This Burmese ginger salad is a wonderful combination of crunchy, crisp, punchy and vibrant. It has a fantastic range of flavors and textures that all come together to make a delicious side, snack or a light meal in itself.

bowl of Burmese ginger salad, gin thoke on white cloth.

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Burmese cuisine is one that is relatively unknown to many people, but I was lucky enough to live near a Burmese restaurant when I used to live in London, and have also since discovered one here. While I appreciate it's not the same as being in the country, it has still been a delicious insight into the wonderful cuisine.

While I've loved trying various different dishes, the salads are a non-negotiable order. I'm a big fan of Southeast Asian salads in general, with the bright flavors in there, but I have to say Burmese salads like this are up there as a favorite. The mix of textures and flavors is simply so good.

overhead view of bowl of Burmese ginger salad, gin thoke, with piece of ginger and cilantro sprig above bowl.

Burmese cuisine

The food from Myanmar (formerly Burma) is in many ways what you might expect when you think of where it is geographically. Sitting between the Indian subcontinent, China and Thailand, you can definitely see that reflected in the food.

You'll find curries, but they tend to be less spicy, without coconut milk and generally fewer ingredients. Fish sauce, ginger and garlic are all common seasonings. Rice is a staple, noodles are widely-used too, and you'll find Indian-style breads. Other common dishes include soups and salads. Burmese foods incorporate more fermented items and have a mix of savory, spicy and sour flavors.

"Thoke" are Burmese salads and the name means to mix by hand, as is the tradition. They come in many shapes and forms, generally with one or two main elements as the "star". This can include fruits, vegetables, noodles, meats, seafood or fermented items. Aalongside the main element you'l find many different flavors and textures that all pair so well, as in this salad with pickled ginger.

bowls of napa cabbage, soaked split peas, ginger soaking in lime juice, peanuts, sesame seeds, cilantro, pickled ginger, sliced garlic and chickpea flour with tomato to side.

Ingredients in Burmese ginger salad

This salad has a few elements to it, and does need a little preparation, but it's still easy and much can be done ahead as well. And most ingredients are easy to find. I've split the ingredients into a few groups to reflect what they add:

The pickled "zing" - ginger. Pickled ginger is the star of this salad, though generally not the ready-made type but home-pickled using citrus juice. It's a lot more punchy and not sweet, so I've gone with a mix of lime-pickled and ready-made Japanese-style. You often have more than I use here, this just gives a good intro level, as it were. Feel free to add more to taste, and vary between styles.

The fresh veggie and herb base - napa cabbage, tomato and cilantro. Some use cabbage, others lettuce, but I really like the texture and flavor of napa cabbage in this. You can use white cabbage or romaine if you prefer. Tomato and cilantro are not in all versions but are nice for extra color and freshness.

Crunchy bits - fried garlic, yellow split peas, toasted sesame seeds and peanuts. Fried or toasted garlic/shallots and nuts/seeds are a common part of many thoke, and this one is no different. They add fantastic texture and flavor. Some you can buy ready-prepared, but you can also fry them yourself. You can fry things ahead then store at room temperature a few days, or longer.

yellow split peas frying in oil in a skillet.

Funky flavor, extra nuttiness and optional spice - fish sauce, toasted chickpea flour, chili. Granted, these three aren't really a group as such, but more the "extras", but they are all well worth including. Fish sauce adds a little funky complexity to the dressing, along with the lime from pickling and oil from frying.

You may not manage to find toasted chickpea flour that easily, but you can easily make it yourself by dry-frying regular chickpea flour. It adds to the nuttiness and texture. Adding some minced chili is pretty common, but you can skip if you are less keen on spice. It's delicious without, too.

The parts that need some preparing ahead are pickling the ginger and soaking the split peas. They're quick, so it's really only about remembering. You can then fry the split peas and garlic ahead of time, too, and store at room temperature until needed.

bowl of napa cabbage with smaller dishes of fried split peas, fried garlic, pickled ginger, toasted chickpea flour, sliced tomato, peanuts, sesame seeds and cilantro.

Putting the salad together is then very quick - just a little chopping then add everything in a bowl. To keep things crisp, if you are not eating straight away, you can keep the dressing on the side and leave elements in stacks and just combine and mix as you serve. By hand is more traditional, but can be messy and not ideal if serving others. Just be gentle with any utensils not to break things up.

This Burmese ginger salad is a really delicious combination of flavors and textures that's bright, fresh, vibrant and crunchy. It does have a little preparation, but much can be done ahead and the result is well worth it. So be sure to enjoy soon.

side view of bowl of Burmese ginger salad, gin thoke.

Try these other Southeast Asian salads:

Thai pomelo salad - another salad with a delicious mix of fresh flavors and textures.
Lao crispy rice salad (nam khao) - made with fried, seasoned rice balls that give a fantastic mix of crisp bits and softer inside, this salad also has great flavors.
Vietnamese chicken salad - a delicious mix of fresh flavors, this salad is also great to use up leftover chicken.
Plus get more side dish recipes and Southeast Asian recipes in the archives.

Print Recipe

Burmese ginger salad (gin thoke)

This salad is a delicious mix of bright flavors, crisp textures and is fantastically fresh and tasty.

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

soaking time (minimum)2

Total Time25

Course: Lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine: Burmese

Servings: approx, depending how served

Calories: 345kcal

Author: Caroline

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Ingredients

Prepared ahead

½ oz fresh ginger (½ oz is around a 1in/2.5cm chunk)
2 tablespoon lime juice
¼ cup yellow split peas

For rest of salad

1 tablespoon chickpea flour
2 cloves garlic 2 cloves giving around 1 ½tbsp/22ml slices)
¼ cup vegetable oil or peanut oil, approximately, for frying
2 cups napa cabbage shredded
1 small tomato
1 tablespoon pickled ginger or more to taste
2 tablespoon cilantro coriander, chopped volume
½ Thai chili optional, or a milder chili, minced
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoon dry roasted peanuts unsalted
1 teaspoon fish sauce

Instructions

At least two hours before, but better the night before, peel and finely chop the garlic into very thin batons. Place in a small bowl and add the lime juice (it should all be covered) then cover and place in the fridge to pickle. Place the yellow split peas in a bowl and cover with plenty water - set aside to soak.
Toast the chickpea flour in a small dry skillet/frying pan (ie no oil) over a medium heat. Stir as it toasts so that it cooks evenly. Take care as once it starts to brown, it progresses quickly. Once evenly light brown, remove from heat and tip the toasted flour onto a plate/dish to cool. This can be done ahead and stored at room temperature i a sealed container.
Peel and finely slice the garlic and prepare a plate with kitchen paper on top to drain after frying. Drain the soaked yellow split peas and dry off a little, as best you can, eg on kitchen paper.
Clean out the skillet/frying pan, warm over a medium-high heat and add oil to give an even layer. Once warm, add the garlic slices and fry until gently brown - watch closely as they quickly turn from brown to burnt. Once gently brown, use a slotted spoon to remove and drain and place on the kitchen paper to drain excess oil and crisp further.
If you like, use separate oil for frying the split peas, or simply add the yellow split peas after the garlic (in batches as needed - you don't want to cook too many at once as you want to be able to remove quickly once ready). Fry a few minutes until they are light golden then remove with a slotted spoon to prepared kitchen paper to drain. If the sesame seeds or peanuts are not toasted/roasted, fry them as well. All these fried elements can be made ahead and stored at room temperature in sealed containers. Save the garlic oil.
Once ready to assemble, shred the napa cabbage and thinly slice the tomato. Finely slice the pickled ginger. Chop the cilantro and mince the chili, if using.
Place the cabbage in a bowl and add all the other ingredients - the tomato, cilantro, ginger that you soaked in lime - save the lime juice, pickled ginger, sesame seeds, peanuts (slightly crushed if whole), chili, if using, and some fried split peas. Add around 3 tablespoon (45ml) toasted split peas for one recipe quantity (any extra make a tasty snack or can be used for another batch).
Add the fish sauce to the lime juice from pickling the ginger, and add 1 tablespoon (15ml) per recipe quantity of oil from frying the garlic. Drizzle this mixture over the salad, mix gently and serve.

Notes

This roughly serves 2 as a side or snack, or one generous portion as a meal in itself.

You can generally buy ready-toasted sesame seeds and dry roasted peanuts but if you can't find, use non-toasted/roasted and you can fry yourself in batches after you cook the split peas. Another optional addition is sunflower seeds, which you can also fry to become more crisp.

If you don't pickle your own ginger with lime, separately use 1 tablespoon (15ml) lime juice with the oil and fish sauce to make the dressing. Add more, to taste.

Nutrition

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