Coconut Noodle Soup

Coconut noodle soup was one of my childhood food aversions eventually becoming the absolute favorite in adulthood. It took me a typhoid to ignite the conversion. My body had only consumed porridge for days, but instantly restored an appetite to the whiff of warm, fragrant soup my mom was making. I remember begging her for a whole bowl, but was given only a couple spoonfuls, not to agitate my weak stomach. Still, it provided the full comfort and satisfaction I needed.

This flavor-drenched soup is also particularly dear to me since it is tied to my earliest cooking memory - extracting fresh coconut milk. They didn’t come in tin cans 20 years ago. My grandma or mother would first crack open a fresh coconut, so that I can scrape off all the meat with a grater and squeeze them out through a muslin cloth for all natural, full-cream coconut milk. The process easily tired the arms and tiny fingers of a 10-year old, but I got to appreciate how cooking is an ultimate labor of love.

The broth of the noodle soup, rich and silky with synergy of coconut milk and chickpea flour slurry, contains pearl onions and chunks of chicken, preferably bone-in for more flavor. All the toppings and fixings from crispy fritters and boiled eggs to toasted chili flakes and lime juice allow the soup to be further customizable to each person’s palate. It's called Ohn-no-khao-swe, but tastes more like Oh-yes-khao-swe.

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Coconut Noodle Soup

Yield: 2 - 3

Author: Suu Khin

Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 2 HourTotal time: 3 Hour

Ingredients

• 8 oz. (2) chicken breast, cut into small cubes
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 tbsp. chickpea flour
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. grated ginger
• 2 tbsp. oil
• 1 tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp. paprika
• ¼ tsp. turmeric powder
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 8-10 pearl onions
• Salt to taste
• 2 egg noodle bundles, cooked per package instructions

Toppings and Garnishes

• 4 eggs, boiled for 6 minutes
• 1 Lime, quartered
• 2 tbsp. chili flakes, lightly roasted
• Handful of cilantro, chopped

Shallot Fritters

• 3 shallots, thinly sliced
• ½ cup all purpose flour
• ¼ cup rice flour
• pinch of salt and turmeric powder

Instructions

Chickpea flour slurry

1. Let the chickpea flour dissolve completely in ½ cup of cold water and sit for 15 minutes.
2. Whisk the slurry right before pouring into the pot.

Marinating Chicken

1. Massage and marinate the chicken with salt, turmeric powder, minced garlic and grated ginger, for 30 minutes.

Making the soup

1. Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat and sauté the onions till caramelized.
2. Add the chicken and cook til lightly brown and fragrant
3. Add stock, season with fish sauce and sugar.
4. Bring the heat up to a boil, then reduce it to slow simmer, for 10 minutes.
5. Slowly pour the chickpea flour slurry.  Stir the soup thoroughly as you pour and after adding the slurry.
6. Simmer the soup, stirring occasionally, until thick and smooth, for about 5 minutes.
7. Add coconut milk and pearl onions. Cook another 5 minutes.

Shallot Fritters

1. Mix both flours with salt and turmeric powder in a bowl.
2. Add icy cold water little by little until the batter is thin.
3. Fold in the shallots.
4. Deep-fry them in small clusters till golden, for 2-3 minutes per side. 
5. Cool on a rack.

Assembly

1. Add a pile of noodles.
2. Ladle the soup, with chicken and pearl onions, over the noodles.
3. Top with halved eggs, chopped cilantro, roasted chili flakes and crispy shallot fritters.
4. Squeeze lime juice and enjoy!

Created using The Recipes Generator