Burmese curry (hin) is fundamentally different from Thai curry in two structural ways: it uses substantially more oil (the oil is a deliberate component, rising to the surface of the finished curry as a quality indicator), and it is noticeably milder in heat than most Thai preparations. Burmese curries are not served with chilli as a dominant flavour — the heat register comes from the curry paste's fresh and dried chillies in modest quantities, and the preparation's depth comes from the long frying of onion, garlic, and ginger and from the specific Burmese spice combination.
**The oil:** Burmese curry uses 3–4 tablespoons of oil per 500g protein — significantly more than Thai curry (which uses oil primarily for cracking the coconut cream). The oil is an intentional component: at service, the correctly made Burmese curry shows a ring of clear, flavoured oil floating on the surface of the sauce, which the diner may stir in or push aside according to preference. This oil separation is a quality indicator. **The base paste (for most Burmese curries):** Ground onion, garlic, and ginger — not pounded in a mortar but processed to a paste in a food processor or blender. This paste is fried for 15–20 minutes over medium heat until the moisture evaporates and the paste begins to caramelise and darken — significantly longer than the Thai 3–5 minute paste fry. The onion base's long caramelisation produces a depth and sweetness that is the foundation of Burmese curry's character. **The spices:** Fresh turmeric (or dried): produces the characteristic yellow-orange colour of most Burmese curries. Chilli: dried or fresh, in modest quantity. Paprika: for colour and mild warmth. Fish sauce (ngapi dissolved in fish sauce): for seasoning. **The heat:** Medium throughout — the long frying of the onion-garlic-ginger paste at medium heat (not the maximum-heat technique of Thai curry paste frying) is where the dish lives or dies. High heat at this stage burns the onion without caramelising it. Decisive moment: The completion of the onion-garlic-ginger paste frying — 15–20 minutes, until the paste is completely dry, beginning to caramelise to a golden-amber colour at the edges, and the oil has separated to the surface of the paste. This oil separation, identical in principle to the cracked coconut cream (Entry TH-03) and the fully reduced nam prik ong (Entry TH-78), is the signal that the paste's water content has been driven off and the Maillard reactions are complete. Below this point: the paste is not fully developed.
Naomi Duguid & Jeffrey Alford, *Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey Through Southeast Asia* (2000); Naomi Duguid, *Burma: Rivers of Flavor* (2012)