Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Ohn No Khauk Swe (Coconut Chicken Noodles)
Wheat noodles in a pale, gently rich coconut-and-chicken broth thickened with chickpea flour, finished with egg, lime, and crisp fried noodles.
Burmese · medium · serves 6
prep 20 min · cook 40 min
~601 cal · 42g protein · 35g carbs · 33g fat · 5g fiber · 7g sugars · 18g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Ohn no khauk swe means coconut-milk noodles, a mild and comforting Burmese bowl of wheat noodles in a pale, lightly creamy coconut-and-chicken broth. Unlike a fiery orange laksa, its broth is gently rich and tinted yellow by turmeric, and it is given body not with cream but with chickpea (gram) flour whisked in as a slurry.
It is a teashop and home favourite eaten across Myanmar, and its blend of influences shows the country's position between its neighbours: the chickpea-flour thickener and turmeric nod to India, the to Thailand, and the stir-frying of the chicken to Chinese wok cookery. Cooks brown onion, garlic, and ginger with turmeric and paprika before the chicken and go in.
The finishing garnishes are half the dish: a scatter of crisp fried noodles, a halved hard-boiled egg, sliced onion, coriander, a squeeze of lime, and chilli oil, each eater adjusting their own bowl at the table.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
1.5 lbs boneless chicken thighs, cut into pieces
2 onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece ginger, grated
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/3 cup chickpea (gram) flour
1.75 cups full-fat
5 cups chicken or water
2 tbsp
2 tbsp
to taste salt
12 oz wheat noodles
3 hard-boiled eggs, halved, to top
2 limes, cut into wedges
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
1
Whisk the chickpea flour with 1 cup cool water until smooth and set aside; this slurry thickens the broth without clumping.
✎ Chef’s note
Whisk the chickpea flour into cool water off the heat until completely smooth before it goes near the hot broth, or it will turn lumpy.
2
Heat the oil in a heavy pot and cook the onions for about 10 minutes until soft and golden, then add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, paprika, and chilli powder and fry until fragrant.
3
Add the chicken (or mushrooms) and turn through the spices for a few minutes, then pour in the stock and simmer for about 18 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
4
Whisk the chickpea slurry again and stir it into the pot in a thin stream, then simmer, stirring, for about 10 minutes until lightly thickened.
5
Stir in the coconut milk (or oat cream), fish sauce (or tamari), and salt, and simmer gently without a hard boil so the broth stays smooth and creamy.
6
Cook the wheat noodles until just springy, drain, and divide among bowls; fry a small handful of the cooked noodles in hot oil until crisp for the garnish.
7
Ladle the coconut broth over the noodles and top each bowl with a halved egg (or fried shallots), sliced red onion, cilantro, crisp noodles, and a lime wedge.
Burmese teashop and home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Yangon. Yangon wakes to mohinga, a lemongrass and catfish rice-noodle soup eaten at dawn from street stools. Burmese cooking leans on fermented tea leaf, dried shrimp, chickpea flour, and oil-slicked curries built on onion, garlic, ginger, and turmeric.
🗺️
Myanmar. Lahpet is one of very few things in the world where tea is eaten rather than drunk. The leaves are steamed and packed to ferment, then tossed with fried garlic, split peas, peanuts, sesame, dried shrimp, tomato and green chilli into a salad that is simultaneously bitter, sour, salty and crunchy, and it is offered to guests and at ceremonies.
🌍
Asia. A grain line runs across the continent. Rice dominates the wet south and east, wheat the drier north and west, and the tools follow it: the wok and the steamer where rice is milled, the tandoor and the griddle where wheat is ground. Tea travels the other way, drunk green, black, salted, buttered or with milk depending how far it got from China.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Myanmar
MohingaMyanmar’s national breakfast: rice noodles in a lemongrass-catfish broth thickened with toasted chickpea flour.
Burmese Chicken CurryChicken slow-cooked in an oil-rich onion, garlic, ginger, and turmeric masala until deeply savory.
Lahpet ThokeA tea-leaf salad of fermented tea, crunchy fried beans, nuts, and seeds tossed with cabbage and lime, Myanmar's national treasure.
Browse all Myanmar recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Whisk.
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
Make it a Myanmar meal
Burmese Milk Tea (Lahpet Yay No Hsat)Drink
Sanwin MakinDessert
Lahpet ThokeLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Ohn No Khauk Swe (Coconut Chicken Noodles)?
Wheat noodles in a pale, gently rich coconut-and-chicken broth thickened with chickpea flour, finished with egg, lime, and crisp fried noodles.
Where does Ohn No Khauk Swe (Coconut Chicken Noodles) come from?
Ohn No Khauk Swe (Coconut Chicken Noodles) is a Burmese dish from Yangon, Myanmar.
Can Ohn No Khauk Swe (Coconut Chicken Noodles) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Ohn No Khauk Swe (Coconut Chicken Noodles) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Ohn No Khauk Swe (Coconut Chicken Noodles) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Ohn No Khauk Swe (Coconut Chicken Noodles) take to make?
About 60 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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