Passport & Plate - Ohn No Khauk Swe (Burmese Chicken Coconut Curry)
Myanmar | Saturday, March 7, 2015 | 5 photos
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS
1 whole chicken (keep skin on for flavor)
1 ½ pounds flat egg noodles, fresh egg noodles or spaghetti noodles
2-3 shallots
1-2 tbsp fresh ginger finely chopped
5 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp fish sauce (for blended ingredients); 2 tbsp fish sauce (for soup stock)
1 tbsp fish paste
¼ to ½ cup chickpea flour
2 cans coconut milk (For diluted mix, use ½ cup coconut milk; 1 ½ cups water)
CONDIMENTS
1 bundle coriander
2-4 hard-boiled eggs
2-3 limes
1 white onion or 1-2 shallots
“Something crunchy” (optional) – fried noodles, balachaung (fried spicy fish, shrimp or anchovies with chili, garlic and spices), or any preferred crunch topping (sometimes my mom uses Western favorites like hummus dipping chips)
How to prepare this recipe- Chop chicken into small, bite-size pieces (approx. 1-inch), wash and drain well
- Cook pasta, then place immediately in cold water
- Drain pasta fully and place aside to cool
- In a large mixing bowl, coat chicken with 1 tbsp turmeric and 2 tbsp fish sauce
- Roughly cut shallots, garlic, and ginger and mince on low in a blender along with ½ cup vegetable oil, 2 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp fish paste, and 1 tbsp turmeric
- Pour ½ cup vegetable oil and blended ingredients into a large wide heavy pot over medium-high heat until they are very brown/golden. Ingredients should be almost burned, but not quite. Ingredients become golden brown and slightly crispy.
- Once blended ingredients are golden brown, add marinated chicken to the pot and stir until blended ingredients coat chicken evenly
- Continue to stir-fry chicken in the pot until all meat has changed color and browned outside
- Add 1 tsp chili powder (cayenne pepper can be substituted for milder spice)
- Pour in 2 cups of diluted coconut milk
- Lower heat, cover curry, and simmer for approx. 20-30 minutes, or until oil rises to the surface, stirring occasionally
- While curry is simmering, prepare your preferred condiments to set aside:
- Slice limes in wedges for garnish
- Wash and finely mince coriander for garnish
- Boil eggs according to your preference and slice into rounds or wedges
- Slice white onion or shallots very finely for garnish
- When oil has risen to the surface, bring curry to a full boil again and add the concentrated coconut milk; stir well
- While boiling, add chickpea flour and mix well to avoid clumping
- Lower heat again, cover curry and allow to simmer approx. 10 minutes more
- To prepare your first bowl, add lukewarm noodles at the bottom, pour curry over noodles, then sprinkle garnishes or allow guests to garnish as they like
The story behind this recipeDeclarations of maternal love are not merely spoken, but also experienced over time. My immigrant mother’s affection for her native country, Burma, was articulated through home-cooked meals—fragrant jasmine rice and coconut curries—and exchanged through monikers like thamee gyi (elder daughter), even when her speech could not fully translate. Worried she might alienate my American father, my mother did not teach me many Burmese words. After years of not knowing which stories about pet tigers and spirit gods to believe and which were fantasies, my mom and I finally visited her birthplace together in 2008. Of all my travels, Burma remains the most unforgettable.
Last summer, I attended the Southeast Asian Summer Studies Institute (SEASSI) in Madison, Wisconsin and discovered an even more deep-rooted passion: cooking Burmese food. In the 1950s, my grandfather founded Burma’s most influential newspaper, The Nation. Coincidentally, a group of Burmese parliamentary leaders were also in Madison with me last summer. When they learned of my family’s heritage, tears filled their eyes as they attempted to express what my grandfather meant to the people of Burma. Where words failed us, food could never, so I invited all 20 officials to my small apartment for the most elaborate Burmese meal I could envision: ohn no khauk swe.
At home with American host families, a daily pizza and hot dog routine was dampening their spirits, though they would never complain. I watched with awe as these close colleagues of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi served themselves with gusto, second and third helpings, of the only recipe my mother reluctantly gave me while I was homesick and hungry for Burmese food while living in France in 2005. When I told my mom I’d be cooking ohn no khauk swe for the Democratic leaders from Burma, she said, “You’re so brave, thamee gyi!” But, I knew what she really meant was that my grandfather would have been proud I even attempted to master the recipe.
