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This month, we’ve featured a childhood recipe from our Professional Services Manager, Emily Win. This dish translates to “salad mixed with your hands” and comes from a culture that represents 135 unique ethnic groups.
A key part of Restaurant365’s culture and a common thread between all the members of our community is an affinity for food.
Each month, an employee’s recipe is shared throughout the organization. These recipes are more than just a list of ingredients and instructions, they give us a sneak peek into the lives of our coworkers. We have the opportunity to see special recipes that hold memories, stand the test of time, and claim a significant place in someone’s heart.
What better way to bond and share pieces of our personal lives than with our core value of Love Good Food?
Now, enjoy this family recipe shared by our very own Emily Win, Manager of Professional Services.
Growing up, I remember gathering around a full spread of freshly shredded veggies and sauces that we would pile high on top of the noodles on our plates before sticking our hands straight into the food to squish it all together. This delicious mess of sauces and spices is not only mixed by hand, but eaten with your hands as well.
This was one of the biggest ways that we shared and maintained our Burmese culture growing up, in a time explaining what it means to be Burmese was extra complicated. Most immigrants find a community, but when my family moved to the United States, most of the Burmese people they knew were related to us. Personally, I was at least a teenager before I met anyone else that was Burmese outside of the family, and most folks had never even heard of Myanmar or Burmese people.
In the 90’s you had to “know a guy” if you wanted to get your hands on all the ingredients to put this meal together. For us, bringing friends to the table was an easier way to share and celebrate our culture than trying to explain or compare other aspects. Many facets of the culture don’t really translate here in the United States (just give, “how do Burmese names work” a quick Google). Gathering to make and eat “Let Thoke” represents a way for me to stay connected to and share our culture. We share stories and catch up, all while eating a very messy dish by hand as if it’s popcorn.
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This dish is free form, add ingredients to taste. Everything is optional, but you want to start with a bed of noodles, add your shredded veggies and starches, then powders and oils. Just a light amount of tamarind is needed to start, but you’ll want more fish sauce and more red chili oil than you think to get the flavor dialed in.
Once you have a good stack of ingredients, squish it up to combine and give it a taste.
Ultimately, this dish is entirely what you make of it!
This free form dish speaks to Emily’s intimate memories of bonding with family over dinner, spanning several decades. With so much of her heritage rooted in this amalgamation of ingredients, each bite will share a new piece of these cultures with you.
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