Kya Zan Hinga (Glass Noodle Soup)

Name: Kya Zan Hinga (Glass Noodle Soup)
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Burmese
Ingredients: 500 g Chicken thighs, bone-in; 1.8 L Water; 100 g Glass noodles (mung bean vermicelli); 10 g Dried wood ear mushroom; 15 g Dried lily buds; 30 g Dried bean curd skin; 150 g Shrimp, peeled; 5 Garlic cloves, crushed; 1 Onion, quartered; 2 tbsp Fish sauce; 1 tsp White pepper, ground; 1 tsp Salt; 8 Quail eggs, boiled and peeled; 2 Shallots, thinly sliced; 15 g Coriander, chopped; 1 tsp Chilli powder; 1 Lime, in wedges

'Lotus thread soup' — glass noodles in a clear chicken broth with wood ear mushroom, lily buds, bean curd skin and shrimp. The soup at every Burmese ceremony, and the one home cooks make when someone is unwell.

Source

Recipe by Burmese home kitchens · 🏺 Traditional · Cooking built on three things — a pot of oil-slicked onion and garlic base, fermented fish or shrimp for depth, and a table where everything arrives at once and is shared.

Myanmar · 'lotus thread' glass noodle soup — An ownerless traditional dish, so no cook is credited. The cited article confirms kya zan hinga as glass noodles in chicken consommé with mushrooms, bean curd skin, dried daylily buds, shrimp, garlic and pepper, garnished with coriander, shallots, fish sauce, chilli powder and lime. The knotted lily buds, the no-hard-boil rule, the three-minute noodle timing and the quantities are this book's own.

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Watch it being made · 3 videos

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⏱ 60 min🍽 4 servings🔥 310 kcal🇲🇲 Myanmar🌶️

HalalDairy-freeGluten-free

Steps

Put the chicken, onion, garlic and water in a pot. Bring to a boil, skim, then simmer gently 35 minutes until the chicken is tender.
💡 Skim, then never let it boil hard again. The whole point is a clear broth — a rolling boil turns it cloudy in a minute.
Meanwhile soak the wood ear, lily buds, bean curd skin and glass noodles in separate bowls of warm water. Knot the lily buds. Tear the wood ear and bean curd skin into bite-sized pieces.
Lift out the chicken, pull the meat off the bones in shreds, and return the meat to the pot. Discard the onion.
Add the wood ear, lily buds and bean curd skin. Season with fish sauce, salt and white pepper and simmer 10 minutes.
Add the drained glass noodles and the shrimp. Cook 3 minutes only — the noodles turn clear and the shrimp pink.
💡 Three minutes. Glass noodles overcooked go soft and gluey and keep swelling in the bowl.
Add the quail eggs to warm through. Ladle into bowls and top with shallots, coriander and a pinch of chilli powder. Lime on the side.

💡 Tips

Fish balls, sliced, are a common addition — drop them in with the shrimp.
It reheats badly because the noodles keep drinking. If cooking ahead, stop before step 5 and add noodles and shrimp when you reheat.