Burmese Tea Leaf Salad

“Some salads are polite. This one has politics, memory, and drumbeat.”

Burmese Tea Leaf Salad

Laphet thoke is a traditional Burmese salad made with fermented green tea leaves and a symphony of textures—crispy nuts, seeds, garlic, cabbage, tomatoes, lime.
This isn’t a quiet bowl. This is a legacy disguised as lunch. we keep it respectful. We let it be loud.

Ingredients

  • Fermented Tea Leaf Base (store-bought laphet or DIY quick-style)
  • 2 tbsp fermented green tea leaves (or substitute with chopped brined green tea leaves or a mix of olive tapenade + matcha for DIY version)
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tsp lime juice
  • ½ tsp fish sauce or soy sauce
  • Pinch of sugar
  • Salad
  • 1 cup shredded green cabbage
  • ½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
  • 2 tbsp roasted peanuts
  • 2 tbsp fried garlic or shallots
  • 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
  • 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
  • 1 bird’s eye chili, thinly sliced (optional)
  • Lime wedges, to serve

How The Alchemy Happens

  1. If using DIY tea leaf base: mix chopped brined green tea leaves or a tapenade-matcha combo with garlic, lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar. Let it sit 15 min.
  2. In a bowl, combine cabbage, tomatoes, and chili.
  3. Mound tea leaf mixture in the center. Surround with small piles of nuts, seeds, garlic, and any crunchy bits.
  4. Toss everything together tableside—or serve unmixed for dramatic flair.
  5. Finish with a squeeze of lime.

🔙 Back to the Kitchen

“This salad didn’t come to cleanse—it came to wake the dead.”