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4.86 from 7 votes

Burmese Khow Suey (noodles in a curried coconut sauce)

If something can be called a bowl of happiness, this could well be it. Khow Suey is a delicious noodle dish from Burma 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.
Prep Time30 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Total Time1 hr
Course: Main Course, Main Dish, noodles pasta
Cuisine: Burmese
Keyword: burmese soup, egg noodles, khow suey, noodle soup
Servings: 4 serving

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.
    Burmese Khow Suey Steps - Frying garlic
  • As soon as they start turning brown, scoop them out on to a paper towel to soak up the oil.
    Burmese Khow Suey Steps - Fry garlic to crispy
  • Now fry HALF of the thinly sliced shallots. Keep them along with the fried garlic. Leave the oil in the pan.
    Burmese Khow Suey Steps - Frying shallots
  • 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.
    Burmese Khow Suey Steps - Frying chicken with other ingredients
  • 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.
    Burmese Khow Suey Steps - Adding gram flour and turmeric powder
  • 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.
    Burmese Khow Suey Steps - Chicken is cooked
  • Add the coconut milk, stir well, and bring to a simmer.
    Burmese Khow Suey Steps - Adding coconut milk to the pot
  • 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.