About this recipe
Shan noodles come from the eastern hills of Shan State and are one of Myanmar's best-loved noodle dishes, eaten far beyond the region. In the form given here, soft rice noodles are tossed with a savoury, lightly oily sauce of marinated chicken (or pork) and tomato, then topped with crushed peanuts, chopped pickled mustard greens and herbs, with a small bowl of clear broth on the side to sip — the classic 'dry' (a hsat) style. A soupy version, with the same toppings in a light broth, is also common, and cooks and eaters choose between them. Shan cooking tends to use less oil and features fermented soybean and tomato prominently; this bowl is presented in its Shan form and distinguished from the many other noodle traditions of the region, with those relationships logged for verification.
Recipe facts
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Prep
- 30 minutes
- Cook
- 30 minutes
- Total
- 60 minutes
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Spice
- Mild to medium
Allergens Contains poultry (or pork in a common variation), peanuts and, often, fermented soybean; contains fish sauce or soy as written. Not vegetarian as written. 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 tomato-chicken sauce
- 1 lb (450 g) ground or finely chopped chicken (or pork)
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) neutral oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 in (2.5 cm) ginger, minced
- 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped (or 1 cup chopped canned tomato)
- 1 tbsp (15 g) fermented soybean paste or fermented soybean disc, crumbled (tua nao; optional, traditional)
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) soy sauce
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) fish sauce (or more soy for a version without fish sauce)
- 1 tsp (3 g) paprika, for colour
- 1/2 tsp (1 g) ground turmeric
The broth and noodles
- 5 cups (1.2 L) light chicken or vegetable stock
- 12 oz (340 g) flat or thin rice noodles, cooked and drained
- Salt, to taste
To top and serve
- 1/3 cup (45 g) roasted peanuts, crushed
- 1/2 cup chopped pickled mustard greens
- 3 scallions, sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped coriander
- Chilli oil or toasted chilli flakes
- Garlic oil, for tossing
Equipment
- Skillet or wok for the sauce
- Pot for the broth and noodles
- Small bowls for serving broth on the side
Method
- Heat the oil in a skillet and fry the onion, garlic and ginger with the paprika and turmeric until soft, 5 minutes. Add the chicken and cook, breaking it up, until it changes colour.
- Add the tomatoes and the crumbled fermented soybean (if using) and cook down over medium heat until thick, glossy and jammy, 12 to 15 minutes. Season with the soy sauce and fish sauce; it should be savoury and slightly sweet-sour from the tomato.
- Season the stock with salt to make a light, clean side broth; keep it hot.
- Toss the warm cooked noodles with a little garlic oil to loosen them, then divide among bowls.
- Spoon the tomato-chicken sauce over each bowl of noodles and top with crushed peanuts, pickled greens, scallion and coriander.
- Serve each bowl with a small bowl of the hot clear broth on the side and chilli oil to taste, tossing the noodles and sauce together before eating.
The Complete Edition
Shan Noodles 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.