Burmese Chicken Khow Suey

If you're making your own coconut milk : add 1 cup of freshly grated coconut to 3 cups of water and let it sit for 10 minutes. Blend together and then strain. This is your first extract. Remove the strained coconut, add 1 more cup of water, and repeat once more. Mix the two extracts together, measure out 250 ml, and set aside.

In a small pan, dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and dried red chillies for about a minute to intensify its flavours. Add these to a blender with garlic, ginger and a dash of water and blend to a smooth paste.

In another wok/pot, heat the oil and saute the onions until they soften and get a little colour. Add the aromatic paste mixture* and saute for 2-3 minutes. Put in the tomatoes and stir together for a further 5 minutes until the tomatoes become pulpy and darken slightly.

Add the chicken, boiled vegetables, salt, gram flour, and coconut milk along with 3 cups of water to the pot; bring to a boil, and let it simmer for 8-10 minutes to let the flavours emulsify (Note: add more water if it thickens up too much - you're looking for a consistency that's a little thicker than soup)

To serve, add noodles to a bowl and top with a generous ladleful of soup. Garnish with the toppings and a good squeeze of lime and serve hot.