Southeast Asia

Ohn No Khao Swe: Burmese Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup

Name: Ohn No Khao Swe: Burmese Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Burmese
Ingredients: 500 g Chicken thighs; 450 g Fresh egg noodles (Chinese-style); 400 ml (1 can) Coconut milk; 800 ml Chicken stock; 45 g Chickpea flour (besan); 45 ml Fish sauce; 30 ml Oil for sautéing; 200 ml Oil for frying; 150 g (just under 1 large) Onion; 15 g (3 cloves) Garlic; 20 g Ginger; 1 tsp (2 g) Ground turmeric; 1/2 tsp (1 g) Red pepper flakes; 120 ml Water; 4 Eggs; 100 g Bean sprouts; 80 g Red onion; 15 g Cilantro; 2 Limes; 20 g Scallions

Ohn no khao swe is Myanmar's coconut milk noodle soup: chicken in a coconut broth lightly thickened with chickpea flour, served over egg noodles with crispy fried noodles, boiled egg and lime. Exact amounts, noodle swaps, heat control, storage, spice and allergy notes.

Published: October 22, 2026Total: 1 hr 10 minLevel: Intermediate

Cooking flow

Cooking steps

STEP 11 / 5

Toast the chickpea flour and mix it with water

Toasting chickpea flour in a skillet until pale beige — Don't scorch the chickpea flour; take it off the heat once it smells like toasted beans

Set a small skillet over medium-low heat with no oil and add the 45 g of chickpea flour. Toast for 2–3 minutes, turning it from the bottom with a wooden spatula, and turn off the heat when the flour shifts from white to a pale beige and smells like roasted beans. Toasting it until brown makes it bitter, so move it to a plate so the residual heat doesn't take it too far.

Once it has cooled slightly, whisk in the 120 ml of water in three additions. It's ready when you can rub a bit between your fingers without feeling grit and the mixture flows slowly. It settles if it stands, so stir it again right before adding it to the pot.

STEP 22 / 5

Sauté the aromatics, then add the chicken

Sautéing turmeric-colored aromatics and chicken in a pot — Sauté until the onion edges are translucent and the turmeric oil coats the chicken

Roughly chop the 150 g onion, 15 g garlic and 20 g ginger, then chop finely with a knife or pulse in a food processor 2–3 seconds at a time. Don't make a smooth paste; leaving 2–3 mm bits keeps both sweetness and aroma in the pot.

Heat the 30 ml of sautéing oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the aromatics and sauté for 5 minutes; when the edges of the onion turn translucent and a light golden film forms on the bottom of the pot, add the turmeric and red pepper flakes. Stir for 30 more seconds, then add the chicken, seasoned in advance with 15 ml of the fish sauce. Sauté for 3 minutes, until the surface turns white and the yellow oil coats the meat. It doesn't need to be cooked through yet.

STEP 33 / 5

Simmer the chicken stock, then add the coconut milk

Adding coconut milk to the chicken soup and simmering over low heat — After adding the coconut milk, keep the heat low enough for just small bubbles at the edge

Pour in the 800 ml of chicken stock and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spatula. Bring it to a boil once over medium heat, skim off the foam, then lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 10 minutes with the lid slightly ajar, and check that the chicken is white all the way through and the thickest piece has reached 74°C (165°F). Without a thermometer, cut open the largest piece and make sure there's no pink.

Add the 400 ml of coconut milk and warm it for 10 minutes over low heat without letting it boil. Small bubbles around the edge of the pot are plenty. A rolling boil tends to split the fat from the liquid, and the white soup loses its silkiness. Add the remaining 30 ml of fish sauce, taste, and add 1 g of salt only if it needs it.

STEP 44 / 5

Bind the broth with chickpea flour

Pouring the chickpea flour mixture into the coconut soup in a thin stream — Pour the chickpea flour in slowly and whisk along the bottom for a light body

Turn the heat to low and pour in the re-stirred chickpea flour mixture in a thin stream. Whisk for 4–6 minutes, tracing the bottom of the pot, and aim for a broth that turns opaque white and coats the back of a spoon thinly. When the broth falls from a spoon in a thin ribbon and the trail holds for about 2 seconds, it's thick enough to cling to noodles.

If you see lumps, take the pot off the heat, whisk for 30 seconds, then return it. If it gets too thick, add chicken stock 50 ml at a time. If oil floats on top and the broth separates, it boiled. Turn off the heat, add 2 tbsp of warm soup and whisk it back together. Even if it doesn't come back completely, the flavor is the same, so don't hurry to add more flour.

STEP 55 / 5

Prepare the noodles and crispy noodles, then assemble the bowls

Topping egg noodles with coconut soup, chicken, boiled egg and crispy noodles — Ladle in the soup, then add the garnishes and crispy noodles; squeeze the lime at the table

Boil the eggs for 9 minutes in boiling water, cool them in cold water and halve them. Before cooking, set aside 80 g of the 450 g of noodles for frying, and cook the remaining 370 g according to the package directions. Rinse the cooked noodles under running water to remove the surface starch, then dip them in boiling water for 10 seconds right before serving to warm them. Blanch the bean sprouts in the same water for 30 seconds and drain.

Pat the reserved 80 g of noodles thoroughly dry with a towel. Heat the 200 ml of frying oil in a small pot to 170–180°C (340–355°F), fry the noodles in small batches for 1–2 minutes, and lift them out when they're pale golden. The noodles puff up in the oil, so don't add too many at once. Drain them on a rack; they're right when they crackle dryly once cool.

Divide the noodles among bowls and ladle in the hot soup. Make sure everyone gets chicken, then top with boiled egg, bean sprouts, red onion, cilantro, scallions and crispy noodles, and serve with lime. Put the chili out last, so each person decides how much to add along with the lime they squeeze.

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Ingredients

1 / 2

Soup and noodles

Ingredient	Amount	Role & substitutes
Chicken thighs	500 g	Skin removed, cut into 2 cm (3/4 in) cubes. Chicken breast also works: cut into 2.5 cm (1 in) cubes and simmer 3 minutes less
Fresh egg noodles (Chinese-style)	450 g	Wheat egg noodles. If using dried, about 320 g
Coconut milk	400 ml (1 can)	Unsweetened, full-fat. With coconut cream, use 300 ml plus 100 ml water
Chicken stock	800 ml	Unsalted or lightly salted (about 3 1/3 cups). 800 ml water plus 2 tsp granulated bouillon also works
Chickpea flour (besan)	45 g	Gram flour, chickpea flour. 30 g rice flour will thicken too, but the toasty note is weaker
Fish sauce	45 ml	30 ml light soy sauce plus 2 g salt works, though the savory fish depth changes
Oil for sautéing	30 ml	A neutral oil such as rice bran or canola
Oil for frying	200 ml	For the crispy noodles. Don't reuse; let it cool and dispose of it

2 / 2

Aromatics and toppings

Ingredient	Amount	When it's used
Onion	150 g (just under 1 large)	Chopped and sautéed as an aromatic
Garlic	15 g (3 cloves)	Minced or a coarse paste
Ginger	20 g	Peel thinly and chop together with the garlic
Ground turmeric	1 tsp (2 g)	Added while sautéing the aromatics
Red pepper flakes	1/2 tsp (1 g)	Sautéed with the chicken. To keep the heat separate, add it in the bowls instead
Water	120 ml	For mixing the chickpea flour
Eggs	4	Boiled for 9 minutes and halved
Bean sprouts	100 g	Blanched briefly
Red onion	80 g	Thinly sliced, 2 mm
Cilantro	15 g	Cut into 2 cm lengths. If you don't like it, use 15 g scallions
Limes	2	About 1/2 lime per person
Scallions	20 g	Thinly sliced. Can also stand in for cilantro

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A bowl where coconut arrives before the noodles

Picture it: noodles are being dipped in hot water on one burner, and in the pot next to them onion, garlic and ginger are slowly changing color in oil. The chicken goes in, and turmeric yellow spreads across the bottom of the pot. Then come chicken stock, coconut milk and a light thickening of chickpea flour, and the steam turns a little heavier.

If you just put noodles in a bowl and ladle the white soup over them, it looks gentle. But add a handful of crispy fried noodles, a halved boiled egg and a squeeze of lime, and the whole bowl changes at once: soft noodles, silky broth, the dry crackle of fried noodles. The sourness and the chili aren't locked into the pot; each person adds them at the table.

This is ohn no khao swe, Myanmar's coconut milk noodle soup, which you'll also see spelled Ohn No Khao Swe, Ohn Nou Kao Swe and more. A Myanmar travel guide describes it as chicken, onion, garlic and a mild curry fragrance layered into a coconut milk broth, finished with crispy noodles, boiled egg, lime, chili and cilantro.

Ohn no khao swe on a Burmese table: white coconut noodle soup topped with crispy noodles and lime — Coconut broth, soft noodles and crispy noodles layered in a single bowl

It starts from a different place than noodle dishes built on fish broth, like mohinga. Where mohinga (in Japanese) draws out the freshness of lemongrass and the savoriness of fish, ohn no khao swe builds on the roundness of coconut and the richness of chicken. It may look a lot like Thai khao soi (in Japanese), but binding the broth with chickpea flour and blooming the aromatics in oil make it a different construction.

What this recipe protects isn't a longer ingredient list. Keeping the soup from boiling hard and holding on to the toasty note of the chickpea flour is what keeps it light enough to be a noodle dish.

The backbone of ohn no khao swe

Chicken brings savoriness, coconut milk brings round richness, chickpea flour brings light body and a toasted-bean note, and lime keeps the finish light. Rather than making the whole pot spicy, letting everyone add chili to their own bowl makes it easier to serve a family.

The name, and the table in Myanmar

Even in English alone, the name wobbles: Ohn No Khao Swe, Ohn-No Khao Swe, Ohn-Nou-Kao-Swe. Search for them and they almost look like different dishes, but at the heart of the name is a plain description: "coconut milk noodles." Rather than settling on one spelling, knowing several makes it easier to find Burmese recipes and ingredients.

Trace the name back and you find two centers beneath it: coconut milk and noodles. Burmese Cookbook also describes the dish as coconut milk noodles, so the name itself is the way into the flavor.

What makes this noodle dish interesting on a Burmese table is that the broth isn't the whole story. In the pot there's the silky richness of chicken and coconut; on top of the bowl go onion, cilantro, lime, chili, boiled egg and crispy noodles. Nobody fixes the order for you: you decide whether to add the sour first or save the crispy noodles for last.

Compare recipes from Myanmar and you'll see a range in how the chicken is cut, how much fish sauce goes in, which noodles are used, and whether crispy noodles or bean sprouts are added. That doesn't mean the dish is falling apart. It makes more sense to think of it as a dish whose final bowl changes depending on whether it's a home pot or a quick eatery pot, and whether someone at the table likes heat.

When you make it at home, the question isn't gathering every Burmese ingredient but deciding which differences you'll accept. If you can't find fresh egg noodles, Chinese-style egg noodles work. Without besan, rice flour will still thicken the broth. But switching to rice noodles makes it closer to mohinga's lightness, and switching to rice flour fades the toasted-bean note. Substitutes aren't for hiding mistakes; they're for knowing in advance which part of the flavor will shift.

Ohn no khao swe with small dishes of condiments on a wooden table, like a Burmese eatery — Crispy noodles, lime and chili set out separately so each person finishes their own bowl

If you can't find it under one name

Search not only for "ohn no khao swe" but also "Ohn Nou Khao Swe" and "Burmese coconut noodles." Chickpea flour is sold as besan, gram flour or chickpea flour. Whatever the brand calls it, a flour made only from chickpeas will do the same job.

Ingredients (serves 4)

The broth shouldn't be a thick sauce; aim for a consistency that clings thinly to the noodles when you lift them. For four people, it stays lighter if you use the chicken stock as the base rather than adding more coconut milk, then adjust with chickpea flour at the end.

Ingredients for ohn no khao swe: chicken thighs, egg noodles, coconut milk, chickpea flour, fish sauce, aromatics and lime — Prepare the ingredients that build the flavor separately from the garnishes added in the bowl

Don't substitute curry powder or potato starch for the chickpea flour. Curry powder makes the aroma too strong, and potato starch sets the broth into a clear gel. For your first bowl, the three things worth seeking out are besan, unsweetened coconut milk and fish sauce.

Allergies and spice

Egg noodles contain wheat and egg, and fish sauce contains fish. Chicken stock and Chinese-style noodles may contain soy, dairy or other allergens, so check the label before buying. If you want to keep the heat separate, leave the red pepper flakes out of the pot and divide the 1/2 tsp among the four bowls.

Coconut milk isn't there for liquid; it's what gives the soup the roundness that lingers on your tongue. For a first try, choose an unsweetened can meant for cooking, not a thin coconut milk beverage. Look for a can of around 400 ml whose ingredients list is unsweetened coconut milk. If someone at the table doesn't like coconut, you can use more chicken stock instead.

Fish sauce isn't just a salty liquid. Its fermented savoriness ties the sweetness of the chicken to the richness of the coconut, so switching to soy sauce softens the outline a little. If you'll use fish sauce for fresh spring rolls and stir-fries too, it's worth keeping a bottle; if you avoid seafood or don't want the smell in your fridge, light soy sauce and salt are enough.

Instructions

Rush the steps and the aromatics won't turn sweet, the coconut milk will separate, and the chickpea flour will clump. Mix the flour first and prepare the noodles and garnishes before you start the pot. Finish the boiled eggs and crispy noodles while the soup cooks.

Checking that the chicken is cooked

Make sure the thickest part of the chicken has reached 74°C (165°F). Without a thermometer, cut open the largest piece and check that the center has no pink and the juices run clear. If you taste the soup partway through, take out just one piece to check, and don't eat any chicken before it has been checked.

The key: don't let the white broth get heavy

Ohn no khao swe isn't a dish you get closer to by pouring in more coconut milk. When the coconut fat takes over, the heaviness stays even after you squeeze in lime, and the toastiness of the crispy noodles gets buried. First set the salt and savoriness with chicken stock, then use chickpea flour at the end so the broth can hold onto the noodles. That order keeps the broth white and keeps the bowl from being tiring to eat.

Watch the edge of the pot. After the coconut milk goes in, if only the center is bubbling hard, the heat is too high. Stop at a row of small bubbles at the edge, where moving the spatula lets you glimpse the bottom of the pot for a moment. After adding the chickpea flour, go only until the soup coats the back of a spoon thinly. A curry-like thickness that holds a peak will feel heavy once the noodles go in.

For the crispy noodles, watch the time rather than the amount. Even if they're a little soft just out of the oil, they firm up as they cool. Don't fry them dark to add toastiness; stop at pale golden and leave them able to soften slightly in the hot soup. Squeeze the lime into the bowl, not the pot. The acidity cuts the richness and makes the next bite lighter.

White coconut soup coating the back of a spoon in a thin layer — Don't make the soup as heavy as curry; stop when it coats the back of a spoon thinly

Fish sauce makes a big difference in how close you get to the real flavor. With fish sauce, the salt settles beneath the sweetness of the coconut and the chicken comes into focus. It's still good with light soy sauce, but you won't get the fermented fish aroma. It also works in fresh spring rolls, stir-fries and soups, so if you cook Southeast Asian food often, a bottle is handy to have.

Variations: decide on the noodle texture first

With Chinese-style egg noodles, the broth catches in the noodles' grooves. If you switch to dried noodles, don't overcook them, and rinse off the surface starch under running water after draining. You can switch to rice noodles, but the chickpea-flour body comes forward and the texture gets lighter. Unless you need to avoid wheat, Chinese-style egg noodles make it easier to get a feel for the dish the first time.

Egg noodles, rice noodles and Chinese-style noodles side by side to compare textures — When changing noodles, decide first whether you want to keep how the broth clings or how light it feels

If you use chicken breast, cut it into 2.5 cm cubes instead of 2 cm, and shorten the simmering time in the stock to 7 minutes. Take it out once it's cooked through and return it at the end so it doesn't dry out. For a mushroom version, use 200 g shimeji mushrooms and 200 g fried tofu (atsuage) in place of the 500 g chicken, and swap the chicken stock for kombu dashi. Keep in mind that if you leave in the fish sauce it won't be plant-based, so switch to light soy sauce and salt.

Adjust the heat by where you add it rather than which chili you use. Put 1/2 tsp in the pot and everyone gets the same heat. If you add it in the bowls, kids can have just lime while adults take a pinch of chili. Lemon in place of lime makes the aroma sharper, so start with half the amount of juice.

If you'd rather not shop for more, you can skip the crispy noodles. You lose one layer of texture, but the soup and noodles still stand on their own.

Bringing the dish's background into a home kitchen

Ohn no khao swe is less a dish where the whole pot tastes the same for everyone and more a noodle dish that comes together in the bowl. The Myanmar travel guide's description lists the finishing elements: crispy noodles, boiled egg, lime, chili, cilantro and onion. It isn't just egg noodles sunk in coconut broth; something dry, something sour and something spicy are layered on afterward. That construction is what turns a soft soup into a meal.

The chickpea flour stands out, too. It carries a little of the toastiness of baked bread into the broth and ties the coconut milk to the noodles. Even without piling on spices, the aroma builds in layers: toasted flour, onion, garlic and ginger.

At home, it's fine to go lighter on the fish sauce, use lemon instead of lime, or scallions instead of cilantro. What you shouldn't change: sautéing the aromatics in oil before adding the liquid, never boiling the coconut milk hard, and mixing the chickpea flour with water before adding it. Keeping track of what each ingredient does matters more to the shape of the bowl than never missing a single Burmese ingredient.

If you chop the aromatics by knife, you don't need any special tools for this amount. Leaving 2–3 mm bits of onion, garlic and ginger keeps the aroma from going flat.

Chopping onion, garlic and ginger with a small food processor and a knife — Don't chop the aromatics too fine; whether by knife or small food processor, leave 2–3 mm bits

To refrigerate, keep the noodles, soup, crispy noodles and garnishes separate. Cool the soup, transfer it to a shallow container, refrigerate, and plan to finish it by the next day. Noodles left in the soup absorb liquid, and by the next day the broth will be reduced and heavy. To serve, warm only the soup over low heat without boiling, and dip the noodles in hot water separately. Don't seal the crispy noodles while warm; once completely cool, put them in a dry container, and if they go soft, warm a small amount briefly in a toaster oven.

Frequently asked questions

A bowl of ohn no khao swe with chickpea flour and noodle substitutes in small dishes — Decide on substitutes and storage ahead of time so you don't lose direction halfway through

Q1. I can't find chickpea flour. Can I use rice flour?

Yes: mix 30 g of rice flour with 120 ml of water. The broth will turn white and thick enough to cling to the noodles, but the toasted-bean aroma will be weaker. Swapping in the same amount of potato starch alone tends to thicken suddenly, so choose rice flour first and add it a little at a time until just before you turn off the heat. Next time, look for besan or gram flour at an international grocery store or online to get closer to the dish's true flavor.

Q2. My coconut milk separated. Is it still safe to eat?

Yes, though it won't feel as smooth. Next time, lower the heat after adding the coconut milk and keep it to small bubbles at the edge. For this pot, turn off the heat and whisk in warm soup 2 tbsp at a time; it will look a little better. Adding more chickpea flour to hide the separation makes it heavy, so bring the temperature down first.

Q3. Can I skip the crispy noodles?

Yes. Crispy noodles add toastiness and a dry crunch; they aren't the foundation of the soup. You could leave them out the first time to get the broth consistency right, then fry just 80 g next time and compare. If you'd rather avoid deep-frying and disposing of oil, thinly slice an onion, pat it dry, and brown it in a little oil instead.

Q4. If I use soy sauce instead of fish sauce, does it become a different dish?

It doesn't stray far, but the fermented savoriness of fish sauce gets weaker. Season with 30 ml of light soy sauce and 2 g of salt, and squeeze in a little more lime at the end so the coconut doesn't feel heavy. If you have a fish or shellfish allergy, skip the fish sauce and also check the labels on the chicken stock and soy sauce.

Q5. How much can I make the day before?

You can prepare the soup, boiled eggs, red onion and cilantro the day before and keep them separate. Cook the noodles on the day, and fry the crispy noodles right before eating so they stay crisp. When reheating the soup, don't boil it hard, and make sure the chicken is heated through to the center.

Sources

Myanmar Tourism food guide, "Ohn-Nou-Kao-Swe" (dish components, ingredients and spelling; accessed 25 July 2026)
What To Cook Today, "Ohn No Kyaukswe" (amounts and method for chicken, fish sauce, coconut milk, chickpea flour and noodles; accessed 25 July 2026)
Burmese Cookbook, "Ohn No Khao Swe" (meaning of the name, ingredients and toppings; accessed 25 July 2026)
FoodSafety.gov, "Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures" (74°C internal temperature for poultry; accessed 25 July 2026)