SHAN KHAUT SWE

SHAN KHAUT SWE

#SIAintheKitchen

Wow. This dish brings back memories.

I visited Yangon, Myanmar in January of last year and I visited on the main reason that it hasn’t been overrun by tourism yet. I was in Chiang Mai and hopped over, really not knowing to expect other than their beautiful pagodas.

The first dish I had on the menu after reading countless blogs was to go to this place called Aunt Mingalar Shan Noodle Shop which was just a few blocks away from the hotel I was staying at. I had never heard of Shan sticky noodles before or Shan khaut swe as it is known in Burmese but you know me: I love a good noodle dish. And by god, it didn't disappoint.

Rice noodles topped with this thick, curried sauce, pickled mustard greens, hard-boiled egg and pork ribs. IT was so good that I even had this dish at another restaurant later on my trip. That good.

I did some recipe research and it was a little difficult to find what I was looking for but after countless pages of reading recipes and talking to a couple of my Burmese contacts, I finally worked on something that was reminiscent of what I had! I used boneless chicken thighs, in-season tomatoes, paprika, fish sauce, turmeric and a whole lot of other ingredients! Don’t be scared off by the long ingredient list - they are all easily found in your pantry.

SHAN KHAUT SWE/SHAN STICKY NOODLES - serves 4

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil

• 1 onion, diced

• 1/2 head of garlic, minced

• 1/2" knob of ginger, peeled and minced

• 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, diced

• 2 tbsp paprika

• 1 tbsp turmeric

• 1/2 tsp dried red chili flakes

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• freshly ground black pepper, as needed

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 2 tbsp fish sauce

• 1 can diced tomatoes, lightly drained

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 heaping tbsp chicken buillion paste

• 1 head cilantro, roughly chopped

• 300g pickled mustard greens, chopped

• 400g banh pho/rice stick noodles

1. In a large bowl, soak the banh pho noodles in cold water while you prep the other ingredients.

2. In a large wok, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat until hot.

3. Lower the heat to medium and add the diced onions, garlic and ginger and stir fry until translucent, about 5 min.

4. Add in the paprika and turmeric and saute until very fragrant, about 1 minute.

5. Push the aromatics to the side and add in the diced chicken thighs. Toss together.

6. Pour in the soy sauce, fish sauce and diced tomatoes. Increase the heat to medium-high.

7. Add the water and chicken bouillon powder and cook until boiling. Lower the heat to low and simmer uncovered until it reduces, about 30 min.

8. When the curry sauce has reduced, drain the noodles and pour boiling water over top of it to cook it. Divide the noodles into 4 bowls, top with the curry sauce, pickled mustards greens, a generous amount of cilantro and additional fish sauce if needed.