Mohinga – Burmese Noodle Soup
Questionably the national dish of Burma, Mohinga is a comforting noodle soup available nationwide but especially in Yangon and the Southern Delta region where fish is plentiful.
In posting this recipe, I apologise unreservedly to anyone in Burma/Myanmar for whom it is not traditional or “as mother cooked it”, but it works with Western ingredients and potentially takes less time to prepare.
Mohinga – Burmese Noodle Soup Serves 4
4 servings of thin soft rice noodles – soft Japanese noodles are perfect.
20 cm banana stems might be available in Asian stores but certainly, not in this part of Hampshire, no real substitute so leave them out – seems they change the texture more than the flavour. If using peel and slice – soak in water for an hour, drain and add to the soup with the cooked fish.
300 gm fish – if your local fish shop is out of Burmese Delta fish, substitute with firm white fish e.g. haddock/pollock
Place 1 tbs fish sauce, Pinch turmeric, 1 clove crushed garlic, 1/2 cm root ginger sliced, 1 lemongrass stalk bruised in a saucepan with the fish and 500 ml water. Bring to the boil and remove fish when just done. Flake the fish into 2 cm pieces and set aside (can be done 1 day in advance).
Heat the oil in a saucepan. Fry 1 tbsp vegetable oil, pinch turmeric, 1 finely sliced onion, 2 cloves crushed garlic, 1/2 cm root ginger sliced, 1 lemongrass stalk bruised, stirring to prevent them sticking. Add 675 ml good quality fish stock and bring to the boil. Whisk in 50 gms of gram flour and 50 gms of rice, toasted and ground. Simmer until the soup has thickened.
Add the noodles and simmer until the noodles are cooked. Add fish and cook for 5 minutes.
Serve immediately. Traditional garnishes include fried onion, a wedge of lime, chopped chilli, hard-boiled eggs sliced or halved, chickpea fritters and chopped coriander.
This Mohinga – Burmese Noodle soup can be sampled on All Points East Burma Tours. Our Overseas Director wrote an excellent introduction to Burmese food for Travelfish.
