Postcards from Pakokku Vegetable Market, Myanmar

We arrived one morning in Pakokku, to find that the large market we were to visit was closed for a Full Moon celebration.  Our guide told us we were unfortunately stuck with “just the vegetable market” and I was delighted!

The market was full of townspeople (mainly women) selling veggies, fruits, and fresh herbs — and they all seemed happy to have us poking through everything you’d need to make some great meals.    

 Mushrooms:  

Baby green eggplants, okra, and bitter gourd:  

Bitter gourd closeup (and yeah, it really does taste intensely bitter, even in a strongly-flavoured curry or salad preparation):  

Baby green eggplant closeup:  

Baby purple eggplants and big green okra:

Beans:  

Herbs (lots of fresh cilantro) and green chilies:

Spices and chilies:    

Hot red chilies:  

Taro:

Taro root as a meat substitute:  

Pulses:  

Soy protein, which needs to be rehydrated to eat:

Sesame paste (like tahini) and bean sprouts:  

 And the ubiquitous traditional banana cake:  

And of course, cute kids:

I wish I could have taken home an armful or two of veggies and cooked up a feast… But I’ll have to wait until I get home to visit my market!