Mohinga (Myanmar's National Fish Noodle Soup)

About This Recipe

Mohinga is Myanmar's national dish and the most-eaten breakfast in the country. A broth of catfish — poached, flaked, and stirred back in — is built around lemongrass, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, and toasted chickpea flour, which gives the soup its signature silken body. Banana stem and tender heart provide texture; turmeric tints the broth pale yellow. The soup is ladled over thin rice vermicelli and topped with a thicket of garnishes: crispy fried split-pea fritters, hard-boiled egg, fresh coriander, lime, dried chili flakes, and a drizzle of fish sauce. Yangon street stalls serve it from dawn until 10 a.m., where families and office workers slurp it from clay bowls before the heat sets in.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 800 gfresh catfish fillets (or any firm white fish)
• 2 Lwater
• 4 stalkslemongrass, bruised and tied
• 1 thumbfresh ginger, sliced
• 1 largeonion, roughly chopped
• 6 clovesgarlic
• 60 gchickpea flour (besan)
• 60 grice flour
• 4 tbspvegetable oil
• 2 tspground turmeric
• 2 tspBurmese curry powder (or mild Indian)
• 3 tbspfish sauce
• 1 tbspshrimp paste (ngapi) — optional
• 1 tender heartbanana stem or 2 cups thinly sliced cabbage
• 500 gthin rice vermicelli, soaked and cooked per packet
• 6hard-boiled eggs, halved
• 1 bunchfresh coriander, chopped
• 3limes, cut into wedges
• 1 tbspdried chili flakes for topping
• crispy split-pea fritters (pe gyaw) or fried garlic to top

Instructions

1. 1

   Toast the flours

   Heat a dry pan over medium-low. Toast chickpea flour and rice flour separately, stirring constantly, until pale golden and nutty — 5 minutes each. Set aside. This step is essential for body and flavor.

2. 2

   Make stock

   In a large pot, combine water, lemongrass, ginger, half the onion, and 3 cloves garlic. Bring to a simmer. Add fish; poach gently 8 minutes until cooked through.

3. 3

   Reserve stock and flake fish

   Lift fish out carefully. Strain stock into a clean pot. Flake fish into chunks, removing any bones. Discard the spent aromatics.

4. 4

   Make the spice paste

   Pound or blend remaining onion, garlic, turmeric, curry powder, and shrimp paste with a splash of stock into a smooth paste.

5. 5

   Fry the paste

   Heat oil in a wide pan over medium. Add the paste; cook 6 minutes, stirring, until darkened and oil separates.

6. 6

   Build the broth

   Add the fried paste to the strained stock. Bring to a simmer. Add fish sauce and banana stem (or cabbage). Simmer 10 minutes.

7. 7

   Thicken

   Whisk toasted chickpea flour and rice flour with 250 ml cold water until smooth. Stream into the simmering broth, whisking constantly. Cook 8 minutes until the soup turns silky and slightly thick.

   Streaming the slurry into hot broth without lumps is the key technique — whisk continuously.

8. 8

   Add the fish

   Stir in flaked fish gently. Simmer 2 minutes to warm through. Taste — adjust fish sauce. Soup should be silky, savory, and faintly tangy.

9. 9

   Assemble

   Place a nest of cooked rice vermicelli in each bowl. Ladle hot mohinga generously over the noodles. Top with half a hard-boiled egg, chopped coriander, chili flakes, and crispy fritters. Serve with a lime wedge and extra fish sauce.

Variations

• •

  Yangon-style adds a swirl of chili oil at the table.

• •

  Mandalay-style is slightly thicker with more chickpea flour.

• •

  Vegetarian mohinga substitutes mushroom stock and uses extra toasted chickpea flour for body.

Storage

Refrigerate broth and noodles separately up to 3 days. Reheat broth gently — it thickens overnight, so loosen with hot water. Assemble fresh.

Frequently Asked Questions