While studying French in my younger days, I came across a simple French dictum that says "A French meal without cheese is like a beautiful damsel without one eye." That will be a fitting prologue to this article touching on the most common, and at the sall1e time unique delicacy of Myanmar snacks "the leptlet" or pickled tea, king of leaves as mango is king of fruits in Myanmar lore.
In our society no party nor feast, nor even a formal festivity like a novitiation ceremony, a traditional wedding, and even offering to the guardian spirits, can be deemed complete without a lephet plate occupying the central place. Among after-meal snacks also lephet is a must. So let me unravel to you the genesis of this kingly feast.
The best tea leaves from which 'lephet' is derived is grown in the mountain slopes of Namhsan town, in the northern part of Shan State over 5000 feet above sea level. The tea plantations are tenderly nurtured by one of the ethnic races of Myanmar- called the Palaung. The 'premiere' or first shoots of tenderest leaves "Shwe Hpi Oo", are plucked in the 12th lunar month called 'Tabaung'
around March and April, normally in the mornings. In the evening, the day's collection is placed in specially made cylindrical receptacles to be steamed. Little holes are bored in the flat bottom to allow steam to flow in. Then the receptacle is put on a pot tight-fit so that no steam may escape from any vacuum or crevice. The base pot is filled with water and put on fire to boil. After 30 minutes to one hour the leave become cooked.
These steamed leaves are then spread on clean bamboo mats, placed on a elevated dais about waist level and mashed by hands by expert handlers. In the meantime a hole, about 10 feet diameter , and 10 feet deep is dug in the ground. Bamboo strips are lined around the hole, followed by a second lining of fresh leaves from trees. The mashed tea leaves are placed in the hole and compressed hard so as to leave no air holes in between. When it is filled to the brim, it is sealed with a heavy wooden cover. Large stones of considerable weight are put on top to compress it further. Then it is left to age in nature's bosom for one whole year. At the dawn of the new year the preserved pit is opened , and the matured raw lephet is packed and sent to the brokerage houses for distribution to wholesale dealers.
There are many reputable picked tea distributors who transform raw lephet into unmatched delicacy by special formula, which naturally is a closely guarded secret in this market of ruthless competition. Old people prefer the natural bitter sweet taste, but the majority go for sweet -sour and hot -and -sour preparations. In that recipe, a liberal mixture of chilli, lemon juice, salt and ground garlic all add up to create a delicious nectar to sting your tongue and stimulate your appetite.
Lephet is liberally marinated in sessamum or groundnut oil and is served in accompaniment with a variety of peas and beans as condiments: viz, round sliced garlic deep fried to crispy golden hue, fried peanuts , sessamum seeds, and a wide range of peas, native in origin, grown abundantly on our fertile plains. To add protein to this purely vegetarian snack, dried prawns are served either pounded or au natural.
The special dish to serve this lephet on social occasions takes a traditional form. The most common variety is made of lacquer ware with compartments to put in ingredients separately , to be savored at one's choice . Some gourmets prepare pickled tea with a variant of fresh salad dressing consisting of sliced tomatoes, finely stripped cabbage leaves, diced green chilli, diced garlic, a dash of lemon, dried prawns and fried beans, all put together and drained down the palate with local green tea.
You cannot help but be a convert to this lephet, a unique delicacy, by trying it yourself, cautiously of course. It is the one Myanmar is privileged to offer our esteemed visitors.
So come one , come all, join the bandwagon to Myanmar the Golden land just to enjoy it , O.K ?