burmese chicken-coconut soup (ohn no kyawswe)

Ingredients

• Servings: 5
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 (1 inch) piece fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 (16 ounce) package rice noodles
• 1 quart lukewarm water, or as needed to cover
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 3 cups chicken broth, divided
• 2 tablespoons chickpea flour
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 cup coconut milk
• for garnish:
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• 4 green onions, sliced on the bias, green and white parts
• 2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 dash fish sauce, or to taste (optional)
• 1 cup crispy fried rice noodles (optional)
• 1 pinch curry powder, or to taste (optional)

Recipe

Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 40 mins Ready Time: 1 hr 5 mins


• place 1/2 chopped onion, ginger, garlic, and 1/4 cup water into a blender and puree until smooth. soak rice noodles in a bowl of lukewarm water for about 30 minutes.
• season chicken thigh meat lightly with salt and black pepper in a bowl and set aside. in a separate small bowl, whisk 1 cup of chicken broth into the chickpea flour. reserve remaining 2 cups chicken broth for a later step.
• heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. stir in chicken pieces and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned. remove the chicken pieces with a slotted spoon and set aside. reduce heat to medium and add 1 1/2 sliced onions to the pan. cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking and stirring until the onion is very tender and dark brown, 15 to 20 minutes more. stir in the turmeric, paprika, and cayenne pepper.
• in a medium stockpot, combine cooked chicken and any juices that have accumulated, browned onions, onion and ginger puree, and remaining 2 cups of chicken broth. carefully add chickpea flour and broth mixture, stirring quickly so that the flour doesn't clump.
• bring the pot to a boil; reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
• stir in the coconut milk and cook just until heated through. divide the soaked rice noodles among 5 large soup bowls. ladle the soup over the rice noodles in the bowls and garnish each bowl with lemon wedges, green onions, hard-cooked eggs, cilantro, fish sauce, fried noodles, and curry powder.