Burma: Rivers of Flavor 
by Naomi Duguid
Artisan | September 2012 | ISBN: 1579654134 | ePUB | 352 pages | 35.8 mb 
http://www.amazon.com/Burma-Rivers-Flavor-Naomi-Duguid/dp/1579654134

Located at the crossroads between China, India, and the nations of Southeast Asia, Burma has long been a land that absorbed outside influences into its everyday life, from the Buddhist religion to foodstuffs like the potato. In the process, the people of the country now known as Myanmar have developed a rich, complex cuisine that mekes inventive use of easily available ingredients to create exciting flavor combinations.
Salads are one of the best entry points into the glories of this cuisine, with sparkling flavorsΓÇöcrispy fried shallots, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, a dash of garlic oil, a pinch of turmeric, some crunchy roast peanutsΓÇöbalanced with a light hand. The salad tradition is flexible; Burmese cooks transform all kinds of foods into salads, from chicken and roasted eggplant to spinach and tomato. And the enticing Tea-Leaf Salad is a signature dish in central Burma and in the eastern hills that are home to the Shan people.
Interspersed throughout the 125 recipes are intriguing tales from the authorΓÇÖs many trips to this fascinating but little-known land. One such captivating essay shows how Burmese women adorn themselves with thanaka, a white paste used to protect and decorate the skin. Buddhism is a central fact of Burmese life: we meet barefoot monks on their morning quest for alms, as well as nuns with shaved heads; and Duguid takes us on tours of Shwedagon, the amazingly grand temple complex on a hill in Rangoon, the former capital. She takes boats up BurmaΓÇÖs huge rivers, highways to places inaccessible by road; spends time in village markets and home kitchens; and takes us to the farthest reaches of the country, along the way introducing us to the fascinating people she encounters on her travels.
The best way to learn about an unfamiliar culture is through its food, and in Burma: Rivers of Flavor, readers will be transfixed by the splendors of an ancient and wonderful country, untouched by the outside world for generations, whose simple recipes delight and satisfy and whose people are among the most gracious on earth.

About the Author 
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Naomi Duguid (born 1950 in Ottawa, Ontario) is a Canadian food writer, best known for her cookbooks co-written with her ex-husband Jeffrey Alford. Duguid went on to attend Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and proceeded through law school. After travelling around the world Naomi met Jeffrey Alford in Tibet in 1985 and the two were soon married. She quit her job as a lawyer and went into writing cookbooks in 1995. She has jointly put out five books with her husband on world cooking. All five books have gone on to be major successes and have won Cookbook of the Year from the James Beard Foundation in 1996 and 2001 as well as Cuisine Canada Cookbook Award in 1999 and 2004. Alford and Duguid have two sons together, and lived in Toronto, Canada until they separated in 2009. Naomi Duguid continues to live in Toronto, and Jeffrey Alford now lives in Thailand.