Burmese Mohinga (Rice Noodle Fish Soup)

Ingredients

• 500 gr dry rice vermicelli noodles
• About 2 1/2 lbs whole catfish ((scaled and gutted)-see notes)
• 3 stalks lemongrass (, bruised and bent into half)
• 8 cups water
• 1 large onion (, roughly chopped)
• 3 cloves garlic (, minced)
• 1 inch fresh ginger
• 1 stalk lemongrass (remove skinny woody part)
• 2 Tbsp peanut oil
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 3 Tbsp toasted chickpea flour
• 3 Tbsp toasted rice flour
• 4 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 4 hard-boiled eggs (, peeled and quartered)
• 3 stalk green onions (, finely chopped)
• 1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves
• 4 limes (, quartered)
• Fried shallot crisp
• Split-pea crackers (I don't have this)
• 1 cup chickpea flour
• 1 cup jasmine rice

Instructions

1. 1

   --- Preparing toasted chickpea flour and toasted rice powder: ---

2. 2

   Preheat your pan until hot. Use cast iron if you have one, otherwise, regular skillet will work too. When pan is hot. Add the chickpea flour and continue to stir. Nothing seems to happen the first 10 minutes. After that you will see the color started to change to light brown and it starts to smell nutty. Make sure the heat is under control and not too high that it burns the flour. Continue stir frying for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool down completely before storing in a jar

3. 3

   There is no need to soak or wash the rice. Same thing with the chickpea flour, preheat your pan until hot. Add the rice grain and toast them over medium heat for the first 10 minutes. The color will start to change, continue to toast for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. You can use mortar and pestle to grind the rice into powder. This method actually preferred by the local, but in this modern day, you can definitely use food processor or blender to grind them into powder. Simple as that

4. 4

   --- Cooking the noodles: ---

5. 5

   Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the dry rice vermicelli noodle and cook according to instruction. Do not overcook the noodles. Drain of water and set noodle aside

6. 6

   --- Preparing the fish soup: ---

7. 7

   Place all ingredient in large pot and bring to the boil. The water may not cover the fish, that's ok. Carefully use a tong to flip the fish over after 10 minutes. Continue to cook until the fish is cooked through, another 10 minutes. Carefully remove the fish to a large plate. Carefully flake the flesh and set aside. Strain stock and discard solids

8. 8

   Place all ingredients to chop in a food processor and finely chopped them. Preheat a large pot with 1 Tbsp cooking oil. Add the chopped ingredients, turmeric powder, and chili powder, saute for about 5 minutes. Add the flaked fish and stir fry for another 2 minutes

9. 9

   Add this to the fish stock you prepare above. Bring back to a gentle simmer. Mix the chickpea flour and rice flour together in a bowl and then add about 3-4 Tbsp of water to form a paste. Stir this into the soup. If you prefer a thicker consistency for the soup, add more chickpea and rice flour mixture

10. 10

    Add seasonings. Have a taste and add more fish sauce and/or salt to your taste. It should be savory

11. 11

    --- Serving: ---

12. 12

    Arrange all garnishes on the table. Portion the rice noodles into individual serving bowl. Ladle the soup generously over the noodles. Let everyone gets his own toppings