My vegan Burmese Khao Swe is a fresh, healthy take on a time-honored favorite. Traditionally this dish is made using wheat noodles, chicken, and hard-boiled eggs.
Khao Swe is a dish that was influenced by Chinese traders in the 19th and 20th centuries. Many of these traders were Hui people, a Muslim group who originated in Yunnan, China. They left China due to the Panthay Rebellion (1856-1873), during which time Muslims faced discrimination. Many of these people ended up moving to Burma, which is now Myanmar, and eventually making their way into Northern Thailand.
In Burma, the Hui people acquired coconut milk-based noodle soup and spices which became the inspiration for Khao Swe. I love how multiple cultures blend together to bring us some of our favorite dishes from around the world. There is so much beauty in the unification around cuisine. This is the way the world should be – people of all cultures coming together, sharing ideas, inspiring each other to create.
There are many variants of Khao Swe as chefs around the world have tailored it to suit their local preferences. In my vegan Burmese khao swe, I have done just that…tailored this dish to make it Medical Medium® friendly. I found a way to capture all of the flavor while eliminating the harmful ingredients.
The best part is, this delicious vegan Burmese khao swe has transformed into a healing meal loaded with powerful ingredients. Each spoonful of soup you eat is bursting with flavors from incredible healing ingredients!
Onions
Onions contain sulfur compounds that strengthen the immune system, brain, and nervous system. These compounds also help to detoxify heavy metals from the body such as mercury, cadmium, and lead.
Furthermore, onions are the highest food source of quercetin, a potent antioxidant that can help prevent blood clots, asthma, sinus infections, bronchitis, atherosclerosis, and diabetes.
Chicken Of the Woods Mushrooms
Chicken of the woods mushrooms are truly an incredible chicken replacement – the perfect substitute for meat as they taste just like chicken. Furthermore, mushrooms have incredible immune boosting properties. This substitution is definitely a winning ingredient.
Garlic
The addition of garlic, onions, and cilantro to the avocado makes this dish an incredible powerhouse against pathogens. Not to mention, garlic contains impressive antibiotic, anti-fungal, anti-cancer, and anti-viral properties.
“One raw crushed clove of garlic contains the antibiotic equivalent of 100,000 units of penicillin and has been proven to be more effective than both penicillin and tetracycline in suppressing certain types of disease-carrying agents.”
Anthony William, Life-Changing Foods
Coconut
Coconuts are a life-changing food. Medical Medium states in his book, Life-Changing Foods, that “coconuts enhance the power of anything they touch,” which means, when combined with healing foods, coconut supercharges those benefits. Coconut water is very similar to human blood. Coconuts help with insomnia by providing the right blend of mineral salts for neurotransmitter production in our brains. “Coconut meat is highly antipathogenic,” and “when coconut drops from the stomach into the intestinal tract, it kills off any pathogen it touches.”
Turmeric
Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiseptic, and anti-depressant. The primary component in turmeric is curcumin. Curcumin has incredible anti-cancer properties and has been shown to help prevent and inhibit prostate, skin, colon, mouth, esophageal, lung, stomach, pancreatic, liver, and breast cancer.
Turmeric is a powerful healing tool. It has been known to help purify blood, soothe respiratory conditions, improve liver function, support the circulatory system, regulate menstrual cycles, prevent cognitive diseases such as dimentia and Alzheimer’s, and heal gastrointestinal disorders.
As a powerful anti-inflammatory, turmeric has been shown to help significantly reduce the inflammation associated with arthritis and other auto-immune diseases such as lupus, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Additionally, turmeric is wonderful for digestion and help the body to digest fats/proteins while also helping to regulate blood sugar.
One of the most well-known properties of turmeric is it’s anti-aging effects. Due to the significant amount of antioxidants, turmeric has a fountain-of-youth quality – very beneficial to the skin.
Hot Pepper
Hot Peppers are very healing to the body. They are generally high in vitamin C and they help a lot with colds, flus, and bronchitis. They also boost circulation (ever see someone get red in their face after eating a hot pepper?) and helps with the heart as well. Hot peppers can help to create hydrochloric acid in the stomach and can stimulate peristaltic motion of the gut – think, have you ever needed to ‘go’ after eating hot peppers?
Cashews
Cashews are great for lowering blood pressure, supporting heart health, preventing gallstones, reducing migraines, providing energy boosts, strengthening bones, and promoting healthy skin and hair. Cashews have a lower fat content than most other nuts. They also support the nervous system. So bringing in this recipe in the form of cashew cheese is not only just dairy free but also provides numerous health benefits! If you are remaining low-fat or fat-free, I would definitely go easy on this sauce because it is easy to overdo! This is especially applicable to those who are working on healing their livers!
Shopping List
3 bags ramen noodles (BGO FOODS brand)
2 – 3 cups caramelized onions
2 tbsp garlic Sauce
2 cups coconut milk
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1/2 tsp Turmeric
2 – 3 Whole dried red chilis (optional)
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup roasted Cashews
1 cup, bean sprouts
2 cups chicken of the woods mushroom or use shiitakes if you cannot source chicken of the woods.
Sea salt, optional
1 lemon
1/4 cup green onions
1/4 cup mint
1/4 cup cilantro
This vegan Burmese khao swe is simple to prepare and makes a wonderful meal the whole family will enjoy.
Vegan Burmese Khao Swe
Ingredients
- 3 bags ramen noodles (BGO FOODS brand)
- 2-3 cups caramelized onions
- 3 Tbsp garlic Sauce
- 2 cups coconut milk
- ¼ cup chickpea flour
- ½ tsp Turmeric
- 2-3 Whole dried red chilis (optional)
- 1 ½ cups filtered water
- ½ cup roasted Cashews
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 2 cups chicken of the woods mushroom or use shiitakes if cannot source chicken of the woods.
- Sea salt, optional
To Serve
- 1 lime, juiced
- ¼ cup green onions, chopped
- ¼ cup mint, chopped
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- 4-6 lime wedges
Instructions
- Caramelize onions per my recipe here. While doing this, also add in 2 tbsp of garlic Sauce. You can prep this ahead of time.
- Boil water to cook the noodles.
- Sauté mushrooms in water, 1 tbsp garlic sauce and salt.
- While water is boiling, place the coconut milk, water, chickpea flour, caramelized onions, garlic sauce and turmeric, chilies, sea salt (if using), on the stove on medium heat. Stir rapidly. Once done, take off the heat.
- Once the boiling water is ready, drop the noodles in and follow the instructions for cooking.
- Check on your sauce - it should not be too thick. If it is not thick enough, add a little more chickpea flour. If it is too thin, cook it down for a couple of minutes, stirring the whole time to avoid sticking to the base of the pan.Once the sauce is the right consistency, add in the sautéed mushrooms.
- Add in the roasted cashews, and bean sprouts - stir.
- Once the noodles are ready, mix them into the sauce.
- Top with lime, mint, green onion and serve! It looks beautiful served with lime wedges!
For more incredible, mouth-watering recipes your whole family will love, check out my Flourish Kids Recipe Book. Included in this book are:
- Drinks: 7 Recipes
- Smoothies and Breakfast: 20 Recipes
- Snacks, Sides and Appetizers: 11 Recipes
- Soups and Salads 5 Recipes
- Desserts: 12 Recipes
- Dinners/Entrees/Quick Meals: 16 Recipes
Please leave me a comment below, letting me know if you make vegan Burmese khao swe or any of the recipes from the Flourish Kids Recipe Book. I would love to know how it turns out – your feedback is always appreciated.
To your health & happiness,
Muneeza
