Burmese Chicken Coconut Noodle Soup Recipe
Soup is the perfect one-pot meal, especially when it’s this rich and comforting Burmese Chicken Coconut Soup. Think of this like a creamy chicken noodle soup by way of Burma. If you’re a fan of coconut milk based soups, bookmark this one ASAP. Like many of the Asian noodle soups we love, this one is a wonderful balance of flavors — sweet coconut milk, salty fish sauce, herbaceous cilantro, and a spritz of lemon juice at the end to wake things up. (Complete list of ingredients and recipe below.)
Making the Soup
We start by marinating the chicken in an umami-rich, fragrant mix of soy sauce, fish sauce, ginger, and turmeric. Add that to a pot of caramelized onions, and add your chicken broth and coconut milk.
To thicken the soup we use a slurry made of chickpea flour and water, which works just like a traditional cornstarch-based slurry. Whisk up the flour with water until it’s smooth. Stir it into the pot, and as it simmers, it will thicken the soup. The soup should start to look thick and creamy like the photo on the right.
Prepare Your Garnishes
Hard-boiled eggs, cilantro, and lemon — and cook the noodles. We like to use wheat noodles, but really, anything would work — rice noodles, egg noodles, even spaghetti would be perfectly fine. Make it easy on yourself and use what you have in the pantry.
Campbell’s got nothing on this soup. Enjoy!
(Inspired by Madhur Jaffrey)
Burmese Chicken Coconut Noodle Soup Recipe
Ingredients
1lb boneless chicken thighs, cut into small bite-sized chunks
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 2-inch piece ginger, microplaned
3 garlic cloves, microplaned
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoons paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 large onions, finely diced
6 cups chicken stock
2 cans full-fat coconut milk
½ cup chickpea flour
½ lb Chinese wheat noodles, cooked
6 eggs, hard-boiled, cut in half
¼ cup chopped cilantro
lemon wedges
fried shallots (optional)
Directions
Mix the chicken with the fish sauce, ginger, garlic, and spices, and sugar. Set aside.
Heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the onions and cook until they soften and begin to brown. Add the chicken and stir. Cook until the chicken no longer appears raw on the outside, stirring frequently. Add the chicken stock and the coconut milk. Bring to the simmer and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes.
Whisk the chickpea flour with ½ cup warm water to form a smooth slurry.
Slowly add the chick-pea flour slurry to the soup while stirring constantly. The soup will get much thicker quickly. Taste and adjust seasoning using fish sauce, sugar, salt, and cayenne.
Serve with noodles, hard-cooked eggs, chopped cilantro, and lemon wedges.
