Khow Suey (Burmese Noodle Soup)
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 5-6
Ingredients:
For the khow suey paste:
2 Thai bird's eye chilies
2 medium shallots
6 cloves of garlic
1 inch piece ginger (peeled and sliced)
1/4 cup cilantro (stems & leaves )
Zest of 1 lime
2 teaspoons turmeric powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander powder
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 tablespoons shrimp paste or Laksa paste
For the soup:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into small pieces.
2 tablespoons red thai curry paste
4 cups low sodium chicken stock
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2-3 tablespoons gram flour
14 ounces unsweetened coconut milk
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 pound fresh Chinese egg noodles
To garnish:
Boiled and sliced eggs
Fried onions
Fried garlic
Thinly sliced shallots
A few lime wedges
Some chopped cilantro
Sambal Oelek or any thai chili paste in oil
Extra oil to fry noodles
Instructions:
Add all the curry paste ingredients to a food processor and grind until you get a smooth paste.
Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and stir-fry the chicken until browned. Remove from the pot and set aside.
To the fat left in the pot, add the paste and gram flour. Fry for 3-5 minutes, until fragrant. Add the canned red curry paste, chicken stock and brown sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low.
Add the coconut milk and fish sauce. Add the chicken back to the broth.
Meanwhile, cook 3/4 of the noodles according to package instructions. The fresh egg noodles take only 2 minutes to cook.
Fry the leftover noodles in hot oil until crispy. Keep aside for garnish.
To serve, divide the noodles among 5 bowls. Cover with chicken and broth, and garnish with sliced shallots, fried onions, lime wedges, boiled eggs, fried noodles, fried garlic cilantro, and Thai chili paste.
Notes:
Years ago I got to taste this wonderful Burmese Dish and became a huge fan of its flavors and accompaniments. It’s one of those dishes that you rarely see on a menu in the US. Fast forward to quarantine times and having 5 adults at home, I got the time to search for different cuisines to cook and try and this dish surfaced on the wish list from all family members. I must have read at least 20/25 different recipes to find something I liked. I even requested my Burmese neighbors for the recipe who so very kindly, the very next day brought us khow suey for the whole family with a ton of accompaniments along with a recipe printout. We loved every bite of it !
This last weekend I finally collected all the ingredients from a local Asian market and tried this difficult to perfect recipe, very nervous to see if it came close to being authentic. Surprisingly my family loved it ! So hence I share it her with you all.
