Ludu Daw Amar on tea salad (5)

This post contains page 196 of a short piece of writing by Ludu Daw Amar titled "Fried Onion Work" from her 2002 book ၁၂ ပွဲဈေးသည်နှင့် ကျွန်မအညာ [12 Market Sellers and My Upper Burma]. "Fried Onion Work" runs from page 192 to 199 of the book. A complete PDF of this piece can be downloaded from the non-fiction section of this blog's library here.

Vocabulary:

ပြန့် ။ flat and even; level
မည်း ။ black
လည်ချောင်း ။ throat
လှောင် ။ to store
တုံးရော ။ all finished
အမြွှာ ။ segment (of an orange, lime, etc)
ပို့တီ ။ pattern of slicing (certain fruits and vegetables) to give the ribbed shape of a grub
ဂျွန် ။ small fragrant white flower

Translation:

And from the Myanmar plains garlic is produced. However, in the area where it is fried, it cannot catch [the quality of] Shan garlic.

Now, in three or four years Chinese large round bulb garlic has come in. [The Chinese garlic with] very large bulbs has become more abundant than Shan and Myanmar garlic in the market. Because the big bulb is exceedingly beautiful, if it is sliced and fried [in the appearance of] a coin, it can be noted that it comes to be [like] a big fried potato [slice]. Being a [garlic] bulb of that size it is beautiful. However, I don't know whether it is because Chinese garlic is made to grow with fertilizer, [but] when it is fried the colour does not come in. It is black [and] its scent is not fragrant. Furthermore, if about three pieces are tasted, it becomes it burns the throat. Therefore, although the bulbs are very cheap and big, the person who fries [them] does not even like [them], [and] does not even eat [them]

Regarding fried garlic, after the full moon of the month of Tabaung from the time after the arrival of the month of March, because new garlic starts to become abundant in Shan State, the people who fry [garlic] attend the five-day-markets and buy new garlic. [They] start to fry the new [garlic]. After that, because it cannot be stored, since it is still wet, [they] must work buying and frying it [without storing]. After the month of May arrives, it is dry. If the garlic that grows in Pindaya can be bought for about three months, then it will be all gone. As for the garlic that is exported from Taungyi and Aungban, it can be bought for two weeks.

In that way, when it is bought [a customer] buys one bulb [or] one segment from the person who fries. After buying, that which is sliced is fried.

In fried garlic [there is]:

1. Grub [shaped] fritters
2. Coin [shaped] fritters
3. Displaying peacock [shaped] fritters
4. Flower [shaped] fritters

[They are] divided [into these] four kinds and sold.

Among the well known fried garlic work in Pyinmana, aside from clean fritters, because 'grup [shaped] fritters' can be fried and sold, they are well known. In Mandalay, because garlic is not fried [in the shape of] a grub, it cannot be bought. [For] grub [shaped] fritters one bulb of garlic that is big and beautiful is [selected and taken out] from amongst the type that is called 'a big peacock'...