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A large black bowl filled with a yellow coconut curry, egg noodles, crunchy noodles, half a boiled egg, quartered lemons, chopped green onions and red pepper flakes rests on a kitchen counter with a dark brown napkin and scattered crunchy noodles.
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5 from 3 votes

Khow Suey (Pakistani Curried Noodles)

Khow Suey (Pakistani Curried Noodles) is a lightly spicy chicken coconut curry served over egg noodles with an assortment of toppings.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Prepping The Toppings15 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Burmese, Indian, Pakistani
Keyword: burmese coconut noodles, burmese khow suey, chicken khow suey, khao soi, khao suey recipe, myanmar noodles
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 609kcal

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup cooking oil
  • 1 onion
  • 1 tsp garlic paste
  • 2 lbs boneless chicken
  • 2 tsps red chilli powder
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 2 tsps salt
  • ½ cup gram flour (besan) (see notes)
  • 2 tomatoes (see notes)
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 can coconut milk

The Noodles

  • 1 package egg noodles (see notes)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Toppings

  • 4 eggs
  • 4 green onions
  • ½ cup crispy noodles (see notes)
  • 2 lemons
  • 4 tbsp crushed red pepper

Instructions

  • Heat the cooking oil and saute the finely diced onion in it.
  • Once the onion is light brown, add the garlic paste and saute for 30 seconds.
  • Add the cubed chicken pieces and sear them till they are no longer pink and translucent.
  • Add all of the spices and saute for 2-3 minutes.
  • Add the gram flour(besan) and roast for a minute or two (see notes)
  • Add the diced tomatoes and saute till they release water.
  • Add the 4 cups of water to the mixture, stir, cover, and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes (see notes)
  • Add the coconut milk and simmer for another 10 minutes.

The Noodles

  • Fill a 6 quart cooking pot ¾ full of water, add a teaspoon full of salt and bring the water to a boil.
  • Once the water is at a rolling boil, add the packet of egg noodles to it and boil till the pasta is cooked.
  • Drain the water and toss the pasta with the 2 tbsp of olive oil so it doesn't stick together.

The Toppings

  • Hard boil the eggs, and then cool, peel, and dice them.
  • Chop both the green and white parts of the green onions.
  • Quarter the lemons.

Notes

Gram Flour - Gram flour, also known as besan by Pakistanis and Indians, is similar to Chickpea Flour. However, gram flour is made from split chickpeas, known as yellow gram lentils, and not garbanzo beans. For best results, source gram flour through a South Asian grocery store or Amazon.
Tomatoes - I use Roma tomatoes for this curry. If you don't have fresh tomatoes or want added convenience, add a ⅓ cup of crushed canned tomatoes. The canned tomatoes give the curry a smoother consistency, which you may prefer.
Egg Noodles - I use wide egg noodles that come in a 1 lb bag. Depending on the noodles-to-curry ratio you like and how many people you're feeding, you may want to make more than one packet.
Crispy Noodles - Traditionally, noodles were fried till crispy and then used as a topping, but fortunately, there are easy alternatives nowadays. I use store-bought La Choy crunchy noodles, easily available at all supermarkets in the Asian or International foods aisle.
Roasting The Gram Flour - This part is essential as you want the gram flour to taste nutty. Without roasting it, besan can have a raw taste. However, you will notice that since the flour absorbs all the oil and liquid, it will start sticking to the bottom of the pan.
I usually keep a cup of water nearby and splash as necessary to prevent the flour from burning. This part is tricky because you don't want to add too much water to get a good roast, but you don't want the flour to taste burnt or stick to the pan.
Water - At this point, the mixture will look like a butter chicken curry. The consistency will change after it simmers for a while and you add the water and coconut milk.

Nutrition

Serving: 1person | Calories: 609kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 190mg | Sodium: 873mg | Potassium: 992mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1839IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 4mg