Noodles are everyday food in Burma. There is fish noodle soup for breakfast, coconut chicken noodles for a weekend lunch, and noodle salads sold from stalls all day. Here are the Burmese noodle dishes Aamna cooks, and the others worth knowing by name.
Burmese noodles at a glance
- Khao swe (or khauk swe) is the Burmese word for noodles
- Rice noodles are the most common, with wheat noodles for some dishes
- Dishes come as soups, like mohinga, or dry and mixed, like noodle salads
- Toasted gram flour thickens the soups and seasons the dry dishes
- Toppings go on at the table: fried garlic, crispy onions, egg, lime, coriander and chilli oil
Which Burmese noodle dish should you make?
| Dish | What it is | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Mohinga | Fish and lemongrass soup over rice noodles, thickened with toasted gram and rice flour | Breakfast or a light meal |
| Ohn no khao swe | Coconut chicken broth thickened with chickpea flour, served over noodles | Feeding a family, about eight |
| Mont di | Noodles tossed with slow-cooked beef, soy, tamarind and chilli oil | Gatherings, about 15 |
| Thami letto | Rice, spaghetti and glass noodles mixed by hand with crunchy toppings | Parties, about 20 |
Mohinga: the national dish
Mohinga is the dish most people mean when they talk about Burmese noodles. It is a fragrant fish and lemongrass soup, thickened with toasted gram flour and rice flour, poured over thin rice noodles and finished with boiled egg, crispy fritters, lime and coriander. In Burma it is breakfast, sold from roadside stalls and from vendors carrying pots on shoulder poles, though now it is eaten all day.
Every region makes it slightly differently. Some versions lean on fish paste, some use fresh fish, and in parts of Upper Burma it is made with chicken. Aamna’s mohinga recipe uses tinned sardines and mackerel, which makes it easy to cook in the UK, with dried banana stem and shallots for a proper Burmese flavour.
Ohn no khao swe: coconut chicken noodles
Ohn no means coconut milk and khao swe means noodles. Chicken is marinated in paprika, turmeric and chilli, then cooked in a broth of coconut cream thickened with chickpea flour. Everyone builds their own bowl with boiled egg, crispy noodles, raw onion, coriander, lime and chilli oil.
Aamna uses spaghetti and rice noodles, which are easy to find. In South Asia this dish became khow suey, and our guide to khow suey vs ohn no khao swe explains how.
Mont di and thami letto: dry noodle dishes
Not every Burmese noodle dish is a soup. Aamna’s mont di tosses noodles with paprika-marinated beef that has been cooked slowly until tender, then light and dark soy, tamarind, chilli oil, sesame, peanuts, fried onions and lime. Thami letto mixes rice with spaghetti and glass noodles, tamarind, fish sauce, roasted gram flour and crispy onions. Both are big-batch dishes made for sharing.
Mohinga: Burmese Fish Noodle Soup
Mohinga, Burma's national dish: a fragrant fish and lemongrass soup with rice noodles and crunchy toppings.
Ohn No Khau Swe
Burmese coconut chicken noodles, topped with crispy rice noodles, fresh garnishes and homemade chilli oil.
Burmese Beef Noodles (Mont Di)
Burmese beef noodles: tender spiced beef served over noodles with a mix of toppings and textures.
Other Burmese noodle dishes worth knowing
- Nan gyi thoke. Thick, round rice noodles from Mandalay, mixed with chicken curry, chilli oil and toasted gram flour, then topped with egg, bean sprouts and fried shallots.
- Shan noodles. From Shan State in the east. Sticky rice noodles with a chicken and tomato sauce, garlic oil, peanuts and pickles on the side, usually served dry and mixed at the table.
- Khauk swe thoke. A wheat noodle salad with cabbage, carrot and dried shrimp.
- Khow suey. Not a Burmese dish as such, but the South Asian version of ohn no khao swe, especially popular in Karachi.
Tips for cooking Burmese noodles at home
- Toast the flours separately. For mohinga, gram flour and rice flour each get about 8 minutes over medium heat. That is where the nutty flavour comes from.
- Rinse rice noodles in cold water. It stops them sticking together.
- Put the toppings out. Fried garlic, crispy onions, egg, lime, coriander and chilli oil turn one pot into a meal everyone makes their own.
- Make noodle salads with cooled noodles. Warm noodles go soft when mixed with the dressing.
- Use what you can find. Spaghetti works in ohn no khao swe and thami letto, and tinned fish works in mohinga.
A spoonful of Aamna’s Thami Letto over any of these adds savoury crunch without the frying. Read what Thami Letto is.
Burmese noodle FAQs
What is the most famous Burmese noodle dish?
Mohinga, the fish and lemongrass noodle soup. It is often called the national dish of Burma.
What noodles are used in Burmese food?
Mostly rice noodles, thin for mohinga and thick and round for nan gyi thoke. Wheat noodles are used for ohn no khao swe and some noodle salads, and many families outside Burma use spaghetti.
Are Burmese noodles spicy?
Most aren’t very hot on their own. The heat usually comes from chilli oil or dried chillies at the table, so you add as much as you like.
Is ohn no khao swe the same as khao soi?
They are related. Khao soi from northern Thailand is also egg noodles in a coconut curry broth and may have roots in the Burmese dish, but it tastes different and is more yellow from turmeric.
What do Burmese people eat for breakfast?
Mohinga is the classic breakfast, and nan gyi thoke and other noodle dishes are common morning food too.
More guides
What Is Burmese Food? A Guide to Burmese Cuisine
What Burmese food is, what it tastes like and the dishes to know, with Burmese food names in English, from mohinga and lahpet to danbauk and shwe yin aye.
What Is Thami Letto? The Burmese Rice Topper Explained
What thami letto is, what's in Aamna's jars, how it tastes, Fish or Vegan, and how to use it on rice and noodles.
Best Burmese Recipes to Try at Home
All of Aamna's Burmese recipes, grouped into noodles, salads, curries, Indo-Burmese favourites and sweets.
Burmese Ingredients Guide: What to Buy in the UK
What to buy for Burmese cooking, what each ingredient does, which of Aamna's recipes use it and where to find it in the UK.
Burmese Desserts: Traditional Sweets and Recipes
Burmese sweets explained, from kaala halwa and coconut jelly to sanwin makin, plus the classics from Burma.
Burmese Salads: A Guide to Thoke
Burmese salads explained: what thoke means, how lahpet and thami letto are made, and the salads you will find on stalls in Burma.
Burmese Curry: How It Differs From Indian Curry
What makes a curry Burmese: the onion, garlic and ginger base, the oil that rises to the top, and three of Aamna’s Burmese curries to cook.
Burmese Pickled Tea Leaves: What Lahpet Is
Burmese pickled tea leaves explained: how lahpet is made, how it is served, what it tastes like and where to buy it in the UK.
Khow Suey vs Ohn No Khao Swe
Khow suey and ohn no khao swe compared: how Burma’s coconut chicken noodles became a Memon and Karachi favourite, and how to make them.
