Method
- Make the chicken curry topping: heat peanut oil in a heavy pot. Cook onion paste 8 minutes until pale gold. Add ginger-garlic, turmeric, chili powder; stir 60 seconds. Add chicken, fish sauce and ngapi; stir 4 minutes.
- Pour in chicken stock. Whisk chickpea flour with 60ml of cool stock; stream into the simmering broth while stirring. Cook 12 minutes — the curry thickens to a gravy-like consistency. Set aside.
- Cook the rice noodles for 4 minutes; drain into wide bowls.
- Pour the warm chicken curry over the noodles in each bowl. Don't drown the noodles; the curry should coat them.
- Top each bowl with halved boiled egg, fish-cake slices, crushed fritters, crushed peanuts, sliced chilies and spring onion.
- Drizzle with lime juice. Garnish with cilantro. Each diner tosses everything together at the bowl. Eat immediately. The textural contrast — soft noodles, creamy curry, crunchy fritters and peanuts — is the architecture.
Common questions
Can Nan Gyi Thoke be made ahead?
Nan Gyi Thoke is best made and eaten the same day, but the components can be prepped earlier — chop and measure the ingredients up to a day ahead, refrigerated separately. Final cooking takes about 45 minutes.
Is Nan Gyi Thoke spicy?
Nan Gyi Thoke as written is mild to mildly warming — the heat comes from aromatics rather than chili. Add fresh sliced chili or chili oil at the end if you'd like to push it spicier.
Is Nan Gyi Thoke vegetarian or gluten-free?
This recipe contains gluten via the soy sauce and/or noodles. To make it gluten-free, substitute tamari for soy sauce.
How hard is Nan Gyi Thoke to make at home?
Nan Gyi Thoke sits at intermediate difficulty — total time about 75 minutes. The ingredients are not unusual but the timing requires attention.
Can Nan Gyi Thoke be scaled up or down?
This recipe is written for 4 servings. To scale, multiply each ingredient proportionally; the cooking times stay the same up to about double the volume. Beyond that, expect to cook in batches because of pan size and heat distribution.
Cultural Note
Nan gyi thoke is the noodle salad of Mandalay — the upper Burmese city's signature dish. Each Mandalay specialty restaurant has its preferred ratio of curry to noodles; the dish ranges from saucy (more curry) to dry (more topping). The dish is associated with breakfast and lunch in Mandalay; Yangon now has plenty of nan gyi thoke shops too. The textural mix — soft noodles, creamy chickpea-flour curry, crunchy fritters and peanuts — is the Burmese signature, found in mohinga and ohn no khauk swè too.
