Burmese Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup

Name: Burmese Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 8 people
Ingredients: 1 quart chicken broth; 2 cans organic coconut milk; Chicken of your choice - legs, breasts thighs, sliced into strips; 1-2 TBSPs coconut oil; 1 large red onion, (sliced); 4-6 cloves garlic, (minced); 3-4 inch piece of ginger, (minced); 2-3 tsps turmeric; 1-2 tsps paprika; ¼ cup chickpea flour, (a little less or more to desired consistency); 1 package rice noodles, (optional, or other noodles of your choice); Sea salt (to taste); Hard-boiled or soft-boiled eggs; 1 avocado, (sliced); Fresh cilantro, (chopped); Lemon or lime wedges; Pinch or two roasted chile powder; Sriracha sauce

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I had this Burmese coconut chicken noodle soup when I was in Yangon. Very memorable, the coconut milk and broth give it a deeply satisfying earthy sweetness.

Before I get to the Burmese coconut chicken noodle soup recipe, I just HAVE to show you something kind of funny.

So one of my goals for this year is to become a better food photographer. Well I just completed a 5 week class on the basics of photography. By no means do I now consider myself an expert, but I’ve learned enough, at the very least, to NOT take photographs that gross people out.

If you think I’m exaggerating, look at this…

I had this Burmese coconut chicken noodle soup when I was in Yangon. Very memorable, the coconut milk and broth give it a deeply satisfying earthy sweetness.

That’s a photograph I took many months ago, before I took my photography class.

I mean seriously, how BAD is that?! WHY DID I EVER THINK THAT WAS A GOOD PHOTO?!

Looks like a bunch of puke with some eggs and lemon.

And to think, I ALMOST published it.

Thankfully, the post got pushed back in my schedule and then I went to Thailand and totally forgot about it.

So I decided last week that this would be a good time to finally put it up on the blog as I’ve been posting a lot of southeast Asian soup recipes recently. Of course, when I looked at that photo I was horrified.

Immediately, I knew I had to re-shoot it which of course meant I had to re-make the recipe (which I was more than happy to do). As you can see from the top photo, I’m slowly getting better (or at least not taking pics that look like vomit).

OK, bad food photography stories aside, let’s move on to the recipe!

I stumbled across this Burmese coconut chicken noodle soup only a few times when I was in Yangon many years ago. But it left a lasting impression. It has many similarities to Burma’s national dish, mohinga, one of them being the use of chickpea flour (also called fava) as a mild thickener. Combined with the coconut milk and chicken broth, it gives this soup a deeply satisfying earthy sweetness.

How to Make a Burmese Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup

This recipe is also included in my book, Fearless Broths and Soups: Ditch the Boxes and Cans with 60 Simple Recipes for Real People on Real Budgets, which features an entire chapter of Asian noodle soups! If you’d like to get more recipes like this Burmese coconut chicken noodle soup, be sure to keep reading below the recipe.

Burmese Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

Classic southeast Asian herbs and spices combined with coconut milk and chicken broth gives this soup a deeply satisfying earthy sweetness.

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine Burmese

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 8 people

Author Craig Fear

Ingredients

1 quart chicken broth
2 cans organic coconut milk
Chicken of your choice - legs, breasts thighs, sliced into strips
1-2 TBSPs coconut oil
1 large red onion, sliced
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 inch piece of ginger, minced
2-3 tsps turmeric
1-2 tsps paprika
¼ cup chickpea flour, a little less or more to desired consistency
1 package rice noodles, optional, or other noodles of your choice
Sea salt to taste

Optional Accompaniments

Hard-boiled or soft-boiled eggs
1 avocado, sliced
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Lemon or lime wedges
Pinch or two roasted chile powder
Sriracha sauce

Instructions

Saute onion in coconut oil about 5-7 minutes until browned but not charred. Add garlic and ginger and saute another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Careful not to burn. Next, add turmeric and paprika, mix and saute another minute or two.
Add chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Ladle out a few cups of the broth into a separate bowl, add the chickpea flour and mix well. Drizzle the mixture into the soup, stirring to prevent clumps. Simmer another 5 – 10 minutes. Taste and add more turmeric or paprika, if needed. While broth is simmering, prepare noodles according to package directions.
Add coconut milk to soup and stir. Add chicken and simmer a few minutes. Place noodles in soup bowls and ladle soup over noodles. Season to taste with salt. Add accompaniments, to taste.

Recipe Notes

1. Personally, I love all of the accompaniments but the one I would HIGHLY recommend is some avocado slices as they’re a perfect complement to this soup. I’m not a fan of importing fruit (yes, avocado is a fruit!) from halfway around the world but I wouldn’t object to someday having Burmese avocados in our supermarkets, which are the size of softballs. You’ll never be able to look at a wimpy Haas avocado the same way ever again.

2. Use eggs in place of chicken for a Burmese coconut curry egg noodle soup! Do the same with beef and beef broth.

3. Eggs noodles work best in my opinion though udon and rice noodles could work well too.

Get More Asian Noodle Soups!

My travels through Asia has left me with a permanent life-long love of Asian noodle soups and as I said above, I have an entire chapter in my new book devoted to simple 3-step Asian noodle soups. They’re not hard to make! Besides the Burmese coconut chicken noodle soup, here a sample of some of the other recipes:

Thai Coconut Red Curry Chicken Noodle Soup
Taiwanese Pork Noodle Soup
Asian Beef Noodle Soup
Chicken Udon Noodle Soup
Ginger Miso Sesame Noodle Soup
Faux Pho

The book also includes many other recipes for things like creamy vegetables soups and seafood soups and chowders.

All of the recipes included will emphasize simplicity. They’re geared to all you stressed out moms and dads, workaholics and non-cooks trying to figure out how to eat well with limited funds and time.

And these days, that’s just about everyone.

**Click here to see Fearless Broths and Soups on Amazon.**

Fearless Eating may receive commissions from purchases made through links in this article. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. More info here.

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About the Author

Craig Fear is the creator of Fearless Eating and the author of three books, The 30-Day Heartburn Solution, Fearless Broths and Soups and The Thai Soup Secret. After years helping clients with digestive issues, Craig decided to pursue writing full-time. He intends to write many more books on broths and soups from around the world! Click here to learn more about Craig.

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