Burmese Balachaung is a condiment made with fried onions, shrimp, garlic, ginger & red chillies. Extremely delicious & keeps well for months!
I still remember, how I’d come back from school, and the entire house would smell of Balachaung. I’d run straight to my grandmother and ask her if she’s made some. She’d hold her hands behind her back, bend over me and say ‘No’, but there would just be a gleam in her eyes. I’d immediately know she was lying and hug her. She’d throw her head back and laugh, then go into the kitchen and bring me a plate of hot steamy rice along with freshly made Balachaung. Ah…. if only she were still with us…I miss her so much!
The Burmese Balachaung is an accompaniment to rice made with fried onions, shrimp, garlic, ginger & red chillies and is fairly dry and crisp. There are also versions made with tomatoes which is more curry-like, but I’ve never really fancied those. But the dry version has a very good shelf life, since it’s been made with dried shrimps and everything is fried crisp (no moisture whatsoever!). It will loose texture with storage and go soft over time, but this does not affect the taste in anyway.
You can use these to top curries, as a side to rice, and me, I also enjoy it with rotis.
Just make sure that:
– All the ingredients are fried crisp.
– The house is properly ventilated, because frying up the dried shrimp isn’t really like walking by a scented candle store.
– The Balachaung is cooled completely before storing.
– You use a sterile, airtight, glass container to store the Balachaung.
– You use a clean, dry spoon to get the Balachaung.
If properly stored, your Balachaung will keep well for several months, that is, if you haven’t binge eaten it in a week (like I usually do!).
How does it taste?
I must say that this is a bit of an acquired taste, especially for those who are not overly fond of shrimps, it would take some time to get used to the flavours. But once you do, it sticks with you. Mostly, you just taste the fried onions but you do get a whiff of the shrimps. I don’t really like dried seafood, but this, I absolutely love! If you don’t want to add the shrimp, my vegetarian mother makes herself a version with crushed peanuts and it’s equally awesome! I’ll post a recipe for it here soon.
When you make these (which I really think you SHOULD!), be sure to SHARE YOUR PHOTOS with me through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I’d love to see what you cook from here and will share it with pride on my social media feeds.
Burmese Balachaung
- Prep Time:15m
- Cook Time:30m
- Total Time:45m
- Yield: About 4 cups
Ingredients
- 10 onions (red/shallots), finely sliced
- 2 -3 garlic cloves, sliced thin
- about 1 inch of ginger, sliced thin
- a handful of dried long red chillies
- 1 c of dried shrimp
- 1 tsp. turmeric powder
- 1 tsp. red chilli powder
- Salt to taste
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Rinse the dried shrimps several times to wash off any sand. Drain till dry to the touch. Dab using paper towels, if needed.
- Heat oil in a pan for deep-frying. Fry the dried long red chillies until it starts to darken. Drain on paper towels and let cool completely. Pulse in a blender until completely powdered. Set aside.
- In the same blender, pulse the dried shrimp, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt until shredded. Set aside.
- In the same oil, deep fry the onions until crisp. Set aside.
- In the same oil, deep fry the ginger until crisp. Set aside.
- In the same oil, deep fry the garlic until crisp. Set aside.
- In the same oil, fry the shredded shrimp (in several batches, if needed) until it no longer smells raw. Drain and set aside.
- Transfer all the oil to a bowl, leaving about 2-3 tsp in the pan. Combine all the ingredients together in the pan (fried onion, fried ginger, fried garlic, fried shrimp and as much fried red chilli flakes as you can handle). Adjust salt to taste.
- Remove from heat and cool completely. Store in a clean, dry jar at room temperature for months. Since the shrimps are already dry and cooked till crisp, they won't go bad. If you feel icky about storing shrimp at room temperature, you can refrigerate it. But honestly, you don't need to.
Margaret Reid née Catchick says
Hi, I was very nostalgic reading all the stories. Here is mine. My beloved father worked for the Burma Oil Company in Merchant St, Rangoon. The incident with the burning of the oil fields was factual, as my father had a part in that. After the incident, he put my mother , my younger brother Alan, and myself on to last boat to India, leaving my father, and eldest brother Steve 8 years old, as he refused to leave our dad behind. They later trekked to India, without any mishaps, apart from brother who was ill with malaria. My father never spoke about the trek, and I am very sorry that I never asked. I don’t remember the boat trip, just remember crying as my dad was not coming with us. We were put in a hold, and cannot remember very much, as the next thing I was with my Dad in Calcutta. I was 6 years old. I have tried different avenues to find out any information about treks from Burma, but cannot find any. I have a picture of my dad with my brother, and the rest of the group that they were with in Calcutta. I would appreciate any communication. I loved Rangoon, and the food, I attended the Convent, and also the Methodist school in Rangoon. My father was an excellent cook, when we came to England in the 1950’s, his balachaung was to die for.
Ashok T says
Hi Ms Tina Dawson, Thanks very much for your balachaung recipe . We tried it out and it came perfect! Actually we have a Rangoon International Cook Book (1954) but there the recipes are given in ticals and oz. So your recipe was welcome for its simplcity & ease of preparation.We used dried unshelled shrimp only as dried shelled shrimps/prawns are no longer available in Chennai.India. Happy to know that you like me have a Burma background. God Bless & Best Wishes
Mark Mckenzie says
Point 4 and 6 in the prep are the same. Frying
Garlic twice. May you missed out frying the onions. Just being pernickety!!!!
Tina Dawson says
Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. Edited the post, and yes, one of them was supposed to be onions. Thanks again!
D. Joy says
i you call it mawlamyine – is that Moulmein ?
Liza Ismail says
i live in malaysia and one day a friend asked me to help out a rohingya refugee by buying her food. i chose balachaung (made with anchovies) and have been hooked ever since. googling for the recipe brought me here. we have an almost similar food in malay cuisine but with more liquid (if you know sambal then you know what it is like). i am an unabashed carnivore. grew up on food that uses almost every part of the animal inside and out.
Hearing stories about your grandmother brought to mind of my mother’s stories. She told me that my grandpa would cut her and her sisters hair short, dress them in boy’s clothes and still hide them when the japs came around. It was to stop the japs from taking them as comfort women. Some of her friends were not so lucky. Her brothers were forced to work as labourers and one of them died (she cries everytime she talks about him). my dad refuses to talk about that time just that he was the oldest, he survived, that’s it.
Sorry that this is a long post. i will try your recipe (but will keep buying from the lady to help out). Am a SF&Fantasy fan myself. have you read michelle west or anne bishop.
Tina Dawson says
My grandmother’s balachaung recipe has brought to me countless stories like yours and it makes my heart so happy to feel so connected to people I’ve never met from all over the world!
You and your grandfather are amazing people for helping those most in need. War stories that my grandmother told me were quite frightening as well. We, in the future must do all we can to prevent such wars and atrocities from ever destroying the world and its people again.
A fellow sci-fi fan!!! I haven’t read these authors, but will keep an eye out for their books from now on. Thank you so much for the recommendation!!!
Ayub says
My mom calls it nevti cho and more of fried gatlic is used…
GBK says
Talking about Burma (Myamar) makes me very nostalgic because you miss all your memorable early life experiences – especially the food, I mean Burmese food Mohinaa, Balachaung, Hinjo etc. I was born in Mawlamyine a very calm and peaceful place. Making Balachaung in America is not easy because of its strong smell. I enjoyed reading the blogs. I miss these foods. Necessity is the Mother of Invention. I experimented making Burmese dishes on occasions. Like to hear about Jap war experiences of people from Burma
Tina Dawson says
Thank you for sharing your story with us here!
Christopher Thompson says
Hi CBK.
I see that you were born in Mawlamyine. I was born in Rangoon February 1940 and left Burma on 5 May 1942 on one of the very last flights out from Myitkyina Airfield. On the 6 May the Japs bombed the airfield just as a plane was about to take off and killed many of the people on board.
My Thompson Family settled in Mawlamyine in the 1830’s and some of the other branches of my family prior to 1800.
If you are willing I would like to correspond as you know about Mawlamyine and the evacuation of Burma via email if you can send it to me.
Christopher
Margaret Urwin says
Thank you for this recipe Tina, I am so pleased to have it. My Mother left Burma in 1942. Though she isn’t with us now I remember we were brought up on curries, kauswear (excuse the spelling) and Balachaung. I am so happy to find your site with the stories of other families connected with Burma. I think of my Mother every day and still miss her terribly xxx
Tina Dawson says
Oh Margaret! Hearing stories like yours makes my day. Thank you for taking the time to write to me today.
Nicola Tresidder says
Hi, I was wondering if you meant 2-3 bulbs of garlic rather than cloves?
I have a recipe I have been using for years and for four onions there are 20 cloves of garlic!
Regards, Nicola
Tina Dawson says
Well, this was my grandmother’s version, and her version used just a little garlic, so as to not overpower the shrimp.
Carl D'silva says
oops forgot to mention….add 1 tablespoon sesame oil to the paste…. enjoy.
Tina Dawson says
Thank you for the tip, Carl!
Carl D'silva says
Lovely blog….. Lovely stories.
I’m from Mumbai but living in Yangon for the last 17 years. I love the smells & taste of everything Burmese…….Nagpyi…. Bamboo shoot…..
Pls try your Fried Red Chilli Flakes pounded with some sea salt, raw garlic and a generous squeeze of lime juice….. with some fried fish and steamed rice it is all I need….
Anjli says
Hi Tina, this looks incredible and I want to make all your burmese recipes as a feast to commemorate re-reading “The Glass Palace”, which has held a piece of my heart for a long while. Would you mind sharing your Mothers vegetarian version as we are also vegetarian. Best Wishes
Tina Dawson says
Thanks Anjli, your comment got me to take a look at the book ‘The Glass Palace’ and now I must get my hands on it. I’ve been meaning to post a vegetarian version, and I will as soon as possible! I’ve been craving some Balachaung for a while too! 🙂
Monina Cabanada says
I found your blog as I was looking for a balachaung recipe in preparation for the time when my stash is all gone. 🙂 I got addicted to balachaung during my visit to Burma last year and now I cannot find a store that carries it in Manila.
I love putting balachaung on everything! My latest experiment was putting balachaung on my broccoli+zucchini pasta and sidedish of corn kernel+parmigiano. I will try and replicate your grandma’s recipe. and hopefully I can make it work.
Thanks for sharing!
Tina Dawson says
That is so great Monina! I never thought to add it to pasta, although now I think I will. Thanks so much for the idea, and I really hope you like this!
Frank Mossman says
Dear Tina,
I’m happy to report that I have made the Balachaung using your recipe and its come out utterly delicious! I had such faith in your ability as a cook that I doubled the quantities of your recipe for my attempt. I divided the cooking into two days. On the first day, I peeled & sliced the onions and garlic then stored these in the fridge in Tupperware boxes. The next day I fried up everything & mixed it all up.
The trickiest part was judging if the shredded dampened dried prawns were crisp. For the benefit of others attempting this recipe, initially the damp shredded prawns form a thick paste while frying. When all the water evaporates this paste froths up into a foamy mass. Let it cook for two minutes, then shut off the heat and allow to cool for 3 to 4 minutes. Then taste a bit to see if the pulverised prawns are crisp. If not then repeat this process (cook 2 minute, cool 3-4 minutes, then check). It appears that when prawn powder is crisp and is then heated, it loses its crispiness. Hence the cooling off before tasting for crispiness.
To conclude, I want to say Tina, you are an absolute darling for posting this recipe. I wish you a VERY merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous, Exciting & altogether Wonderful New Year!
Tina Dawson says
OMG Frank – I could hug you for that amazing review of my favourite recipe! Thanks so much for the tips on frying them prawns! I can’t stand the smell, so I always delegate that task to someone else – adding these tips to the post, with heartfelt thanks, ofcourse! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours- may there be an abundance of Joy, light and love in your life!
Beth says
I was born in Burma and lived there my first ten years along with my 4 sisters. I was weaned on balachaung and my one sister and I make it every year. Because of the pungent smell, we make ours outside on the grill using the side burner for pans. We also add a bit of fish paste, ngyape to give it that umami punch! We love just eating on plain rice and as a topping to Ono kaukswe. Thank you for posting your grandmother's recipe!
Tina Dawson says
Thanks a lot Beth for sharing your story. These personal stories really make my day. In India, we don't get fish paste or ngappi,so my grandmother's version had to adapt to the local Indian pantry. And yes, I love having it with plain rice and rotis too (Indian flat bread). My mouth waters just thinking about it. Thanks for stopping by!
Frank Mossman says
Hi Tina,
My parents lived in Dhaka in the 1960’s & had the same problem. For Ngapi they substituted Bombay duck (a dried fish, locally known as Sootki). This had a very pungent fishy smell.
The Balachaung which the cook made was oily, but extremely delicious (especially when spread on buttered toast YUM!!). Our family moved to the UK and my parents have now passed away.
Tina Dawson says
Hey Frank!
What a fabulous substitution! I never thought Bombay Duck was a fish!!! Balachaung on buttered toast! Inspired… my favourite combination (other than with rice) was with rotis… something about the caramelized onions on a soft roti… is just magical! I’m sorry to hear about your parents… I hope they lived a full and happy life together!
Lorraine says
Please share your grandmother’s recipe, cause I’m from India too
Tina Dawson says
Hey Lorraine – this Balachaung is my grandmother’s recipe! Let me know what else you need!
rezi75 says
Hi Tina sorry for not replying sooner. Actually it was my friend Chris who is doing extensive research on Burma during the war. He is the one who encouraged me to make the comment earlier. He will be very interested to help with archiving the experiences of parents & grandparents. We reside in the UK, I presume you are still residing in Chennai. Please do contact him, it's Chris Tylee Email address: seetielee@aol.com
Hope everything is fine at your end, please do take care
Kind regards
Rezin
Ayesha says
Hi Rezi,
My grandparents were in Burma during the war infact they passed away in 2012 at the age of 107 and 99. Also my grandfather was part of the team that blew up the oil refinery as the government didn’t want the Japanese to get access to fuel so that they could advance into India.I have tons of stories that were told to me by my grandfather and would love to share.
As for this recipe it just brings back so many fond memories of coming home from school and eating rice with Balachaung. My sister remembers the same, only eating it with Chapathi’s so thank you for sharing this story Tina.
I don’t know if you have any relatives in Bangalore but my Grandparents knew a Dawson from Burma too.
Tina Dawson says
Hey Ayesha! I Do have family in Bangalore but on my mother’s side – so no Burmese heritage there. I LOVE eating balachaung with Rotis too! I was the only one in the family that liked that combo 🙂 That is quite a fascinating story about the refinery! Bravo gramps! 🙂 Thanks so much for your comment, it made my day! We are a very small group, aren’t we? 🙂
Soe Thein says
Thanks for sharing. I love eating balachaung kyaw, but have never actually made one by myself (having the fortune and convenient laziness to wait until my mom ships some from Yangon). But, I will try your recipe.
Tina Dawson says
Hey Soe, thanks for stopping by. I can see why waiting for someone else to make it for you makes sense, because frankly, I don't get too excited about the prospect of standing over a hot stove deep frying onion slivers. But, sometimes, when that craving hits, I can't help but give in. Good luck!
rezi75 says
Hi Tina,
Thanks for sharing the experiences of your grand parents. My friend Chris who I'd very fond of Burma and doing a research on Burma informed me that the experiences of British in Burma during the war is well documented but there is literally nothing about the experiences of Indians. He asked me to request you and others who have family members who left Burma to document all their experiences either in audio form or as a document, so that future generations can access them. Most of them who left Burma are in their 90's. We only have precious little time to do something in this regard otherwise their experiences will fade away from our memories and be lost for ever.
Once again thank you very much for sharing your grandparents experiences.
With kind regards
Rezin Thayagaran
Tina Dawson says
I agree, I really wish I had put so much thought into documenting all the stories my grandmother told us when we were kids. Now all I remember are just fragments, without clear demarcation of truth or imagination. Let me know if I can contribute something, I can definitely ask around and gather information. We could do this as a project sometime.
Anjali says
Hi Tina, thank you for bringing back so many memories of the yummy Burmese dishes. And Balachaung being our whole maternal family’s favorite.
My mom was born in Burma & lived there until the war 1942, she is 84, & still gets excited to narrate all her adventures, specially coming away during the war. Like your grandmother, mine too was a superb cook & her Burmese dishes were delicious , even though being a vegetarian, she would cook most of the dishes . We cousins have acquired a flare to cook Khow Swey & just love it.
Making one my family’s favourite – flat beans with prawns , onions & tomatoes, curry. Will try to send you my picture?
Regards
Anjali
Tina Dawson says
Reading stories like yours are the best part of why I do what I do. Thank you for sharing Anjali. I look forward to drooling over your pictures! <3
Anjali says
Hi Rezin , I was browsing through Burmese recipes & came across your comment on this one. I am in India, Pune & my mom is one of the Indians who lived in (born in Burma in 1935 & left Burma in 1942) the youngest of 8 siblings and is 84 years old. So would love to contribute to your research, if I am not too late. She has so many experiences and they are sure to be of interest.
Regards
Anjali
Karl Dsouza says
Love your blog and the yummy recipes ….my grandparents also lived in Burma and left in late 1941 or early 1942. My aunt and uncle were both born there. Maybe your grandparents knew mine!!! I still remember the stories my grandmother told us as kids…the difficult time they had when leaving Rangoon. So happy to have found your blog and will keep following.
Tina Dawson says
Thank you for your lovely comment, Karl. Yes, the stories about their return from Burma was nothing short of a James Bond movie. There was one, where my grandmother, pregnant with my father was walking back home when the bomb alarm was sounded. She could already hear the fighter planes ahead, and did not have time to reach the nearest trench, so she hid under a large tree and prayed to God to keep her and her unborn child alive. A trail of bullets began to splinter in the ground, and she ducked her head under her hands. When she raised her head after the blasting sounds have stopped, she saw that the she was completely surrounded by bullet splinters, but she was spared.
Thank you for visiting my blog. Hope to see you here again soon.
Karl Dsouza says
OMG…that is very frightening indeed! Thanks for sharing! Will definitely keep visiting you blog!
Where do you live now?
Tina Dawson says
Well, as evidenced by most of my posts where I whine about the heat here, we're holed up in Chennai, India.
Tina Dawson says
My grandparents moved back to India after the war, and I'm dying to go visit the place where my father was raised. My grandmother has filled me with stories about her childhood at Rangoon and although it's been 13 years since she left us, there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about her, and her Burma! Thank you for reading this post and sharing your story with me Jean!
Anonymous says
I am yearning to taste some. Recipe is great,just the way my mother made it. I live in a condo now and would not try to cook it here. My son took me back to Burma after 64 years and the food was as I remembered, so tasty and different. Thanks. Jean