Ludu Daw Amar on tea salad (6)

This post contains page 197 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:

အတုံး ။ block; lump; chunk
ပယ် ။ to reject; debar; disqualify; turn down
အဖျား ။ extremity; tip; topmost part
ကြွပ် ။ crisp, brittle
ဆယ် ။ save; rescue; salvage; take sth out of water, oil, etc
ရင့် ။ deep; dark (as of colour)
ကျွမ်း ။ to be burnt up
အနေတော် ။ right proportion, size, moment, etc.

Translation:

... after selecting and taking it out, it is sliced [in the form of] a grub and the bulb is fried. In the past, if the fried segment that was called a 'flower [shaped] fried [garlic slice]' cost about 200 kyat for one viss, then [for] for the fried grub [shaped garlic slice] 600 kyat had to be paid.

If it was a day that the fried grub [shaped] garlic was very expensive, then asking about how much it cost, the price of garlic emerged at 6500 kyat [or] 7000 kyat, the price of oil was more than 20,000 kyat, [and] the price of one viss of fried grub [shaped garlic] was from 1500 kyat to 1800 kyat.

Since I ask "Is fried grub [shaped] garlic very expensive, are there people who purchase [the garlic when it is] as expensive as that?", because the contemporary period is a period in which presents are given, there is not enough to fry.

If 100 [viss] in weight of garlic bulbs that come from Taung-gyi are purchased, then about five viss of bulbs are selected that can be sliced [in the shape of] grubs, [and] 100 kyat are paid per viss as the fee for having that [garlic] sliced [in the shape of a] grub. Therefore, fried grub [shaped garlic] is very expensive.

If one bulb of 'big peacock' [shaped] garlic is beautifully selected and sliced in a circle and fried, then it is called 'fried coin [shaped garlic]'. 'Fried coin [shaped garlic]' is the second most expensive [kind of] fried garlic. Because the tail section cannot be inserted, the little lumps that are remaining from the tail of the bulb can be fried as other [types] and can be sold for a reduced price.

Since 'big peacock' garlic bulbs are not [sliced] round but are sliced lengthwise and fried, they are called 'fried peacocks [in a position of] display'. Since the tips of the tails are not rejected as [in the case of] fried coin [shaped garlic], the cost is a little lower than fried coin [shaped garlic].

Since the [garlic] segments are not 'big peacock' [garlic], they are called fried flower [garlic] and the segments are sliced and fried. That is the cheapest fried garlic.

In frying garlic the most important thing is when slicing the garlic to slice so that it is equal in thickness and thinness. Because when frying the garlic the water goes out, when it nearly arrives at a crisp side, the time when it is taken out from the hot oil is very important. If it is early, then it will become soft. It it is late, then the colour will be dark and the sweetness will be reduced. If fried garlic is burnt, it is bitter. If it is a little burnt, it is a little bitter. Therefore, it must be possible to remove it from the hot oil at the right moment. Therefore, [if] the thickness and thinness of first slice [is not even] in size, then...