Burmese · Main · From Noodle soups from scratch
Ohn no khao swè
Burmese coconut chicken noodle soup
I asked my mom for this recipe for years. She finally sent it as a voice note, in Burmese, with no measurements, so I measured as I cooked.
It's a coconut chicken noodle soup, and some say it came before khao soi. The key is toasted chana dal, ground fine, which thickens the soup and makes it nutty.
- Yield
- Serves 4
- Time
- About 1¼ hours
Ingredients
Serves
Dal powder
- 3 tbspchana dal (or ¼ cup besan, already ground)
Chicken
- 1½ lbboneless chicken thighs or breast, in 1-inch cubes
- 1 tbspfish sauce
- ½ tspsalt
- ¼ tspground turmeric
Soup
- ¼ cupneutral oil
- 1 largeyellow onion, finely chopped
- 6–8garlic cloves, minced
- 1½-inch pieceginger, grated
- 2 tspsweet paprika
- 1/8 tspground turmeric
- ½ tspMSG
- 1 tsphoney, more to taste
- 1 canfull-fat coconut milk (13.5 oz)
- 4 cupschicken stock
- Fish sauce and salt, to taste
To serve
- 1½ lbfresh round egg noodles, lo mein thickness (or 12 oz dried)
- 3shallots, sliced thin and soaked in cold water
- 1 bunchcilantro, chopped
- 2 tbspred pepper flakes, toasted
- 3eggs, hard-boiled and sliced
- 2green onions, sliced
- Lime wedges and fish sauce, for the table
Method
- Toss the chicken with the fish sauce, salt, and ¼ tsp turmeric. Let it sit while you make the dal powder.
- Toast the chana dal in a dry pan over medium-low until golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Cool, then grind fine.
- Prep the toppings: boil the eggs 10 minutes, soak the sliced shallots in cold water, and toast the pepper flakes in a dry pan until a shade darker.
- Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium. Cook the onion until soft, then the garlic and ginger until fragrant.
- Add the chicken, paprika, ⅛ tsp turmeric, MSG, and honey. Stir until the chicken is opaque outside, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Pour in the coconut milk and simmer up to 10 minutes, until it thickens and a little oil rises to the top.
- Turn the heat to medium-low. Stir in the dal powder and keep stirring, 3 to 5 minutes, until it smells toasty.
- Add the stock a cup at a time, stirring hard so it doesn't lump. Simmer 5 minutes, until it coats a spoon but still pours.
- Season with fish sauce and salt.
- Boil the noodles until just tender and rinse briefly so they don't clump.
- Ladle the soup over the noodles and top with egg, shallots, cilantro, green onion, and toasted chili. Lime and fish sauce on the side.
Notes
- If the dal powder lumps, whisk it smooth into a cup of the stock first, then stir that in.
- Keeps 3 days in the fridge. It thickens as it sits, so reheat with a splash of water and cook the noodles fresh.