Flavors of Freedom
Insight Myanmar12 Touko 2023

Flavors of Freedom

Episode #164: Yunanda Wilson has warm memories not only of the scrumptious fish noodle dish—known as mohinga—that her grandmother was famous for, but also its place in her family history. Her grandmother was an amazing cook and ran a market stall in Yangon that sold a variety of snacks, and the whole family would go each morning to help her run it.

Yunanda is following in her grandmother’s footsteps, recently launching a career for herself in Asheville, North Carolina, to showcase Burmese cuisine. Calling her company A Thoke Lay, she has a food truck and also caters events, with dreams of one day owning a brick and mortar.


Historically, she goes on to explains how Chinese, Indian, and Thai foods have found their way into Burmese recipes, ultimately describing Burmese cuisine as a kind of Southeast Asia fusion, albeit with a handful of unique dishes like mohinga, fermented tea leaves, and the variety of salads. She describes it as a creative cuisine that balances heat, acid, texture, umami, color, and presentation.


Yunanda also notes how for many Burmese, the realities of poverty and living in fear of the military play a role in how people eat. For example, when the Burmese can’t afford meat or fish, they improvise by adding protein such as chickpea flour, beans, and nuts. And although one might think that living in a state of fear and poverty would bring about greater selfishness in order to survive, Yunanda says it is the exact opposite, as the Burmese people are some of the most generous people in the world.


In closing, Yunanda describes how she wants to “help spread awareness about what's going on in our country, and shed some light on our resilience culture and what are we facing now. I feel this is my way, my path, to helping it

Jaksot(505)

Nothing To Lose But Exploitation

Nothing To Lose But Exploitation

Episode #483: “I particularly look from Marxist feminist perspectives,” says Ma Cheria, a Myanmar-born researcher now living in exile in Chiang Mai. Her work examines how capitalism and patriarchy com...

10 Helmi 1h 17min

Untangling Myth from Memory

Untangling Myth from Memory

Episode #482: “My main mission, so to speak, is to clarify the differences between the many rumors about Myanmar... the myths going on both inside and outside the country, which are all very much rela...

9 Helmi 1h 53min

No End of History

No End of History

Episode #481: Toby Mendel, a lawyer with the Centre for Law and Democracy, has spent over a decade working on freedom of expression and democratic reform in Myanmar. He recalls the Thein Sein years (2...

6 Helmi 1h 16min

Beyond the Robes

Beyond the Robes

Episode #480: Michael Santi Keezing, a former Thai Forest monk, describes himself as both a Buddhist and a “post-Buddhist,” shaped by a lifelong effort to understand the mind, culture, and the limits ...

5 Helmi 2h 4min

No Safe Passage

No Safe Passage

Episode #479: “Thailand is not about people, it's about diversity. People are a very important resource to build a country, no matter where you're from, or who you are, right?” Born in Thailand’s Deep...

3 Helmi 1h 56min

The Space Between

The Space Between

Episode #478: The second episode in a five-part series, these conversations were recorded at the 16th International Burma Studies Conference at Northern Illinois University, where scholars, students, ...

2 Helmi 1h 37min

Welfare State, DIY

Welfare State, DIY

Episode #477: “I found Myanmar a really interesting case study,” says Gerard McCarthy, a political sociologist and author of Outsourcing the Polity. His work explores how deeply divided,impoverished s...

30 Tammi 2h 19min

The Revolution Will Not Be Meditated

The Revolution Will Not Be Meditated

Episode #476: Minnthonya, a deeply committed Burmese monk, recounts his remarkable journey from traditional monastic education to becoming a key figure in Myanmar's resistance movements. Initially dra...

29 Tammi 2h 20min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

aikalisa
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
politiikan-puskaradio
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
viisupodi
rss-podme-livebox
otetaan-yhdet
rss-asiastudio
the-ulkopolitist
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset
rss-kalevi-sorsa-saation-podcast
rss-polikulaari-pitka-kiekko-ja-muut-ts-podcastit
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-merja-mahkan-rahat
rss-kuka-mina-olen
rss-tekkipodi