Burmese Chicken-Coconut Soup (Ohn No Kyawswe) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1/2 onion, chopped
1 (1 inch) piece fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup water
1 (16 ounce) package rice noodles
1 quart lukewarm water, or as needed to cover
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 cups chicken broth, divided
2 tablespoons chickpea flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 onions, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup coconut milk
For Garnish:
1 lemon, cut into wedges
4 green onions, sliced on the bias, green and white parts
2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 dash fish sauce, or to taste (optional)
1 cup crispy fried rice noodles (optional)
1 pinch curry powder, or to taste (optional)

Preparation

Place 1/2 chopped onion, ginger, garlic, and 1/4 cup water into a blender and puree until smooth. Soak rice noodles in a bowl of lukewarm water for about 30 minutes.
Season chicken thigh meat lightly with salt and black pepper in a bowl and set aside. In a separate small bowl, whisk 1 cup of chicken broth into the chickpea flour. Reserve remaining 2 cups chicken broth for a later step.
Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in chicken pieces and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned. Remove the chicken pieces with a slotted spoon and set aside. Reduce heat to medium and add 1 1/2 sliced onions to the pan. Cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking and stirring until the onion is very tender and dark brown, 15 to 20 minutes more. Stir in the turmeric, paprika, and cayenne pepper.
In a medium stockpot, combine cooked chicken and any juices that have accumulated, browned onions, onion and ginger puree, and remaining 2 cups of chicken broth. Carefully add chickpea flour and broth mixture, stirring quickly so that the flour doesn't clump.
Bring the pot to a boil; reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
Stir in the coconut milk and cook just until heated through. Divide the soaked rice noodles among 5 large soup bowls. Ladle the soup over the rice noodles in the bowls and garnish each bowl with lemon wedges, green onions, hard-cooked eggs, cilantro, fish sauce, fried noodles, and curry powder.