Mohinga - Fish Noodle Soup

Proudly presenting our national pride: Mohinga, a Burmese fish soup with fermented thin rice noodles. It all starts with making a smooth flavorful broth from extracting natural sweet juices of fleshy fish, ideally catfish, combined with other spices and aromatics.

Waking up to a heavenly waft of mohinga, a quintessential Burmese breakfast and the very definition of comfort food is quite common.  We seldom make mohinga at home because first, it is quite a tedious task that requires many hands for long hours and second, it is conveniently available as early as 6am in every corner of the street, from neighborhood markets to street food stalls and tea houses. The holy aroma trinity of fish sauce, lemongrass and pepper can effortlessly conjure up anyone's appetite. After an early market run at a morning wet bazaar, my mom and I would grab a bowl of mohinga along with a cup of sweet tea, right beside this big pot on a charcoal stove, boiling aggressively with heavily lemongrass-dosed fish broth. It is not just a delicious bowl of soup that you savor, you also enjoy the sweetest smiles of the vendors, who know all their regulars by name and how they like their soup to be prepared; a large sprinkle of cilantro or a squeeze of lime juice or a tablespoon of dried chili or with lots of fishcakes and a hard-boiled egg.

Recipe of the soup, toppings and accompaniments differ from region to region and my favorite ones are those distinctly lemongrassy while faintly peppery with significant chunks of fish.

Fish filet, herb paste, fish stock, peppers and rice powder

Soup Base

Collagen-rich Broth

Mohinga

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Mohinga - Fish Noodle Soup

Yield: 4 - 5

Author: Suu Khin

Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 1 HourInactive time: 2 HourTotal time: 4 Hour

Ingredients

Fish Stock

• 2 - 3 lb whole catfish (skin on)
• 3 lemongrass, smashed and tied together with an outer leaf
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 inch ginger
• 5 dried red chilies, re-hydrated with hot water
• 2 whole turmeric roots or 2 tsp turmeric powder
• 4 tbsp. fish sauce
• Handful cilantro (best if roots are intact)
• 6 cups water

Soup Base

• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 lemongrass stalks, sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 inch ginger, sliced
• 2 shallots, diced
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tbsp fish sauce

The Fish Soup

• 2 tbsp. white rice, toasted till golden over low heat and grind to powder
• 10 pearl onions, peeled
• ½ cup tender core of banana stem or lotus roots, sliced into 1/4 inch rings
• 1 tbsp. ground black and white pepper, each
• salt to taste

Noodles and Garnishes

• Dried rice vermicelli , cooked per package instructions
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, quartered or sliced
• 2 limes
• Handful chopped cilantro
• Toasted chili flakes

Crispy Fritters

• ½ cup all purpose flour
• ¼ cup rice flour
• pinch of salt and turmeric powder
• 3 shallots, thinly sliced or ½ cup split chickpeas, soaked overnight or
• 1 medium opo squash (calabash), cut into 1/2 inch thick, 3 inches long sticks

Instructions

Fish Stock

1. In a large stockpot, add the whole fish, lemongrass, garlic, chilies, cilantro, turmeric, fish sauce and water.
2. Bring it to a boil, then reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for 30 minutes till the fish easily flakes off.
3. Take the fish out of the pot, peel the skin off and filet.
4. Separate the large fillets and small, disintegrated flakes.
5. Save the bones, head and skin as well as lemongrass, chilies and turmeric roots.
6. Strain the stock and set aside.

Collagen-rich fish broth

1. Put the fish bones, head and skin along with the herbs saved from fish stock to a pot and add 3 cups of water.
2. Season with salt.
3. Simmer the soup over medium heat, for an hour till the broth becomes creamy and white.
4. Strain the broth and set it aside.

Soup Base

1. Pound the shallots, garlic, ginger and lemongrass in a mortar and pestle till it forms a paste.
2. Heat oil in a pan and sauté the paste for 10 minutes.
3. Add paprika. Stir in the small, disintegrated flakes, free from the bones.
4. Season with fish sauce and cook for about 10 minutes till all residual liquid dry up.

Making Mohinga

1. In a stockpot, bring the strained stock and broth to a boil.
2. Add the soup base.
3. Make a slurry with the toasted rice powder and 4 tbsp of cold water and stir into the soup.
4. Add and cook the pearl onions and banana stem or lotus roots till tender.
5. Stir in the large fish fillets.
6. Add ground black and white pepper.
7. Season to taste and turn the heat off.

Crispy Fritters

1. Mix both flours with salt and turmeric powder in a bowl.
2. Add icy cold water little by litter until the batter is thin.
3. Fold in the shallots or split peas or the squash.
4. Form the shallots in clusters, split peas in a round plate, coat the squash in batter.
5. Deep fry them till golden. Cool on a rack.

Assembling Mohinga

1. In each bowl, ladle a cup of soup with fish flakes, pearl onions and banana stem or lotus roots over a bundle of rice vermicelli.
2. Customize your bowl to your taste with all the garnishes and toppings, lime, cilantro, boiled eggs, crispy fritters and chili flakes.