Burmese Noodle Bowl
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Author Notes: Khau Swe, as these noodles are called, originate from the Golden Triangle area that encompasses Myanmar and Thailand. I slurped a bowlful in Chiang Mai, but Myanmar is
still a mystery to me. I hope you enjoy my hearty spoon and fork soup. - nykavi
Food52 Review: Nykavi's brilliant "fork and spoon" soup is genuine cold winter Sunday fare. It was also quite an education for me: I've never prepared a soup's vegetable base in this way before (I didn't have shrimp paste, so I used shrimp powder instead) . The flavor changes remarkably as a result, and nothing interferes, texture-wise, with the tender chunks of chicken, bits of boiled egg, and silken rice noodles. The brazen 2 tablespoons of chili powder first caught my eye; I even added a few drops of Sambal Olek, too. In short, I love this soup, and I am so glad to have precious leftovers in the freezer. Thank you, nykavi, for taking me outside my comfort zone into a brand new one. - boulangere
Serves 4 hungry people
- 2 medium yellow onions
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon ginger, grated
- 1 teaspoon shrimp paste (belachan)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 14 oz can coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 packet rice noodles
- 1/2 cup shallots, thinly sliced and fried to a crisp
- 3 eggs, boiled and chopped
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped fine
- 2 limes, quartered
- Peel and chop the onions and garlic cloves into chunks. The size doesn't matter as they are to be ground.
- Place the onions, garlic, ginger, shrimp paste, and water in a blender or food processor. Pulse well till you have a smooth paste.
- Clean and chop the chicken into bite size pieces. Wash well and drain.
- Heat canola and sesame oils in a Dutch oven.
- Add the onion paste and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes to get the rawness out of the onions.
- Add turmeric and chili powder . Stir to incorporate them into onion mix.
- The chicken goes in next. Sauté the chicken for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring well to coat with spice mixture.
- Add coconut milk and 1 cup of water . Stir well and bring the soup to a boil.
- Lower the flame, and let the soup come to a simmer .
- Cover the saucepan and let the soup simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Fill a large, deep saucepan with water and bring to a boil on a high flame.
- Add rice noodles to the boiling water. Take the saucepan off the heat and let rice noodles steep in water for 20 minutes. Drain well and keep aside.
- Assemble the soup with a large helping of rice noodles in a soup bowl. Top with ladlefuls of soup. The noodles should swim in coconut broth. Add pieces of chicken. Garnish with fried shallots, chopped egg, a sprinkling of chili powder, some cilantro, and a large squirt of lime juice.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Noodle Soups
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2 months ago nykavi
Thanks for the vote of confidence SallyNyan. I used to make an earlier version with fish sauce and chickpea flour but I prefer the belachan paste. I love and cook Burmese food. I hope I could talk to you about my discrepancies .
2 months ago SallyNyan
Of course! Message me whenever you need to check something! :)
2 months ago SallyNyan
As a Burmese who routinely cooks traditional food, I can confirm that recipe is quite accurate!
I'd like to suggest a few alterations, though. Now I can't confirm this for the Thai version, but the traditional Burmese version doesn't typically use belacan. Instead, we use a powder made from ground yellow lentils, chicken stock and fish sauce. A vegetarian version can be made by substituting soy sauce and veggie stock for fish , and dried tofu skin for chicken. We also use yellow, wheat noodles instead of white, rice noodles. :)
2 months ago Musebe
I don't have balacan handy, would you know how much soy sauce and veggie stock to use in lieu of the paste?
2 months ago SallyNyan
I don't have a set recipe (I usually cook to taste), but I'd say about 1-1.5 cups of stock (you'll be replacing .5 a cup of the water in the recipe) and 2-3 tbsps--or to taste--of soy sauce. This is just my guesstimation. Nykavi, if you've got any further suggestions, feel free to jump in! This is your recipe after all!
2 months ago Musebe
Thank you for the clarification!
3 months ago nykavi
Abeth, good to know that every recipe lives another life! Enjoy
3 months ago abeth
I have made this soup twice. My 10-year-old daugther loves it, and it tastes even better the next day. I don't have shrimp paste and use anchovy paste instead--it works for us!
3 months ago nykavi
Rice noodle packing comes in so many sizes.. I use a Vietnamese brand with 12 individual servings. You do get 1 and 2 lb packages too. We usually have just the soup for dinner so I always make the entire package so we have leftovers. I would say for 4 people a pound should suffice. I hope this helps.
3 months ago kat3029
How many ounces is in a packet of rice noodles? I'd love to make this, but am unsure if a packet is the same measurement everywhere and don't want to add way too few or way too many noodles.
3 months ago nykavi
The soup is a breeze to freeze! With or without the chicken. It stays well up to a month
3 months ago mitchlund
Looks delicious. Did you freeze the base solo?
3 months ago nykavi
Shows how you can take something and make it your own!!! It's wonderful to see your take . I love both that and your kind words!
3 months ago boulangere
Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
I loved your soup on a very deep level. As I mentioned in the review, it took me way outside my comfort zone, which is actually why I chose it to test and also why I loved it so. New methods, new flavor combinations, new textures, what's ultimately not to love? I completely loved it and was grateful to have been able to both test it and fold it into my repertoire.
3 months ago boulangere
Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
P.S. I love those hot flavor notes!
3 months ago nykavi
Thank you Cynthia... I hope you got to try it? And it feels great to be in vaulted company.
3 months ago boulangere
Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Congratulations on a much-deserved Community Pick!
4 months ago nykavi
Thanks savorthis... It truly is a soul satisfying soup bowl!
4 months ago savorthis
This sounds soulful and delicious!
4 months ago nykavi
Oops ... Some slips of the fingers... Chicken Thighs should be in pounds not packets... And the shallots should be thinly sliced prior to frying...