Sometimes I'm a genius. At least that's what I tell myself when I make up a recipe. I still had the pea shoots that I'd blagged from Waitrose at Taste of London 2009 , and I lay on the floor for a bit thinking what I could do with them. For the uninitiated, pea shoots (aka pea tops or pea sprouts) are the heart-shaped, tendrilly leaves of the garden pea plant. Long beloved in Chinese cookery where they are known as dòu miáo , they have only just made an appearance on our shores. The little leaves taste just like the sweetest, freshest peas and are best eaten raw or lightly cooked, in salads and stir-fries . However, it occurred to me that since peas and ham go so well together in Pea and Ham Soup , I could attempt to create a summery riff on the same. I adore my noodle soups and decided that this would be my gameplan, so I fried some ham, boiled some udon, made some broth, and bunged the pea shoots on top. Then I scoffed the lot. As suspected, the pea shoots and the ham c
... Burmese food and beyond