Khao suey: A delicious taste from Burma

- Tarun Kapoor is executive chef at Doha’s Horizon Manor Hotel. Send your feedback to: exe.chef@horizonmanor.comAt time when I feel like having a complete meal consisting of noodle, soup and meat, the dish that strikes me first is khao suey, which has all these three elements in a single bowl and has been my favourite since long time. Being a foodie and a chef by profession I like to try out new dishes and recipes and while on one such tasting session with my ex-general manager Mullerworth we went to a Thai- Burmese restaurant and ordered this dish because that restaurant displayed the sales count on a notice board for this particular dish only. We fell in love with khao suey and decided to serve it in our restaurant in the next menu change. Then was my turn to research it and standardise the recipe to start serving it in my hotel’s restaurant. Once on the menu, we received exceptionally good comments for this particular dish. The beauty of this dish is in the variety of condiments that are served along with the dish like garlic chips, fried onion chips, spring onion, scallion, lemon wedge, soya sauce, crushed peanuts, chilli paste, fresh coriander leaves, red chilli flakes, cumin seeds, green chilli are some of the traditional condiments. Khao suey is a Burmese dish which is becoming very popular nowadays and people like the taste and the variety of garnishes that come along. This is basically a noodle soup but can be served as a main dish also once you thicken it with gram flour and coconut milk powder. This dish can be customised in a variety of ways by modifying the vegetables used in its preparation and thus creating your own signature khao suey. By making this dish you can delight your guests with your culinary skills and treat their taste buds to a dish that they may not have tried before. Khao suey is served in individual portion bowls and a portion of noodles topped with curry is added first and then people can choose from an array of toppings and condiments to make their own khao suey the way they like. Almost all restaurants serve six or more choices for toppings and condiments that can be added to the curry.I can compare the similarities in Burmese cooking and Indian cooking as many of the same ingredients are used in both the cuisines, even though Burmese cuisine is not as spicy as Indian. The common ingredients are garlic, onion, cumin, ginger, curry powder and coriander to name a few. Both the cuisines have a unique aromatic flavour to them, owing to the similarity of ingredients being used to make the dish. I prefer to prepare this dish on weekends as it involved some preparation. But it is very much worth the effort to try out this dish on your own.Chicken Khao SueyServes 2        Ingredients    Chicken boneless 200 gmOlive oil 2 tbspGarlic, chop ½ tbspGram flour 2 tbspCurry powder 1 tspEgg Noodles ½ cupCoconut milk 1/3 cupBroccoli Few floretsZucchini ½ noPok choy Few leavesSalt To tasteRed chilli paste 1 tspGarnish/ condiments (as required)        Boiled egg 2 noLemon wedge 2 noSpring onion, chop 2 tbspGarlic, fried 1 tbspOnion, fried 1 tbspChili paste 1 tbspSoy sauce 1 tbspCoriander leaves Few sprigsCumin seeds ½ tbspMethodHeat oil in a wok and add garlic and chicken cubes and sauté for 5-6 minutes.Once the chicken is light brown from the outside, add gram flour and curry powder and sauté till the gram flour is cooked and there is no raw smell.Add cold chicken stock (to avoid lumps) and also add the remaining vegetables and bring to boil.Gradually pour coconut milk to thicken the curry and adjust the seasoning.Serve hot with steamed noodles or crispy fried noodles and boiled egg on top. Serve all the mentioned condiments on the side for guests to choose on their own.Note: The khao suey curry is typically made with chicken, beef, shrimp, fish or seafood, but you can make a vegetarian version by adding cottage cheese, tofu and other vegetables.