Mohinga (Burmese fish soup)

Name: Mohinga (Burmese fish soup)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Cuisine: Asian, African
Ingredients: 1 tbsp gram (chickpea) flour; 2 tbsp ground rice or rice flour; 2 lemongrass stalks, trimmed and finely chopped; 2 whole dried red chillies, finely chopped, or 2 tsp chilli flakes; 1 large onion, finely chopped; 4 garlic cloves, crushed; 2.5cm piece fresh ginger, grated; 4 tbsp groundnut or vegetable oil; 1 tsp ground turmeric; 1 tsp ground paprika; 2 x 110g tins mackerel fillets in brine (undrained); 4 tbsp fish sauce, plus extra to serve; 8 small shallots, peeled; 400g rice vermicelli noodles; To serve…; 100g fresh coriander, chopped; 3 duck eggs or 6 hen’s eggs, hard-boiled and sliced or halved; 1 red onion, finely sliced; 3 limes, cut into wedges; Ready-made deep-fried crispy onions for sprinkling (check these are gluten free, if they need to be); Chilli flakes to taste; You’ll also need…; Large pestle and mortar or mini food processor

Instructions

Prep:30minCook:45min

For delicious. reader Thuzar Kyi, this Burmese fish soup is the dish that reminds her most of her mother. She says: ”When it comes to home-cooked comfort food, mohinga tops my list. It’s considered the national dish of Myanmar and every Burmese cook has a recipe for it passed down from their mother. In Burma, mohinga is traditionally made with catfish, which wasn’t easy to get in the UK in the 1980s. My mother’s alternative was tinned mackerel, and that’s how I prefer my mohinga.”

Updated at: Tue, 08 Jul 2025 00:55:35 GMT