This dish is brought to you by the Rohingya Women’s Development Network in Malaysia, founded in 2017 by a precocious young lady named Sharifah Shakirah, a refugee from Myanmar. The Rakhine Moondi is one of the ten recipes compiled in a book, along with stories of the Rohingya women. You may purchase the book or ebook at
https://www.rohingyawomen.org/


Ingredients A
500g / 1 lb dry rice vermicelli noodles.

Ingredients B
1. 3 small catfish or the equivalent of other fish of choice; can be substituted with 500g / 1 lb fish fillets.
2. 20-25 small fresh or dried chilies.
3. 1 tsp salt.
4. A small handful of black peppercorns.
5. 4 stalks lemongrass or substitute with juice and zest from 2-3 lemons/lime.
6. 10cm / 4 inches fresh galangal, peeled or substitute with the same amount of ginger; or 4 tbsp ginger paste; or 1 tbsp ground dried ginger - a muted flavor.
7. 3 tbsp tamarind paste or substitute with 2 tbsp lime juice + 1 tbsp brown sugar.
8. 1 garlic head (a whole bulb), peeled and minced/smashed or 3 tbsp minced garlic paste.
9. 500g / 16oz packet of fish balls, chopped in quarters (found in Asian stores).
10. 500g / 16oz packet of fried fish sticks, s or any processed fish sticks, chopped into small pieces.

Ingredients C
1. 10 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed or 1 ½ tbsp minced garlic paste
2. 2-3cm / 1 inch fresh turmeric, roughly chopped or 1 tsp turmeric powder.
3. ½ cup oil.
4. A generous handful of fresh cilantro (leaves and stems), washed and roughly chopped.
5. 2 lemons/limes, cut into wedges.

How to make
Ingredients A
Bring a medium-large saucepan of water to a boil; add noodles and continue cooking until al dente. Drain and immediately cover with cold water for five minutes. Set aside.

Ingredients B
1. In a medium saucepan, cover fish with water and bring to a boil; simmer until it is tender enough to remove the bones. Strain, reserving the broth.
2. Once the fish is slightly cool, remove bones and return the boneless fish to a saucepan with reserved broth.
3. Cover it with 4 cups of water and ingredients B.
4. Bring soup to a boil; simmer until cooked for 5-10 minutes.

Ingredients C
1. Blend chilies (if using dried chilies, cover with water and bring to a boil; drain) with a little water until it turns juicy; strain. Set aside.
2. Fry garlic and chopped turmeric until fragrant. Blend and set aside.
To serve, place noodles in bowls, garnish it with ingredients C and ladle over with hot soup.