Burmese Chicken-Coconut Soup (Ohn No Kyawswe)

½ onion, chopped

1 (1 inch) piece fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

¼ cup water

1 (16 ounce) package rice noodles

1 quart lukewarm water, or as needed to cover

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 cups chicken broth, divided

2 tablespoons chickpea flour

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 ½ onions, halved and thinly sliced

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

2 teaspoons paprika

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup coconut milk

1 lemon, cut into wedges

4 green onions, sliced on the bias, green and white parts

2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 dash fish sauce, or to taste

1 cup crispy fried rice noodles

1 pinch curry powder, or to taste

Place 1/2 chopped onion, ginger, garlic, and 1/4 cup water into a blender and puree until smooth. Soak rice noodles in a bowl of lukewarm water for about 30 minutes.

Season chicken thigh meat lightly with salt and black pepper in a bowl and set aside. In a separate small bowl, whisk 1 cup of chicken broth into the chickpea flour. Reserve remaining 2 cups chicken broth for a later step.

Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in chicken pieces and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned. Remove the chicken pieces with a slotted spoon and set aside. Reduce heat to medium and add 1 1/2 sliced onions to the pan. Cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking and stirring until the onion is very tender and dark brown, 15 to 20 minutes more. Stir in the turmeric, paprika, and cayenne pepper.

In a medium stockpot, combine cooked chicken and any juices that have accumulated, browned onions, onion and ginger puree, and remaining 2 cups of chicken broth. Carefully add chickpea flour and broth mixture, stirring quickly so that the flour doesn t clump.

Bring the pot to a boil; reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

Stir in the coconut milk and cook just until heated through. Divide the soaked rice noodles among 5 large soup bowls. Ladle the soup over the rice noodles in the bowls and garnish each bowl with lemon wedges, green onions, hard-cooked eggs, cilantro, fish sauce, fried noodles, and curry powder.