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What connects Pakistan to Burma (Myanmar)? It's this bowl of Khao Suey - a one-bowl dish of noodles, chicken/mutton/beef (there's a vegetarian version too), comforting coconut broth topped with a whole lot of condiments.
The Memon community that hails from Western India (known to be expert traders) had trade ties in Burma in the colonial era (probably earlier than that). Quite a few people from the community had even settled in Burma where they were exposed to the local cooking style.
After the partition in 1947 and Burma's independence, some people from the community migrated to Pakistan and brought with them Khao Suey which became an integral part of the food landscape of Karachi where the Memons eventually settled.
As opposed to the Burmese Khao Suey, the Pakistani version has spaghetti and often uses the crisp samosa shell as topping. Khao Suey is a true example of how recipes and dishes evolve and change as they travel across communities as well as across regions.
I recently read an article written by a chef who staunchly said that recipes are meant to be followed exactly...no scope for tweaking it as per taste or availability of ingredients.
But, as @Raykris1 puts it, "cooking as a practice is replication-mutation-innovation-failure to do so," and it's this practice which has made cuisines richer
So staying true to that spirit of cooking I tweaked the recipe of Khao Suey to add seasonal fresh turmeric and radish pod
So staying true to that spirit of cooking I tweaked the recipe of Khao Suey to add seasonal fresh turmeric and radish pod
