Burma Superstar’s Faux Tea Leaf Salad
Serves 4
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Finding laphet, the fermented tea leaves at the heart of Burma Superstar’s signature salad, can be a challenge. While the Bay Area restaurant chain now sells its dressing with tea leaf salad kits, online via Good Eggs and at select Whole Foods, the faux laphet dressing in “Burma Superstar” (Ten Speed Press; 272 pages; $29.99), is a reasonably close approximation. You will need to begin the dressing at least 2 days before making the salad in this adapted version. To make the salad vegetarian, omit the dried shrimp and fish sauce.
Dressing
2 tablespoons good-quality loose-leaf green tea, such as Chinese Dragon Well or Japanese sencha
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1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
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Yellow split peas and garlic chips
¼ cup yellow split peas
½ cup canola oil
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1/3 cup thinly sliced garlic
Pinch of kosher salt
Salad
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¼ cup dried shrimp
6 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce
¼ cup coarsely chopped toasted peanuts
¼ cup toasted sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
1 roma tomato, seeded and diced
1 small jalapeño, seeded and diced
2 teaspoons fish sauce, plus more as desired
1 lime, cut into wedges
To make the dressing: Place the tea leaves in a cup. Add hot water (about 190 degrees, just below a boil) and steep for 3 minutes to make a cup of tea. (Drink the tea; it’s not needed for the paste.) Press out excess water from the leaves, and transfer the leaves to a glass or plastic container. Partially cover and leave at room temperature for 2 days. The tea should take on an aroma resembling overripe fruit.
Place the garlic and ginger in a food processor. Add the tea leaves and salt and pulse briefly to break up the leaves. Drizzle in the canola oil and season with the distilled white vinegar. Refrigerate overnight for a deeper flavor.
To make the yellow split peas and garlic: Cover the split peas with about 1 inch of water. Soak at least 4 hours or overnight. Drain the split peas through a fine-mesh strainer, shaking off the excess water. Set aside.
Line a heatproof bowl with a strainer. Line two plates with paper towels.
In a small saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat for a minute or two (the oil shouldn’t be scorching hot). Add the garlic and gently stir into the oil. When bubbles start to form rapidly around the garlic, decrease the heat to low and cook, stirring often, until the garlic is an even golden color and nearly completely crisp, about 4 to 6 minutes. If the garlic starts to darken too quickly, remove the pan from the heat and let it continue to fry in the oil. If the garlic needs more time to fry, return the pan to low heat and continue to fry.
Pour the contents of the pan into the strainer-lined bowl. Lift the strainer up and shake off the excess oil. Scatter the garlic onto the lined plate. The garlic should crisp up as it cools. (The chips can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 month.)
Return the garlic oil to the saucepan, and heat over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add the split peas. Once the oil starts to bubble rapidly around the split peas, lower the heat slightly and continue to fry, stirring often, until they begin to crisp up and turn slightly darker, about 5 minutes.
Once again, pour the contents of the pan into the strainer-lined bowl to drain. Lift the strainer up and shake off the excess oil. Scatter the split peas onto the second lined plate and season with salt. The split peas should be crunchy but not rock-hard once cooled. (The peas can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 weeks. You can store the oil, which can be used for another purpose, in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.)
To finish the salad: Grind the dried shrimp in a coffee grinder reserved for grinding spices until they resemble a powder.
Place a bed of lettuce in the center of a large plate or platter. Spoon the dressing into the center of the lettuce. Around the lettuce, arrange separate piles of fried garlic, split peas, peanuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, tomato and jalapeño.
Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of shrimp powder and drizzle with fish sauce. Before serving, squeeze 2 lime wedges over the plate. Using 2 forks, mix the ingredients together until the tea leaves lightly coat the lettuce. Taste, adding more lime, fish sauce or shrimp powder at the table, if desired.
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