Rice noodles are the main ingredient in the Burmese dish, mont di.
Mont di is a Burmese dish made with a kind of thin rice noodles. The noodles are mixed with a variety of ingredients and sauces to create a dish that is a distinctive and well-known part of Myanmar cuisine. There are several varieties of the mont di dish, many of which are associated with different Burmese regions or ethnic groups.
Mont di is served with eel broth.
The term “mont di” refers specifically to the pasta in the dish, although the dish as a whole is named after this ingredient. They are usually prepared a little before the dish itself, as they do not keep well in hot weather. Different ingredients are then added to the noodles for flavor.
Rakhine mont di is a traditional dish served in the coastal region of Rakhine State in western Myanmar. This dish is traditionally associated with the Rakhine or Arakanese ethnic group and can be served in two different ways, as a soup or noodle salad. In any case, the ingredients include onion, garlic, and red and green chili paste, as well as ngapi, or fish paste.
To serve this dish as a soup, the cook mixes the noodles and other ingredients with a soup made from daggertooth conger eel, a kind of eel. It can also be served as a salad. In this case, the eel broth is served separately and the other ingredients are mixed directly with the rice.
Another related dish is Mandalay mont di, which is served in the eastern region of Myanmar. While the Rakhine dish uses seafood, the Mandalay version contains meat, reflecting the difference between the two regions. Mandalay versions of this dish can contain a variety of meats, but chicken is common. The meat is cooked separately in a curry-like sauce and then poured over the noodles. The rice noodles in Myanmar mont di are also different from the Rakhine version noodles.
The thicker noodles in the Mandalay dish resemble nan gyi thoke, also called nan gyi thohk or nanjee thohk, another typical Burmese rice noodle dish. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably or in a confusing way. Both types of noodles can be served in many different ways. Rakhine and Mandalay mont di are just two known variants among a wide variety of Burmese rice noodle dishes. Other ingredients found in mont di may include chickpea flour, coriander, or lemon.