History

Burma Superstar opened on Clement Street in the Richmond District in 1992 and helped establish San Francisco as the largest centre of Burmese cuisine outside Burma. The Bay Area is home to one of the largest Burmese diasporas in the US, and the city's Burmese restaurants codified versions of ohn no khao swe and tea-leaf salad that travelled back into the broader American food press. Burma Superstar's queue runs nightly; its sibling Burma Love and several Burmese restaurants citywide carry the genre.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Egg, Fish, Sesame

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 35 minTotal 1 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 500g boneless chicken thigh, cut in 2cm pieces
  • 2 large onions, finely chopped
  • 5 garlic cloves, grated
  • 1 thumb ginger, grated
  • 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 1 teaspoon mild chilli powder
  • 3 tablespoons chickpea flour (besan)
  • 400ml coconut milk
  • 750ml chicken stock
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
  • 3 tablespoons neutral oil
  • 400g cooked egg noodles (Chinese wheat noodles)
  • To finish: 4 hard-boiled eggs (halved), 1 sliced red onion, 4 lime wedges, fried garlic chips, fried wonton or rice-noodle crackers, chilli oil, fresh cilantro, sliced spring onion

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a wide heavy pot. Cook the onion 8 minutes until soft and translucent.
  2. Add garlic, ginger, turmeric, paprika and chilli powder. Cook 2 minutes.
  3. Add the chicken thigh; stir until coated and lightly seared, 4 minutes.
  4. Whisk the chickpea flour into 200ml of the chicken stock; add to the pot along with the rest of the stock and the coconut milk.
  5. Bring to a simmer. Cook gently 25 to 30 minutes until the curry thickens and the chicken is tender.
  6. Stir in fish sauce and salt to taste. Keep warm.
  7. Divide hot egg noodles between 4 deep bowls. Ladle the coconut curry over.
  8. Top each bowl with half a hard-boiled egg, sliced red onion, fried garlic, crackers, a drizzle of chilli oil, cilantro and spring onion. Squeeze lime at the table.

Tip from the editors. The chickpea flour is the structural thickener; do not substitute cornflour or wheat. The slight nuttiness and grain of besan is what gives ohn no khao swe its body and faint sweetness.

Where to eat burmese coconut chicken (ohn no khao swe)

Burmese coconut chicken (ohn no khao swe) in San Francisco

Burma Superstar ★ 4.3

$$ BurmeseRichmond

Burma Superstar in San Francisco is the Clement Street Burmese room that taught the city to eat lahpet thoke; the tea leaf salad is the order.

OrderThe tea leaf salad, tossed table-side with crunchy lentils and fried garlic.

TipNo reservations; put your name in then walk down Clement to B Star for tea while you wait.

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