About this recipe
Ohn no khao swe — literally coconut-milk noodles — is a mild, comforting bowl of wheat noodles in a pale, lightly creamy coconut-and-chicken broth, thickened and given body with chickpea flour and finished with a signature scatter of crisp fried noodles, egg, onion and lime. It is a teashop and home favourite eaten across the country and often compared to the 'khow suey' served in South Asian communities, though the Myanmar bowl is its own thing. This book presents the Myanmar form and notes the shared coconut-noodle lineage rather than merging it with the laksas of the Malay world or the coconut-noodle curries elsewhere; the differences are drawn out below and the relationships logged for verification. What marks it is the pale, gently rich coconut broth — not a fiery orange laksa — and the crunchy garnish.
Recipe facts
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Prep
- 30 minutes
- Cook
- 40 minutes
- Total
- 70 minutes
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Spice
- Mild (heat added to taste)
Allergens Contains poultry, coconut, egg, gluten (wheat noodles) and legume (chickpea flour); contains fish sauce as written. Not vegetarian. See the halal-status field.
Development draft. This is an untested development recipe from the cookbook project. It has not been kitchen-tested, and the quantities and timings are the author’s working draft rather than a verified result.
Ingredients
The broth
- 1 1/2 lb (680 g) bone-in chicken thighs
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) neutral oil
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 in (2.5 cm) fresh ginger, minced
- 1 tsp (3 g) ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp (1 g) paprika
- 1 3/4 cups (415 ml) coconut milk
- 5 cups (1.2 L) water or light chicken stock
- 1/3 cup (40 g) chickpea (gram) flour
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) fish sauce, plus more to taste
- Salt, to taste
To assemble
- 1 lb (450 g) fresh or dried wheat egg noodles, cooked
- 1 cup wheat noodles, deep-fried until crisp (or bought crisp noodles)
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 3 scallions, sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped coriander
Table condiments
- Lime wedges
- Dried chilli flakes or chilli oil
- Fish sauce
Equipment
- Large pot
- Frying pan for the crisp fried noodles
- Small bowl for the chickpea-flour slurry
Method
- Poach the chicken in the 5 cups water or stock until tender, about 25 minutes. Lift out, and when cool shred the meat, discarding skin and bone; reserve the broth.
- Heat the oil in the pot and fry the onions, garlic and ginger with the turmeric and paprika over medium heat until soft and fragrant, 8 minutes.
- Whisk the chickpea flour with 1 cup cool water until smooth. Add the reserved broth and the coconut milk to the aromatics, bring to a gentle simmer, then stir in the chickpea slurry and cook, stirring, until lightly thickened and creamy, about 10 minutes.
- Return the shredded chicken, season with the fish sauce and salt, and simmer another 5 minutes. The broth should be pale gold and lightly creamy, not thick or heavy.
- Meanwhile, deep-fry a handful of noodles until crisp and golden; drain.
- To serve, put cooked wheat noodles in each bowl, ladle the hot broth and chicken over, and top with sliced egg, raw onion, scallion, coriander and a tangle of the crisp fried noodles.
- Serve with lime, chilli and fish sauce so each person can finish the bowl to taste.
From the foundations
The book pairs this recipe with the following, from the sauces, sambals and pastes that open the collection.
The Complete Edition
Ohn No Khao Swe sits in the Myanmar chapter
The book carries this recipe in full alongside the rest of the Myanmar chapter, the pastes and dips it is built on, and the twenty-seven pantry studies that open the collection.
In review with Amazon KDP
Both editions have been submitted to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and are currently in review. Submitted prices are $9.99 for the kindle edition and $49.99 for the paperback. Neither is on sale yet, and prices are as submitted rather than final.