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Gin thoke
Gin thoke: Burmese young ginger salad with crunchy beans and lime
Gin thoke is lahpet thoke's livelier cousin, served on the same lacquered trays at teashops in Yangon and as a palate-wakener after a rich curry lunch. Young ginger is cut into fine threads and pickled in lime and salt so it turns pink and juicy, then tossed with cabbage, tomato, peanuts, fried beans and sesame. Burmese cooks often add fish sauce; salt, lime and a little toasted chickpea flour give the dressing body without it. Chef's tip: use young ginger with thin, pinkish skin if you can find it; mature ginger is fibrous and too fiery to eat in this quantity, so slice it extra thin.
- Total time
- 17 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Toss 3 ½ oz young ginger with half the 1 limes juice and ⅜ tsp salt and leave for 10 minutes; it softens and turns faintly pink. Squeeze out the liquid.
10 minStep 2: Toast 1 tbsp chickpea flour (besan) in a dry pan over a medium-low heat for 1–2 minutes, stirring, until it smells nutty and is a shade darker. A common mistake is skipping this; raw chickpea flour tastes like raw beans.
2 minStep 3: In a bowl, mix the ginger with 5 ½ oz white cabbage, 1 tomato, 1 red chilli, the toasted flour, 1 ½ tbsp peanut oil and the rest of the 1 limes and ⅜ tsp salt. Taste for a sharp, salty, gingery balance.
Step 4: Scatter over 1 ⅜ oz roasted peanuts, 1 ⅜ oz fried split peas or broad beans and 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, toss once and serve straight away.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 160 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 11 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does gin thoke take?
- About 17 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 2 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of limes?
- Lemon, same amount.
- What can I use instead of white cabbage?
- Savoy or spring greens, same weight.
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