Exploring Burmese Cuisine: Khow Suey (Curried Chicken And Noodles In Coconut Milk Broth)
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Servings:
Ingredients
  • 500 gram chicken fillet, cut into small pieces
  • 2 cup chicken stock
  • 2 cup coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup gram flour
  • 2 teaspoon garlic paste
  • 2 teaspoon red chilli powder
  • 2 lemons, quartered
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 2 teaspoon desiccated coconut
  • 1 packet egg noodles
  • 75 gram dried spaghetti
  • 2 eggs
  • handful coriander
  • 4 dried red chillies
  • 2 stalk spring onions, sliced
  • 4 green chillies, sliced
Directions
  1. Place the sliced chicken in a bowl and add the garlic paste, lemon juice, salt, desiccated coconut and 1tsp each of red chilli powder, turmeric powder and cayenne pepper. Mix well to coat the chicken evenly. Set aside to marinate for 30 minutes
  2. In the meantime, prepare the condiments. 1) Boil the eggs for about 10 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and then remove the egg shell. Dice into small pieces. 2) Chop the dried red chillies, spring onions, green chillies and coriander. Quarter the lemons 3) Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan. Break the dried spaghetti into small pieces and fry in the oil till they are crisp and brown. Soak on a kitchen towel to remove the excess oil
  3. After that prepare the gram flour to be used later. Add the gram flour to a frying pan and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes or till the color changes slightly and you can smell the flour. Move the flour around the pan so the bottom does not burn. Once it is cooked, remove and set aside.
  4. In a large saucepan, heat 1 tbsp of oil. Add the chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes on low heat, till it turns into an off-white shade. Make sure not to brown the chicken
  5. Pour the chicken stock into the saucepan and slightly increase the heat. Allow the chicken to cook in the stock for about 10 minutes
  6. Meanwhile mix the prepared gram flour into the coconut milk and stir vigorously so no lumps remain
  7. As the chicken is beginning to cook, add the coconut milk mixture and bring to a boil
  8. Add 1tsp each of turmeric powder and red chilli powder, simmer and mix well. At this point you should see the color of the curry turn to a pale yellow
  9. Stir the mixture for another 5 minutes. At this point try a spoon of the curry to see if you can taste the flour. If not, your curry is ready. You can cook the curry to your desired thickness, normally Khow Suey curry should be runny. Let it cook more if you want the curry to be thicker. Advisable to let the switch off the heat at this point
  10. Boil the noodles in hot water for about 5-8 minutes. Once cooked, drain the noodles over a sieve and let cold water run through them
  11. To serve, transfer all the condiments in one plate
  12. Pour the chicken curry in a separate serving bowl and noodles in another.
  13. Create your own dish by putting the noodles first, then the curry and finally the condiments on top. Normally, there is more curry added in relation to the noodles
  14. For a spicier version, pour some chilli oil over the Khow Suey
  15. It is the perfect combination of fragrant chicken curry poured over soft noodles, complemented by crunchy fried spaghetti, fiery chillies, sour lemon juice and aromatic coriander. With one bite you would be amazed at the plethora of flavors emanating from the cuisine that goes by largely unnoticed. But not anymore, this recipe is sure to put Burma on the map when it comes to culinary skills. For all of us, it is yet another page in the book of worldly cuisines, yet another lesson on our way to mastering food from around the world. It is still just a drop in the ocean but a journey on the right path, nonetheless.