Khauk Swe Thoke

Ingredients

Noodles

• 400 gfresh wheat noodles, or 250 g dried

Chickpea flour

• 60 ggram flour, for toasting

Dried shrimp

• 60 gdried shrimp

Fried garlic oil

• 150 mloil
• 1 headof garlic, thinly sliced

Dressing

• 4 tbspfish sauce
• juice of 3 limes
• 2 tbsptamarind paste
• 1 tspcaster sugar
• 1 tspchilli flakes, to taste
• 1/2 tspturmeric

To add

• 1onion, very finely sliced
• 150 gshredded cabbage
• 150 gbean sprouts, blanched
• 3spring onions, sliced
• a handful of coriander, chopped

At the table

• extra lime wedges
• extra chilli flakes
• a bowl of clear broth

Directions

1. Heat a dry pan over a medium heat with no oil in it. Add the gram flour and stir it constantly. Toast it for about six minutes until it turns a shade darker and smells nutty. It burns very easily, so do not stop stirring. Tip it onto a cold plate immediately to stop the cooking. Let it cool completely before using.
2. Soak the dried shrimp in warm water for ten minutes. Drain them and squeeze them dry. Pound them in a mortar until they break into a fluffy floss. Toast the floss in a dry pan for three minutes until it smells strong. Slice the garlic as thinly as you possibly can.
3. Put it in a small pan with the cold oil. Starting in cold oil is what stops it burning. Heat it gently over a low flame. Stir occasionally as the garlic slowly turns pale gold. Take it off the heat while it is still light gold. It keeps cooking in the hot oil and darkens after you remove it.
4. Strain the garlic out and keep both the crisp garlic and the oil. Now the noodles, which must be cooled properly. Boil the noodles in plenty of water until just tender. Fresh noodles take about two minutes and dried about five.
5. Drain them and rinse them thoroughly under cold running water. Rinsing stops the cooking and washes off surface starch. Drain them very well, since water in the bowl dilutes the dressing. Toss them with a tablespoon of the garlic oil so they do not stick.
6. Spread them on a tray and let them cool completely. Slice the onion as finely as you can manage. Rinse it in cold water and squeeze it dry to take out the harshness. Shred the cabbage very finely. Blanch the bean sprouts for twenty seconds and refresh them in cold water. Drain everything very thoroughly. Whisk the fish sauce, lime juice, tamarind, sugar and turmeric together.
7. Taste it: it should be sharply sour and salty. Now mixing, which is done by hand and just before serving. Put the cold noodles in a very large bowl. Add the cabbage, onion, sprouts and spring onions. Sprinkle the toasted gram flour over everything. Add the shrimp floss and the chilli flakes. Pour over the dressing and the garlic oil.
8. Mix it with your hands, lifting and turning rather than stirring. Keep mixing for a full minute so everything is evenly coated. The gram flour should have thickened the dressing into a light coating. Taste it and add more lime if it is flat. Add more fish sauce if it needs salt. Add more chilli if it needs heat.
9. Adjust it until it tastes sharp, savoury and hot together. Now serving, which is done immediately. Turn it onto plates and scatter the crisp fried garlic over. Add coriander and a lime wedge to each plate. Serve a small bowl of clear broth alongside, as the stalls do. Eat it straight away, since it goes soggy within twenty minutes.

Technique

• Start the garlic in cold oil and pull it out while still pale gold, since it darkens off the heat.
• Toast the gram flour carefully, as it burns within seconds.
• Mix by hand and taste as you go, adjusting lime, fish sauce and chilli.

Substitutions

• Any thin wheat noodle in place of fresh Burmese ones.
• Lime juice alone if tamarind is unavailable.

Variations

• Nan gyi thoke, made with thick round rice noodles.
• With shredded chicken added.
• Vegetarian, with the dried shrimp left out and more gram flour.

History

One of the many Burmese thoke salads, mixed by hand at a stall to the customer’s chosen sourness.

Frequently asked questions

What is Khauk Swe Thoke?

Khauk Swe Thoke is a salad & side from Myanmar: wheat noodles tossed cold with dried shrimp, chickpea flour, lime and oil. One of the many Burmese thoke salads, mixed by hand at a stall to the customer’s chosen sourness.

How long does Khauk Swe Thoke take to make?

Khauk Swe Thoke takes 30 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Khauk Swe Thoke?

Yes, within limits. Any thin wheat noodle in place of fresh Burmese ones. Lime juice alone if tamarind is unavailable.

What is the most important thing to get right in Khauk Swe Thoke?

Heat a dry pan over a medium heat with no oil in it. Add the gram flour and stir it constantly. Toast it for about six minutes until it turns a shade darker and smells nutty. It burns very easily, so do not stop stirring. Tip it onto a cold plate immediately to stop the cooking. Let it cool completely before using.