Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »

Sometimes they get seeds for these unusual plants from refugee communities in other cities. Other times they buy them in Vietnamese groceries around Argyle and replant the stems in their plots. That’s how the story goes with what the Burmese call chin baung ywet, known in English as roselle, a variety of hibiscus that nearly every Burmese-tended plot in the garden seems to be carpeted with. About two years ago some of the farmers purchased a bunch, put it in the ground, and now it’s everywhere. When one farmer, Pak Suan, told me about it he was practically rubbing his hands together, because it’s expensive in the store and he fully intended clean up on his crop by selling it to other Burmese.

Chin baung kyawA big bunch of roselle leaves, stems removed (about 4 to 6 cups)8 cloves garlic5-8 red Thai chiles (or any other hot variety like cayenne)A large white onion, chopped1/2 t turmeric3 T peanut oilOne 19-ounce can of shredded bamboo shoots, drained1/2 t shrimp paste (aka ngapi, kapi, belacan, mam nuoc)2-3 T dried shrimpFish sauce, to tasteOne bunch of cilantro, chopped

  • Mike Sula
  • Chin baung kyaw ingredients