its affordable, tasty, and interesting to eat. Thank you very much for watching this video
Date: 2019-08-19

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Comments and reviews: 10

Winict Maximus Cosmo
tofu salad is come from eastern part of country, Shan state. their traditional foods. yes there are a lot of Shan foods in Yangon. Shan noodle is one of their signature foods. Shan state is located in east part of the country and a lot of mountains, beautiful country side. .
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schchen2000
Nutty flavour in papaya salad comes from grounded roasted chickpea powder. They put a bit of that in papaya salad in Burma. The chickpea powder is called Pe Hmont in Burmese. It basically means grounded pea powder. The powder is roasted before used in salad in Burma.
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xcessive2008
hi mark, you must have the highest metabolism rate lol, you stop for mid morning snack that consist of 3 bowls you allways have a table full. my brother is the same way. the papaya salad really looked good. great vid thx: )
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Kai Tu
Dang, I miss those foods, you made me hungry. I was born in Myanmar and now I am in US. I hope I will visit there again. :) you should go visit my hometown in Myanmar. Its kayah state and Loikaw Xity. Its really peaceful there.
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manall phyu24689
Actually Myanmar middle part (Mandalay, Sagaing, Magwe) are growing different kinds of bean (including chickpea. Tofu are two kinds in myanmar. Shan Tofu and Burma Tofu. different tastes and different making ways.
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Joy
Great video as always, Mark Quick question, Do you think I would be able to use chopsticks in the asian places you go to? I'm left handed so I was just wondering if I should be practicing with my right hand or not.
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Uchida Suano
Mark i am japanese and i love vietnamese foods japanese foods and phillipino foods and chinese foods. i eat a variety asian foods. i love seaweed salad with octopus squid and ginger and diacon
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Mattias Haeger
Love your videos, Mark. A highlight of my Wensdays and Sundays. I listened to the Wandering Trader podcast that you were on. Great stuff. Any plans on going back to Laos to do some videos?
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Luna Deberry
hahaha, the way you eat the chili and raw garlic by biting in them, it's more than a real Asian can handle sometimes my compliments. good guy, you found a way to enjoy and work too>
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Esther Chin
Hi there, any hygiene issues with the street food in Yangon? Id go for hot cooked food, but also love to try their salad You make the green papaya and tofu salad seem so delicious
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