Burmese Tomato Relish
Many of you know that my mom ran a Thai restaurant in Nashville for 40 years. My last name is Myint because my father is actually Burmese, or from the country we now call Myanmar. Actually it was my dad who did most of the cooking for me because we had the same schedule when I was growing up. So I was so excited to discover a recipe for tomato relish in this Burmese cookbook that was filled with foods that reminded me of my father.
This Burmese tomato chutney can be served either hot or cold. It’s typically served as an appetizer as a dip for vegetables or as a condiment, but the flavors are so rich and complex that I’d totally eat it with rice. I recommend making your own shrimp powder by mortar and pestle to make it coarse, because the texture of the dried shrimp really adds to the whole experience.
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Dice onions and bloom them in a pan with oil and 1-2 tsp shrimp paste, stirring frequently to combine the flavors and soften the onion.
Step 2
Add minced garlic, chopped birdseye chilis, paprika and turmeric, and dried shrimp powder. Stir until mixture combines into a paste.
Step 3
Add diced tomatoes, and add fish sauce and salt. Stir then cover for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and serve hot or cold.