Burmese

Rakhine Mohinga

“Rakhine-state spicier seafood mohinga — clear broth heavy on shrimp paste, red chili, and lemongrass, served over thin rice noodles with crisp gourd fritters.”

Medium2 hours

Where it comes from

Rakhine mohinga is the Bay of Bengal coast's distinct take on Myanmar's national dish — distinguished from Bamar mohinga by being clearer (no chickpea-flour thickener), much spicier (5× the chili), heavier on shrimp paste (ngapi) over fish paste, and using seafood-based broth instead of fish-only. The dish reflects 1,400 years of Rakhine-Bengali trade — bringing Indian/Bangladeshi chili intensity to Burmese seafood. Sold at every Sittwe market and increasingly imported into Yangon's Rakhine-immigrant neighborhoods.

On the plate

Slurp a spoonful of Rakhine mohinga: the broth is clear, fiercely chili-hot, shrimp-paste-deep, with lemongrass perfume. Pieces of fish and shrimp float; the rice vermicelli has caught the broth. Bite a gourd fritter on the side — its bitter sweetness cuts through the heat. This is mohinga with Bay of Bengal teeth.

How it works

Clear broth (no chickpea-flour body) puts the Rakhine flavor profile front-and-center: every chili-cumin-lemongrass molecule is unobstructed. Frying the spice paste until 'oil separation' (about 5 min) extracts maximum aromatic compounds; without this step, the broth tastes raw. Bitter gourd's cucurbitacin compounds counter the heat in a way sweet vegetables can't.

Variations

Sittwe coastal version uses fresh river fish (catfish); Kyaukphyu version uses dried fish for stronger smoke; Yangon-diaspora restaurants often skip the gourd fritters; family Sunday version adds duck eggs.

On the Palate

How it's made

5 steps · Show ↓

40 min active · 80 min waiting

1
45 min
Make broth: in a heavy pot, simmer 500g whole fish (catfish or snakehead) + 200g shrimp shells + 1 stalk lemongrass (bruised) + 1 thumb sliced ginger + 1L water + 1 tsp salt for 40 min. Strain; reserve broth and pick fish meat off bones.
2
12 min
Make spice paste: in a mortar, pound 4 shallots, 6 garlic cloves, 4 red chilies (Thai bird's-eye, with seeds), 1 thumb fresh turmeric, 1 stalk lemongrass (white part only), 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp ground roasted dried shrimp to a rough paste.
3
8 min
In a wide pan, heat 4 tbsp oil. Fry the spice paste 5 min until oil separates and paste darkens. Add 2 tbsp Rakhine-style fermented shrimp paste (ngapi seinsa); stir 2 min.
4
13 min
Add strained broth + flaked fish meat + 200g peeled shrimp + 1 tbsp fish sauce + 1 sliced ripe tomato. Simmer 8 min until shrimp pink and tomato breaks down. Adjust salt; should taste fiery-shrimpy with lemongrass-cumin perfume.
5
42 min
Cook 400g thin rice vermicelli per package; drain. Make gourd fritters: dip 8 slices of bitter gourd in chickpea-flour batter (100g flour + 150ml water + 1 tsp salt + 1 tsp turmeric), deep-fry until golden. Assemble: noodles in bowl, ladle broth and shrimp over, top with fritters, chopped cilantro, sliced fresh chili, lime wedge.

What you'll need

Wokspecialty

A carbon-steel hemispherical pan, 30-40 cm across, with a rounded bottom and high sloping walls. The bottom takes ferocious direct heat — a properly seasoned wok over a roaring gas flame holds 250-300°C, hot enough to deliver wok hei, the breath-of-the-wok smoky char prized in Cantonese stir-fry. The sloped walls give cooler zones for batch-cooking, and the rounded bottom lets a single tossing motion distribute oil and food evenly.

Simmering