A Taste of Burma at Betelnut in San Francisco
World traveler and global food writer, Naomi Duguid, calls her newest cookbook a “lucky miracle.”
Indeed, the timing couldn’t be more fortuitous than now for her “Burma: Rivers of Flavor” (Artisan), a book that’s been in the works for four years.
If the world’s collective eye wasn’t already drawn to this sovereign state in Southeast Asia, also known as Myanmar, it surely is now that it is transitioning after five decades of military rule. Its most famous democracy activist, Nobel Peace Prize-winning San Suu Kyi, finally freed in 2010 after 15 years of house arrest, was elected this year to a seat in that nation’s Parliament, as were 43 members of the National League for Democracy.
As Duguid told a dinner crowd of about 30 at Betelnut in San Francisco last week, she’s grateful to have experienced the country’s “before” and “after” transformation, having visited most recently late last year.
“It was the difference of people being afraid and then not being afraid any more,” she says. “You saw people chatting and arguing in the streets. It was normal, but it wasn’t normal. Now, they have to find their way to other progress.”
Duguid was the guest of honor at the dinner, hosted by the Asia Society, the global non-profit that supports educational, business, arts, culture and policy projects in Asia. Betelnut Chef Alex Ong, a board member of the Asia Society, did the honors in the kitchen, crafting a multi-course, family-style dinner of dishes featured in Duguid’s book.
Burma is bordered by India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand. Its cuisine reflects all those influences, too. Duguid put it best: “The flavors are layered rather than coming at you as one big wall.”
