In the

Burmese language Burmese ( my, မြန်မာဘာသာ, MLCTS: ''mranmabhasa'', IPA: ) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in Myanmar (also known as Burma), where it is an official language, lingua franca, and the native language of the Burmans, the count ...

, the term ''mont'' ( my, မုန့်; ) translates to "snack", and refers to a wide variety of prepared foods, ranging from sweet desserts to savory food items that may be cooked by steaming, baking, frying, deep-frying, or boiling. Foods made from

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

rice flour Rice flour (also rice powder) is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye. Rice flour is a common substitute for wheat flour. It is also used as a thickening ...

are generally called ''mont'', but the term may also refer to certain varieties of noodle dishes, such as ''

mohinga Mohinga (, ; also spelt mont hin gar) is a rice noodle and fish soup from Myanmar and an essential part of Burmese cuisine, considered by many to be the national dish of Myanmar. Mohinga is readily available in most parts of the country, sold by ...

''. Burmese ''mont'' are typically eaten with tea during breakfast or afternoon tea time. Each variety of ''mont'' is designated by a descriptive word or phrase that precedes or follows the word ''mont'', such as '' htoe mont'' () or '' mont lone yay baw'' (). The term ''mont'' has been borrowed into several regional languages, including into Shan as and into Jingpho as . In Burmese, the term ''mont'' is not limited to Burmese cuisine: it applies equally to items as varied as Western-style breads ( or ''paung mont''), Chinese

moon cake A mooncake () is a Chinese bakery product traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節). The festival is about lunar appreciation and Moon watching, and mooncakes are regarded as a delicacy. Mooncakes are offered between f ...

s ( or ''la mont''),

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...

( or ''yay ge mont'') and tinned biscuits ( or ''mont thitta'').

Ingredients

Lower-amylose rice varieties are commonly used as a key ingredient in Burmese ''mont''. Sweet Burmese ''mont'' are generally less sweet than counterparts in other parts of Southeast Asia, instead deriving their natural sweetness from constituent ingredients (e.g., grated coconut, coconut milk, glutinous rice, etc.).

Varieties

There is a nearly endless variety of named dishes with the prefix or suffix ''mont''. What follows is a list of the most typical traditional varieties of ''mont''.

Noodles

Noodle dishes made with fresh

rice vermicelli Rice vermicelli is a thin form of noodle. It is sometimes referred to as 'rice noodles' or 'rice sticks', but should not be confused with cellophane noodles, a different Asian type of vermicelli made from mung bean starch or rice starch rathe ...

, which is called ''mont phat'' (), are typically prefixed with the term ''mont'', including: * () – savory

noodle soup Noodle soup refers to a variety of soups with noodles and other ingredients served in a light broth. Noodle soup is a common dish across East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Himalayan states of South Asia. Various types of noodles are used, such a ...

made in a fish broth * () – a variety of regional dishes throughout Myanmar that use ''mont phat'' * () - a noodle salad from Mandalay that uses thick round rice noodles

Savory snacks

* (, ) –

curry puff A curry puff ( ms, Karipap, Epok-epok; ; th, กะหรี่ปั๊บ, , ) is a snack of Maritime Southeast Asian origin. It is a small pie consisting of curry with chicken and potatoes in a deep-fried or baked pastry shell. The con ...

* () – seasonal delicacy made with glutinous rice, coconut, peanuts, ginger, and sesame * () – stuffed savory crepe * () – steamed rice flour slivers sprinkled with roasted sesame seeds, salt, and coconut shavings * () or ''mont salin daung'' () – pancake made of rice flour and palm sugar batter * () – glutinous rice crisps * (, ) * () – rice flour griddle cake * () – pretzel-like snack made of rice and bean flour * (, ) – deep-fried

fish crackers Fish crackers are deep fried crackers made from fish and spices that serve as flavouring, originated from Indonesia. The crackers also mixed with tapioca flour and/or sago flour as the main ingredients and the salt, sugar and MSG as seasonings. ...

* (, ) – paper-thin crisp pancake of rice batter

Desserts

* ''Aung Bala'' () – rice pancake topped with syrup * (, ) – pancake made of rice flour, palm sugar, coconut chips, and peanuts, garnished with poppy seeds * ''Bi mont'' (, ) – fried turnover stuffed with a savory filling, similar to an

empanada An empanada is a type of baked or fried turnover consisting of pastry and filling, common in Spanish, other Southern European, Latin American, and Iberian-influenced cultures around the world. The name comes from the Spanish (to bread, i.e., ...

* () – an Indian

sweetmeat Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categorie ...

* () – a regional delicacy from Pathein * (, ) – steamed

rice cake A rice cake may be any kind of food item made from rice that has been shaped, condensed, or otherwise combined into a single object. A wide variety of rice cakes exist in many different cultures in which rice is eaten and are particularly preval ...

similar to Chinese

fa gao Fa gao (), also called Fat pan (發粄; fa ban) by the Hakka, prosperity cake, Fortune cake, Cantonese sponge cake, is a Chinese steamed, cupcake-like pastry. Because it is often characterized by a split top when cooked, it is often referred as ...

* (; ) – pudding made of glutinous rice, sugar, coconut and oil * () – steamed purple rice cakes colored with ''kauk hlaing ti'' blossoms * () * () – glutinous rice patty with coconut shavings * (; ) – folded pancake made with rice flour, palm sugar, and coconut, similar to Thai

khanom bueang Khanom Buang ( th, ขนมเบื้อง, ), known as Thai crepes in English. Kanom Bueang is an ancient Thai snack known as crispy pancakes in English. It is a popular form of street food in Thailand. These crepes look a bit like tacos. Kh ...

* () – jelly made with coconut milk * () – Burmese-style dairy desserts, similar to

ras malai Ras malai, rasamalai, or rossomalai is a dessert originating from the eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent. The dessert is called ''rossomalai'' in Bengali, ''ras malai'' in Hindi, and ''rasa malei'' in Odia. It is popular in India, Bangla ...

* () – translucent rice pudding similar to

Karachi halwa Turkish delight or lokum ( ota, لوقوم) is a family of confections based on a gel of starch and sugar. Premium varieties consist largely of chopped dates, pistachios, hazelnuts or walnuts bound by the gel; traditional varieties are often fl ...

* () – puffed grains of early ripened glutinous rice congealed into a mass with palm sugar syrup, similar to Chinese

sachima Sachima is a sweet snack in Chinese cuisine made of fluffy strands of fried batter bound together with a stiff sugar syrup, and of an appearance somewhat similar to American Rice Krispies Treats. It originated in Manchuria and is now popular thr ...

* (, ) steamed rice cakes, similar to Indonesian

putu piring ''Putu piring'' is a round-shaped, traditional steamed rice flour '' kue'' or sweet snack filled with palm sugar. It is found in Singapore, Malaysia, and Southern Thailand under various names. It is usually made using stainless steel molds w ...

* (; ) * () * () – steamed glutinous rice cake garnished with coconut shavings * () - a steamed golden rice cake similar to the

bika ambon Bika ambon or golden cake or golden kuih bingka in Singapore, is an Indonesian dessert, made from ingredients such as tapioca flour, eggs, sugar, yeast and coconut milk. Bika ambon is generally sold in pandan and banana flavor, but today it ...

, introduced by the Sino-Burmese * () - a layered pudding introduced by the Sino-Burmese * or () - a multi-layered jelly pudding introduced by the Sino-Burmese * (; ) * (; ) or (; ) – small balls of boiled glutinous rice in palm sugar syrup * (, ) or ''mont gyo thwin'' () – rice flour strings, similar to Indian

jalebi ''Jalebi'' (, , , Urdu: جلیبی‎, , , si, පැණි වළලු, ), is a popular sweet snack in south and west Asia, Africa, and Mauritius. It goes by many names, including ''jilapi'', ''zelepi'','' jilebi'', '' jilipi'', ''zulbia'', ...

* ''Mont kywe leit'' (, ) – glutinous rice and rice flour snack garnished with sesame seeds, fried garlic, and coconut shavings * (, ) – rice flour pudding sweetened with

jaggery Jaggery is a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Africa. It is a concentrated product of cane juice and often date or palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can ...

* () - Burmese-style

cendol Cendol is an iced sweet dessert that contains droplets of green rice flour jelly, coconut milk and palm sugar syrup. It is commonly found in Southeast Asia and is popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Laos, Vietnam, ...

* (, ) – glutinous rice donuts * (, ) * (; ) – steamed sweet rice dumplings with sweet fillings, similar to Chinese tangyuan * kyaw (; ) - fried sweet rice dumplings with sweet fillings, similar to Chinese

jian dui ''Jiandui'' (, common misspelling ) is a type of fried Chinese pastry made from glutinous rice flour. The pastry is coated with sesame seeds on the outside and is crisp and chewy. Inside the pastry is a large hollow, caused by the expansion of th ...

* (; ) – griddle cake of course rice, served with peas or jaggery * () – fine rice flour mixed with palm sugar boiled into a thick fudge * (; ) – steamed rice flour jelly * () – steamed

sticky rice Glutinous rice (''Oryza sativa var. glutinosa''; also called sticky rice, sweet rice or waxy rice) is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia, and the northeastern regions of South Asia, which has opaque grains, very low amylose ...

dumplings, similar to Chinese

zongzi ''Zongzi'' (; ), ''rouzong'' () or simply ''zong'' (Cantonese Jyutping: ''zung2'') is a traditional Chinese rice dish made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo leaves (generally of the species ''Indocalamus t ...

* ''Mont pya lu'' (, ) – toasted rice and sugar snack, similar to Filipino

espasol ''Espasol'' is a cylinder-shaped Filipino rice cake. Originating from the province of Laguna, it is traditionally sold during the Christmas season. It is made from rice flour cooked in coconut milk and sweetened coconut strips and, afterwards ...

* () – batter cake shaped like a honeycomb, made of rice flour with or without palm sugar syrup * () – spongy cake of rice flour and palm sugar batter shaped like a vespiary Mont Sein Poung

* (, ) – steamed rice cake * () – rice flour griddle cake * () – griddle cake of rice flour covered with coconut shreds, palm sugar syrup and folded * (; ) – fried sweet pancakes made from glutinous rice * () – glutinous rice flakes * () – Indian shortbread cookies * (; ) - steamed glutinous rice baked with coconut milk (also called ) * () –

sago with coconut milk Sago with coconut milk ( my, အုန်းနို့သာကူ; th, สาคูน้ำกะทิ; ) is a Burmese and Thai dessert. The main components of this recipe are sago and coconut milk. The dish can be decorated with many toppi ...

* (; ) – confection of roasted glutinous rice flour mixed with sugar and coconut shreds * (, ) – a cake made with grated

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

, similar to Filipino cassava cake * () –

semolina Semolina is coarsely milled durum wheat mainly used in making couscous, and sweet puddings. The term semolina is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or corn) as well. Etymo ...

pudding cake made with sugar, coconut, and butter * () – a baked sweet, made from millet, raisins, coconut and butter * () * (. ) – brown glutinous rice cake sweetened with jaggery * (; ) * () –

sago Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is ...

pudding sweetened with coconut milk and condensed milk

References