traditional fish noodle soup
When it comes to comfort food, mohingar is top of my list. It brings back fond memories of early morning visits to Shwedagon Pagoda which started with breakfast at a mohingar stall nearby. This noodle soup is considered the Burmese national dish and is eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Not surprisingly every family has their own variation and this is my family’s recipe. Nowadays I prefer to eat mohingar nearer lunchtime and invite a group of friends to join in this hearty Burmese brunch.
prepare the fish
300g catfish (or use whole trout)
1 lemon grass stalk, bruised
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
500ml water
to make the onion paste
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1cm fresh ginger
2 lemon grass stalks, white part only
3 whole dried chillies, soaked in hot water
1 teaspoon shrimp paste
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
6 tablespoons peanut oil
to make the soup
1.5 litres water
100g young banana stem, sliced
(alternatively use 12 small shallots, peeled)
75g ground rice powder, roasted
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
eat with
500g fine rice noodles or
wheat noodles, cooked
3 limes, halved
5 hard-boiled eggs, peeled & quartered
2 handfuls of fresh coriander, chopped
gourd or onion crispy fritters (page 21)
extra fish sauce & chilli flakes
method
Put the fish in a large pan, add the water, lemon grass and turmeric. Bring to the boil and simmer for 6-10 minutes until the fish is just cooked. Remove the fish from the pan and when cool enough to handle, peel the skin and flake the flesh, discarding any bones. Drain the fish stock through a sieve and reserve for the soup.
Pound the onion, garlic, ginger, dried chillies and lemon grass into a paste in a pestle and mortar, otherwise just chop everything as finely as you can.
Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the onion paste. Cook over moderate heat for 15-20 minutes until the paste is soft and caramelised. Add the shrimp paste, mash with a wooden spoon until incorporated, then mix in the turmeric and paprika. Cook for a further minute until the spices are fragrant before adding the flaked fish. Pop the lid on and cook for 10-15 minutes, allowing all the flavours from the onion paste to infuse into the fish.
The soup paste is done. If you are making this in advance, cool the mixture completely and pop in the freezer. It will keep for up to 1 month.
To make the soup: put the soup paste (completely defrosted if using from frozen), rice powder, water and the reserved fish stock (or 500ml of water if not using fish stock) in a large pan. Bring to a boil while stirring continuously to make sure the rice powder doesn’t clump. Add the shallots or banana stem and simmer for 20-30 minutes until they are tender. Add the fish sauce and taste for seasoning. Finally add lots of black pepper before serving.
To serve, put a handful of noodles in a bowl and ladle over the soup. Let everyone add the garnishes as they wish. It should taste spicy, salty and tangy from the limes.
serves: 4-6
cooking time: 50-70 mins
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hsa*ba: burmese cookbook recipe
Tags: fish & seafood, mohingar, noodles, soup
comments
Comment from zenith
Time April 19, 2009 at 9:00 am
any idea how to cook “kyar zan hin khar?”
thanks.
Comment from Cho
Time April 22, 2009 at 12:30 am
Haven’t had kyar zan hin khar for a while. I will try to do a post of this soon.
- Cho
Comment from neela
Time May 15, 2009 at 2:04 pm
thanks for sharing. I use shwe gyi instead of rice flour and it turned out better and thicker and creamier..
i love this dish..one of my favourites to entertain my non burmese friends
they love it too
Comment from Joe
Time June 3, 2009 at 2:38 am
does anyone know of a good burmese restaurant in Los Angeles? please advise!
Comment from Cho
Time June 3, 2009 at 3:05 am
Hi Joe
I had a search on the internet - many restaurants around SF area but none in LA… Does anyone have any information?
- Cho
Comment from Alfred
Time June 21, 2009 at 7:40 pm
Wow! Never thought I would find a website with burmese recipes. My favourite is of course mohinga and although I don’t cook I will now! btw have you got a simple recipe for la pe tho?
Comment from Janelle
Time July 12, 2009 at 4:08 am
This is the first someone actually interpreted mohingar recipe properly, keep up the good work.
Comment from Sandi
Time July 23, 2009 at 5:11 am
Any idea on how I can make this without fish, and fish sauce, and how to make akayaw (crispy) part to put in there? I haven’t had mohingar in 12+ yrs… =(
Comment from Cho
Time July 23, 2009 at 6:44 am
Hi Sandi
I do have a vegetarian version, check out Mohingar for vegetarians and for Crispy batter recipe.
Best wishes,
Cho
Comment from Gill
Time August 30, 2009 at 8:18 am
Does nayone know of any Burmese people in south africa?
Comment from Norar
Time September 4, 2009 at 5:13 pm
I didn’t know that we can add shrimp paste in mohingar. Good to know.But the smell of the shrimp paste can come out..???
Comment from Mitsuko
Time October 7, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Hi Cho, is there any good substitute for “shrimp paste”?
I love its taste but it is not easily available here in Tokyo.. Thanks for your great recipes! Love your work 
Comment from BillC
Time November 18, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Just like my Burmese gran used to make!
-I like mine with balachung too!
Comment from antoni
Time November 22, 2009 at 12:13 am
thanks for the recipe,,ill try in my kitchen tomorow,,
we are tired eat indian food all these 5 months,,
Comment from Victoria
Time January 5, 2010 at 3:29 am
am sooo excited I found your blog!! I grew up with Burmese food and have been craving it!!
Comment from OLIVER KOLAY
Time January 21, 2010 at 8:13 pm
I would like to suggest about your recipe;
1, mohinga doesn’t need shrimp paste at all; fish sauce is enough
2, need more lemon grass
3, whole black pepper rosted with low heat and make it powder and put it.
4, rosted rice powder is method of delta region and rangoon and upper Burma they used yellow split beans or channa beans .
thanks for your web site! this is wonderful
Comment from Wandering Chopsticks
Time February 2, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Oh, I’m so glad I discovered your blog. I just had Burmese food a few weeks ago and really liked the mohingar. I was hoping to find more information about Burmese cuisine so I could explore.