Market Stall Staple · Warm Chickpea Tofu
Tofu Nway
Photo: Aunghtet n h / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
Shan 'tofu' isn't made from soybeans at all — it's set from ground split-pea or chickpea flour, a recipe distinct from nearly every other tofu found in Asia.
Chickpea or split-pea flour is cooked into a thick batter and poured into trays to set, then served warm and freshly ladled as a silky, soup-like dish, or cooled, sliced and fried for a firmer salad version. Shan State's markets sell both versions side by side, dressed with garlic oil, chili flakes and crushed peanuts.
Why it's made this way: The legume-based recipe likely traveled with Shan communities whose cooking traditions diverged from the fish-paste-based cuisine of the Bamar lowlands, giving Shan State one of Myanmar's few genuinely vegetarian-friendly regional specialties.
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Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
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