Coconut Noodles from the Famous Burmese City called Ma Thanegi
This noodle recipe comes from Ma Thanegi, a Burmese Chef Thein Tun Aung from Mandalay City, Myanmar, who called it a dish “so easy, the worst cook in the world could make it.”
Ingredients:
- ½pound chicken, boned, skinned and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 1teaspoon fish sauce sea salt
- ¼cup peanut oil, ¼ teaspoon turmeric, 1 small sweet onion, finely chopped
- 3cloves garlic, finely chopped, ½ teaspoon sweet paprika,
- 201-inch cubes fish cake, deep-fried, 5 cups chicken broth,
- ¼cup roasted chickpea flour,
- ⅔cup coconut milk, 3 peeled shallot lobes, one of them finely sliced and soaked in water,
- ¾pound boiled spaghetti-size egg noodles,
- 2hard-boiled eggs, thinly sliced,
- 2scallions, sliced, Handful of deep-fried rice noodles, 1 lime, cut into wedges
- Red chilies, roasted in a pan and then coarsely ground
Preparation Method:
- Knead the chicken with the fish sauce and a pinch of salt and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Place a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and add the oil and turmeric. Scrape in the onions and sauté for a minute. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute. Stir in the paprika, then the chicken, cooking until the chicken is blanched on the outside. Fold in the fish cakes and 1/2 cup water and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed.
- In a large saucepan, bring the broth to a boil. Dissolve the chickpea flour in 1/2 cup water and pour into the broth, stirring until the mixture thickens slightly. Add the chicken to the broth, and stir in the coconut milk. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat. Add the shallot lobes and simmer until just cooked through. Season to taste.
- To serve, place a handful of noodles in each of 4 deep bowls and ladle on a generous amount of chicken and broth. Garnish with sliced (drained) shallot, hard-boiled egg, scallions and fried noodles. Serve, passing lime wedges and roasted chilies.
