Khow Suey - The Burmese Connection

The first time I tasted Khow Suey was at a cousins place in Mumbai. I loved the flavours and then when I started reading about the same, it was fascinating to know that it is believed that Indians working in Burma brought this recipe back home with them during World War II. The Burmese Khow Suey is a one bowl pot meal, more like a soup. It’s super yummy, creamy, and something that everyone should try at least once!

Khow Suey is a 3 step process. The Noodles, the Broth or the Soup and the Condiments. Cooking and prepping for all these process are very interesting. Let us start with the ingredients and the process.

The Noodle

Take a packet of egg noodles cook it in boiling water with some salt. Strain the noodles, add some cold water to strain it and sprinkle some olive oil to avoid them sticking to each other. Fry a small portion of the noodles and keep it aside.

The Broth

Vegetables like broccoli, carrots, bell peppers. Cut them into florets and cubes. Parboil the carrots and broccoli and keep them to be used in the broth / soup. For the soup, make a paste of onion, ginger green chillies, some lemon grass or basil. Make a thick paste. We will use some chicken boneless (approx. 300 gms) boneless, cut into small pieces. Sautéed the chicken along with the bell peppers are keep it aside. Use the same oil, add some curry leaves, the curry paste and cook well till the raw smell of the ingredients have gone. Add 250 ml coconut milk and the parboil vegetables and cook for 10 min. Add salt and some jaggery to taste and bring it to the consistency required for the soup. Add the chicken into the soup and keep it aside.

The Condiments

For the condiments, we have used boiled egg, you can take half an egg for each servings. Take some oil and golden fry thinly chopped onions. Fry some garlic in the same oil and keep it aside. We should have some fried and broken peanuts, some freshly chopped coriander, spring onions and green / red chilies. The fried noodles shall also be part of the condiments.

Khow Suey, is a bowl meal and served best in a soup bowl. At first add some boiled noodles in a soup bowl, add the hot creamy soup rich in favours, which will have vegetables and chicken. Add some fried noodles on the top, followed by some peanuts, fried onions and garlic. Garnish it with some red / green chilies, spring onion and coriander. Add a half boiled egg and sprinkle some chilly oil on the top. Serve hot and enjoy the meal in a lazy afternoon with family after some nice chilled beer and spicy satays.