What Burmese food category, exemplified by *laphet thoke*, possesses very few direct analogs in Chinese culinary traditions?
Answer
Salads (*thoke*)
The category of salads, referred to as *thoke* in Burmese cuisine, represents a cornerstone of the national diet and highlights a significant divergence from Chinese culinary practices. These dishes involve combining ingredients such as tea leaves (*laphet thoke*), legumes, or vegetables, and then dressing them heavily with acidic, oily, and savory components. This preparation style—fresh, textural, and heavily dressed—lacks direct parallels in mainstream Chinese cooking, which typically favors cooked vegetable dishes or cold appetizers seasoned in fundamentally different ways.

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