If something can be called a bowl of happiness, this could well be it. Burmese Khow Suey is a delicious noodle dish made with egg noodles, curried chicken and coconut milk. Served with a variety of condiments, each spoon full of soup you eat will be bursting with flavours! Khow Suey is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about Burmese cuisine.
There are many variants of Khow Suey recipes. Chefs across the world have tailored it to suit their local preferences and ingredients that are easily available in their kitchens. In some recipes, you’ll see fish sauce and peanuts, while in some others chicken stock, paprika and cayenne peppers.
This is ‘The Take It Easy’ version of Khow Suey. I have used only those ingredients that I could source fresh in India. Try it this weekend. Have a big, hearty bowl of happiness!
If you liked the Burmese Khow Suey recipe, you might like the following recipes as well.
- Lemongrass chicken – Morsels of chicken cooked with fragrant lemongrass and simmered in silky, creamy coconut milk.
- The ‘take-it-easy’ fried rice – Here is a bowl of fried rice that can beat your favourite takeaway!
- Bibimbap with Chicken Bulgogi – Bibimbap or bi bim bap means mixed rice. It consists of a variety of sauteed, seasoned veg and meat served on a bed of rice, topped with a fried egg, and accompanied by some hot chilli pepper sauce (gochujang). It’s delicious!
Burmese Khow Suey (noodles in a curried coconut sauce)
Ingredients
- 500 grams chicken cut to bite-size pieces
- 300 grams egg noodles
- 1/2 cup shallots thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup garlic thinly sliced
- 3 small red chilies Optional. You can use all green chillies.
- 2 green chilies slit lengthwise
- 1 inch ginger grated
- 500 ml coconut milk
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 tablespoon gram flour (chickpea flour/besan)
- 2 sprigs cilantro (coriander leaves)
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
- 1 spring onions (preferably scallions/green onions)
- 1 lime wedges
- salt to taste
- 4 boiled eggs peeled and sliced into halves
Instructions
- Heat some oil in a pan. When the oil is hot enough, reduce the flame and fry HALF of the thinly sliced garlic.
- As soon as they start turning brown, scoop them out on to a paper towel to soak up the oil.
- Now fry HALF of the thinly sliced shallots. Keep them along with the fried garlic. Leave the oil in the pan.
- Add chicken pieces to the pan and start frying them. Add more oil if you have to.
- Once the chicken starts turning brown, add the curry leaves, grated ginger, and the remaining chopped garlic and sliced shallots.
- Fry this for 5 minutes while stirring occasionally.
- Add the chickpea flour, turmeric powder, and salt.
- Thinly slice the chillies. I added two green chillies and one red chilli to this mix. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Cook the egg noodles following the instructions on the package.
- Drain the noodles, and wash them in cold water. Leave it on a colander to drain the water. (Tip: Don't leave the noodles out for long. They'll go dry and stick to each other)
- Your curried chicken should be cooked by now with a nice aroma filling up the kitchen.
- Add the coconut milk, stir well, and bring to a simmer.
- Cook in medium heat. If the temperature goes high, the coconut milk will curdle.
- Add salt if required. Switch off.
- Serve hot - place some noodles and a sliced egg in a bowl, with some finely chopped cilantro, and pour the curried chicken over it.
- Garnish with spring onions (ideally scallions, but I couldn't source this). Provide all other accompaniments in small bowls - fried garlic, fried shallots, cilantro, chillies and lime wedges. MUST DO: For the perfect taste, squeeze some lime into your noodle soup just before eating.
Notes
- It'll be easy if you are using breast pieces of chicken. In my experience, using smaller pieces after removing bones (definitely time consuming) adds more flavour.
- Coconut milk doesn't have to be thick. To reach the required quantity, it's okay to add some water.
The recipe turned out delicious. This one goes in my favourites.
Thank you very much, Susan! 🙂
Cheers for the recipe, very nice indeed.
Thank you very much, Shane 🙂
Happy to learn that you liked the Khow Suey recipe.
Made it a few times now … me and family just loves this chicken khao suey recipe… the best part is all the ingredients can be locally sourced ..nothing fancy and tastes yumm
Hi Gurpreet,
Thank you very much! 🙂
Very good recipe.full of flavours.instructions and pictures are very helpful and make it easy to follow.
Thank you very much! 🙂
Super easy n awesome. I was longing to eat this n came upon ur recipe. I must say this recipe is a keeper. It was really tasty n loved by all.
Thank you very much, Michelle 🙂 🙂
Hi! Would it be possible to use some other flour instead of besan? Rice flour perhaps?
Rice flour might not work the same way as besan. Maybe a hint of maida?
Hey
I have been putting off making Khow suey thinking it is so difficult and preferred eating it out. Came across your recipie and it was such a well explained and easy to do recipie😊😊
It turned our brilliant and we loved it!!!
Thank u so much
Thank you very much, Harshini 🙂 🙂
Tried this yesterday, it came sooo well.. first time making Khao suey at home but it was nothing short of perfect all thanks to the step by step guide. 🙂
Thank you very much, Ayesha. 🙂
This is so easy to cook and tastes delicious. Big hit with everyone at home. My teens want this every weekend. Thank you so much.
Hi Amrita,
Thank you very much 🙂 🙂
Delighted to read about the reception at home!
Thank you 🙂
Hi !
I’ve been wanting to try out Khao Suey and came across your recipe. Since my wife is Vegetarian, can you suggest which vegetables would go best in lieu of the chicken .
Thanks !
Dhruv
Hi Dhruv,
Apologies for the delayed response.
I hope you do get to see this comment next time when you visit the blog.
You can keep the recipe and ingredients more or less the same.
Tofu would be a decent substitute for chicken.
Amazing and really simple recipe to make. Loved it!!
Thank you very much, Priya! 🙂
Delicious and so easy, thank you very much
Awesome!! 🙂
Thank YOU very much for trying out my Khow Suey recipe.
Can’t believe how easy this recipe was! I thought I made enough to have leftovers for the next day, but between two of us, it was gone in minutes. I’m definitely going to make this again soon. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Hi Parul,
Thank you very much for sharing such a generous compliment!
I am happy to learn that you had fun making the Khow Suey and that it was well received 🙂
I made this tonight. It was a easy recipe to follow and everyone polished it off. It was enough for 3 of us. Thanks for the recipe.
That’s such a happy feedback, Uma! Thank you very much.
I am happy to hear that the Khow Suey was well received. 🙂
I tried this and it came out so well
Thank you very much Aliena!!!
I am delighted to hear that you liked cooking my Khow Suey recipe!!
Here is to great home cooked food. 🙂
The recipe is the simplest of many kho suey recipe found in various websites but tastes the best.Thank you for sharing.It was amazing and my husband loved it.
Thank you very much! Your feedback made my day 🙂
And, we all love Khow Suey!!
Hi Aparajita, Thank you! I am glad you liked it. This is a great compliment 🙂
Using minced chicken was a nice touch. I’ll also try it next time.
This looks yummy. Looking at the pics is making me hungry. Can’t wait to try it.
Reading both the comments now. 🙂
Made khao suey a million times….this has to be the simplest recipe and tastes great too. I substituted the chicken bits with minced chicken and it was amazing…thank you
Thank you very much!
Made it for a small dinner with friends and it was a hit!! Not a drop left in the bowl. This ones a keeper. Easy to make and tastes divine. Thank you for a yummy recipe.
🙂 🙂 Thank you very much, Amy! I don’t think there can be a better compliment that this 🙂 I am smiling from ear to ear!
I am delighted to hear that you found the Khow Suey recipe easy to make, and that your friends loved it! Thank you for visiting my blog.
Lovely! Great pics, and a recipe that looks so easy to cook.