Bowl full of comfort food
This soupy noodle dish is a classic in Burmese cooking
Known as ‘ ohn no khauk swe’, this coconut chicken noodle dish is the main dish Emily and Amy Chung, aka the Rangoon Sisters, cooked at their first ever supper club.
“It’s a real family favourite for us, one that we always used to serve up for birthdays,” says Amy. “It’s a real tradition for us and it’s a big crowdpleaser – one we’ve been serving up many times since.”
When you mix everything into the dish, Amy says it has a “bold, delicious, crunchy texture – it’s real comfort food”.
COCONUT CHICKEN NOODLES RECIPE
INGREDIENTS:
( Serves 6)
5tbsp oil ( vegetable, sunflower or peanut), plus extra for browning the chicken 5 medium onions, chopped
10 garlic cloves, peeled
2 thumb- sized pieces of ginger, peeled 8 skinless and boneless chicken thighs, chopped into 3cm pieces
2tbsp paprika
1tsp turmeric powder
2tsp chilli powder
100g creamed coconut ( the solid block type), or 200ml coconut milk would work 2tbsp gram flour, sifted and evenly toasted in a dry frying pan
600ml chicken stock
2- 3tbsp fish sauce
400ml cold water
To serve:
6 nests ( 450- 500g) dried chow mein or egg noodles, cooked
3 limes, cut into wedges
6 hard- boiled eggs, cut in half Coriander leaves
4 shallots, thinly sliced
200g crispy fried rice noodles
Chilli flakes or chilli oil
Fish sauce
METHOD
1. Heat the oil in a large casserole dish set over a medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook slowly, turning down the heat to low- medium and stirring every four to five minutes until softened and starting to lightly brown in colour and become oily but not crispy – this should take about 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, crush the garlic cloves and ginger to a paste using a pestle and mortar, or blitz in a food processor.
3. Once the onions are ready, add the garlic and ginger paste and fry for two minutes to release the gorgeous flavours. Add a splash more oil, then brown the chicken pieces with the onion/ garlic/ ginger mix. Add the spices and creamed coconut, breaking it up into smaller pieces as you stir – it should melt. Stir in the toasted gram flour, followed by the chicken stock, fish sauce and the cold water. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer, uncovered, over a low, gentle heat for about 30 minutes. If the broth is too thick, add some water.
4. For the crispy fried rice noodles, pour vegetable, sunflower or peanut oil into a wok or deep saucepan to a depth of 5cm and set over a medium- high heat. Line a large bowl with kitchen paper and have a heatproof strainer or sieve ready for fishing out the noodles. Test the readiness of the oil by popping a piece of dried noodle into it – it should instantly sizzle ( rice noodles will curl up and turn opaque and bubbly). Separate the nest of noodles and add a handful to the oil, frying for a minute, then scoop up with your chosen implement and drain on the kitchen paper. Continue to dry the remaining noodles in batches as above.
5. Serve the broth hot on a bed of cooked egg noodles. Add a squeeze of lime juice and top with boiled eggs and the remaining garnishes in little bowls for everyone to help themselves to.