Learn To Cook Burmese Cuisine This Weekend in Portland

Cooking Beyond Borders workshop from the past. — Scenes from a previous Cooking Beyond Borders workshop.

Cooking Beyond Borders is putting together one of their quarterly events for Sunday, November 24. There, in a casual setting, you’ll be able to learn how to cook Burmese cuisine from a Rohingya refugee, in a hands-on atmosphere. My interest is definitely piqued.

Cooking Beyond Borders: How it Works

Have you heard of Cooking Beyond Borders? I hadn’t until I was contacted by them, but when I started reading about them, I was reminded of the League of Kitchens, which I wrote about when I lived in NYC. There, it was immigrants who were established in NYC who led the workshop. Here, Cooking Beyond Borders is “a hands-on cooking class series led by refugees” and takes place in the Portland metro area (Lake Oswego, in this weekend’s case).

While under the guidance of the refugee host, attendees learn how to make home recipes from the host’s country. Past sessions have featured Afghan and Syrian refugee teachers. From what I can tell, efforts started just before the COVID pandemic started, so they had to shut down operations in March 2020. They returned to this work in July 2022.

When and What You’ll Be Cooking: Burmese Cuisine

This upcoming one on November 24 from 4pm to 7pm, will be led by a Rohingya host, teaching Burmese cuisine. Paige, my contact at Cooking Beyond Borders, says about the host, “She is exceptional.” Proceeds of this event will help support her family in a Thai refugee camp.” The suggested donation is $65 (cash or check preferred).

Some of the dishes attendees will be cooking include saffron biryani, steamed coconut milk & banana leaf dumplings, and other Burmese classics.

The workshop allows a max of 20 attendees, so you should be able to have plenty of chances to ask questions and connect with your fellow students. As I mentioned at the start of this article, the Cooking Beyond Borders events are quarterly, so if you miss this one, there should be another session in a few months (though likely featuring food from a different country).

If you’d like to attend this Sunday’s workshop, please RSVP at cooksbeyondborders@gmail.com.

Cooking Beyond Borders Rohingya Cooking Class poster.

Cooking Beyond Borders: Rohingya Cooking Class
Sunday, November 24, 2024
4pm to 7pm
Christ Church, 1060 Chandler Road, Lake Oswego
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