National Dish Myanmar: Mont Di (Recipe)
In this article
Mont Di is the Rakhine state answer to mohinga: thin rice noodles in a fish broth, but sharper, hotter and less thickened. Garlic oil, chilli, tamarind and fermented fish paste do the work, and it is eaten for breakfast from stalls along the western coast of Myanmar.
About Mont Di
Mont Di is the well-spiced rice noodle soup of Rakhine State in western Myanmar. Thin rice noodles meet a strong fish broth, finished with fish paste, garlic oil, chilli and a squeeze of tamarind for its characteristic sour-hot note. One of the best-known dishes of Rakhine cooking, mont di is eaten for breakfast, as a snack or as a light meal, and it carries a regional identity that Burmese eaters recognise instantly.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 150 g thin rice noodles
- 200 g fish fillet (pollock, pangasius or trout)
- 1 teaspoon fish paste (ngapi) or fish sauce
- 2 garlic cloves, fried golden in oil (with the oil)
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes or chilli oil
- 1 tablespoon tamarind paste, slaked with a little water
- 1 small red onion, sliced into thin rings
- 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
- Fresh coriander, to garnish
- Salt, to taste
Shopping for the ingredients
Ngapi — Burmese fermented fish paste — is sold in Southeast Asian shops and is genuinely pungent; a small amount transforms the broth. Fish sauce substitutes with a milder result. Use thin rice vermicelli, not the wide flat noodles.
Preparing the dish
Fry the garlic in oil until golden and keep both, the garlic oil is a component, not a cooking medium. Poach the fish and flake it, saving the poaching liquid as the base of the broth. Slake the tamarind and strain out any fibres.
Step-by-step instructions
- Poach the fish in 600 ml lightly salted water for 8 minutes; lift out and flake, keeping the liquid.
- Fry the sliced garlic in 3 tablespoons oil until golden; set aside with its oil.
- Return the flaked fish to the poaching liquid.
- Stir in the fish paste and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the tamarind water and taste — it should be savoury and distinctly sour.
- Cook the rice noodles according to the packet and divide between bowls.
- Ladle over the hot broth and fish.
- Top with garlic oil, chilli, red onion rings, peanuts and coriander.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
Rice noodles are naturally gluten-free, as is the broth, and the dish contains no dairy. Check the fish paste and fish sauce labels, since a few brands include wheat.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
The fish is central, but the structure works without it. Use a mushroom and seaweed broth, a vegan fish-sauce substitute and fried tofu in place of the fish, the garlic oil, chilli and tamarind carry most of the flavour in any case.
More tips and tricks
Fry the garlic until golden but not brown, since it keeps cooking in the hot oil and turns bitter easily. Balance the tamarind carefully, mont di should be noticeably sour. And assemble at the last moment, or the noodles absorb all the broth.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
More chilli oil is standard in Rakhine, where the food is the hottest in Myanmar. A hard-boiled egg makes it a fuller meal. Fried crisp shallots alongside the garlic add another layer.
Ingredient substitutions
Any firm white fish works. Lime juice substitutes for tamarind with a cleaner sourness. Fish sauce replaces ngapi if the paste is unavailable or too pungent.
Drink pairing ideas
Burmese green tea, drunk plain and unsweetened, follows every meal. Cold beer suits the chilli heat. Sugarcane juice is the street-stall pairing.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve mont di in deep bowls with the garnishes heaped on top and extra chilli, lime and fish sauce on the table so everyone adjusts their own. It is a breakfast dish and is eaten quickly, standing or at a low plastic stool.
A bit of history
Rakhine State on Myanmar’s western coast has its own distinct cooking, hotter, more fish-driven and less sweet than the Bamar cooking of the centre. Mont di is its signature dish and a point of considerable regional pride, distinguished from mohinga by its thinner, sharper broth. It offers a genuine window onto Burmese cuisine.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Mont Di
Mont Di is thin rice noodles in a sour, chilli-hot fish broth topped with garlic oil, peanuts and coriander. Fry the garlic carefully, keep the tamarind assertive, and assemble at the last moment.
