About this Dish
A tangy fermented tea leaf salad with crunchy fried beans, nuts, and garlic.
History & Origin
One of the few dishes in the world built around fermented tea leaves, laphet thoke is a Burmese specialty served at celebrations, temple visits, and as a hospitality gesture.
IngredientsServes 2
🍵Fermented tea leaves (laphet), 100g
🧄Garlic cloves, 6 thinly sliced and fried until golden
🫘Dried yellow split peas, 3 tbsp fried until crispy
🥜Roasted peanuts, 3 tbsp
🌱Sesame seeds, 2 tbsp toasted
🍅Cherry tomatoes, 8 halved
🥬Green cabbage, 1 cup finely shredded
🌶️Fresh green chilli, 1 thinly sliced
🍋Fish sauce, 1 tbsp
🫒Neutral oil, 4 tbsp for frying
Method
1
Heat the oil in a small pan over medium heat. Fry the sliced garlic until golden and crispy, then remove and drain on paper towels. In the same oil, fry the dried split peas for 2-3 minutes until golden and crunchy, then drain as well.2
If your fermented tea leaves feel very oily or tightly packed, loosen them with a fork and taste for saltiness. You can rinse them very briefly with cold water if they are overwhelmingly salty, then squeeze out excess moisture.3
Place the fermented tea leaves in the centre of a large mixing bowl or serving plate. Arrange the shredded cabbage, halved cherry tomatoes, fried garlic, fried split peas, peanuts, sesame seeds, and green chilli around them in separate piles — this is the traditional presentation.4
Drizzle the fish sauce over everything. Toss the salad together just before eating so the crunchy elements stay crisp. Taste and adjust with a little more fish sauce or a squeeze of lime if you like more tang.5
Serve immediately as a starter or side dish. The key to a great laphet thoke is the contrast of textures, so toss it at the table right before eating.6
Serve immediately at room temperature as a starter or side dish — the salad is best eaten fresh so the beans and nuts keep their satisfying crunch.User Reviews
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