Made from several types of seaweed, agar-agar is a great vegetarian alternative to gelatine. It makes a firm jelly which sets without refrigeration and does not melt in hot weather. Agar is sold in bundles of dried translucent threads or packets of powder/flakes.
Gelatine
Asian stores
Coconut agar jelly, Burmese faluda
Fish sauce is essential to Burmese cooking, similar to Thai fish sauce, nam pla. The Burmese version is slightly stronger…
Butter bean is also known as Lima, Calico, Madagascar or Snow bean. These large white beans have a rich, creamy texture…
Made from ground mung beans, these thin noodles become transparent when cooked. Cellophane noodles are fairly bland…
Cauliflower is eaten stir-fried or steamed briefly so it still has bite. It is also eaten raw with baked shrimp paste dip…
Bean sprouts are young, tender shoots that emerge from germinated beans, most commonly mung beans or soybeans. These sprouts…
Dried anchovies are small, salted fish with a powerful umami flavour. These tiny, silver-coloured anchovies are dried to preserve…