A thick black paste of fermented horse gram beans, salty and deeply savoury. It is a speciality of the Mandalay region, stirred into oily dips and used to marinate pork and fish.
It is an open-vat ambient ferment of a low-acid pulse held for weeks, where the traditional vat carries the culture; what colonises beans left in water elsewhere is not reliably the same thing.
What goes into it
- horse gram beans
- salt
- water
How it is made
The beans are boiled at length, then left in water in an open vat for weeks while they ferment and the liquid darkens. The liquor is drained off, boiled down hard until it thickens into a black paste, and salted. Both stages take time: weeks of fermenting, then hours of reduction.
How long it takes: several weeks of fermenting, then hours of boiling down
How it is eaten
Stirred into oily dips with chilli and garlic, or rubbed onto pork and fish before grilling.
History
A speciality of the Mandalay region, stirred into oily dips and used to marinate pork and fish.
Frequently asked questions
What is Pon Ye Gyi?
Pon Ye Gyi is a fermented & pickled from Myanmar: thick black paste of fermented horse gram beans, salty and deeply savoury. A speciality of the Mandalay region, stirred into oily dips and used to marinate pork and fish.
How is Pon Ye Gyi made?
The beans are boiled at length, then left in water in an open vat for weeks while they ferment and the liquid darkens. The liquor is drained off, boiled down hard until it thickens into a black paste, and salted. Both stages take time: weeks of fermenting, then hours of reduction. It takes several weeks of fermenting, then hours of boiling down.
Can I make Pon Ye Gyi at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is an open-vat ambient ferment of a low-acid pulse held for weeks, where the traditional vat carries the culture; what colonises beans left in water elsewhere is not reliably the same thing.
What goes into Pon Ye Gyi?
Horse gram beans, salt, water.
How is Pon Ye Gyi eaten?
Stirred into oily dips with chilli and garlic, or rubbed onto pork and fish before grilling.
