Burmese Laphet Thoke Chickpea Salad

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup pickled tea leaves (laphet), or 3 tbsp strong brewed green tea leaves with 1 tbsp oil
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup fried garlic or shallots
• 3 cups finely shredded cabbage
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 3 tbsp neutral oil
• 3 tbsp lime juice, plus wedges to serve
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 green chilies, thinly sliced
• Salt and black pepper

Steps

1. Pat the chickpeas thoroughly dry, then fry half of them in the oil over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan, until crisp and split. Drain and salt them.
2. That contrast of crisp and soft is the whole architecture of laphet thoke, so do not skip frying half the chickpeas.
3. If your tea leaves are not already pickled, steep them in hot water for 5 minutes, drain, squeeze dry, and mash with the oil and a pinch of salt.
4. Nothing in this salad is cooked beyond the fried chickpeas and nuts. It is a raw, crunchy salad, and any wilting or simmering ruins it.
5. Arrange the components in separate piles on a wide plate: tea leaves in the centre, then the cabbage, tomatoes, soft chickpeas, crisp chickpeas, peanuts, sesame seeds, and fried garlic around them.
6. Whisk the lime juice, soy sauce, and chilies into a dressing and taste; it should be sharply sour and salty.
7. Bring the plate to the table intact so everyone sees the components, then pour the dressing over and toss thoroughly at the table.
8. Eat immediately, while everything is still crunchy, with extra lime wedges.

Allergen note: Contains gluten, peanuts, sesame and soy.

Use the listed quantities as a guide, adjust seasoning to taste, and cook proteins to a safe internal temperature.