We first met Alex Saw and Nick Sherbo, the duo behind Rangoon Bistro, at the King Farmers Market this past season, where they blew our minds weekly with a wide range of foods from Myanmar, where Alex grew up. Both are incredibly talented chefs––Alex has worked in restaurants all over Southeast Asia and Europe, while Nick has been a chef and kitchen manager at some of Portland’s most popular and renowned spots.
They met when Nick hired Alex at Bollywood Theatre. “When Alex came in, it had been impossible to find quality, reliable, experienced cooks,” Nick recalls. Nick asked Alex to dice some mangos, and immediately, he could tell, “this guy has been doing this for a long time. He moved with purpose. I didn’t know anything about the amount of experience he had” — working in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bali and beyond helping open high-end Italian restaurants. “We liked working together,” Alex recalls. When Alex told Nick his dream to open his own restaurant, Nick said, “just let me know and I’ll come work for you.”
Together Alex and Nick create seasonal, vegetable-driven food with a style that is at once playful and deeply focused, sharing the food of Myanmar with Portlanders at their King farmers market booth and regular pop-ups. Alex leans into his sense memories from childhood as they’re testing recipes. But they don’t have a “it-has-to-be-this-way-or-it’s-not-authentic” attitude, Nick says. Burmese food has so many echoes with Indian and Chinese food as well as its Southeast Asian neighbors, Alex tells me. In fact, when we visited Nick’s home, Alex and Nick cooked a predecessor to Thai Khao Soi for us. They made a quick but full chicken and coconut broth flavored with turmeric and black pepper and thickened with chickpea flour. The result melts on your tongue and coats our noodles beautifully. The fresh, crisp toppings add a layer of engagement and brightness to the bowl.
“This is my dream,” Alex says, of starting Rangoon Bistro. And it turns out, it’s our dream too!
Recipe by Alex Saw and Nick Sherbo | 4 servings
1/4 cup neutral oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 teaspoon paprika
4 boneless chicken thighs, cut into small pieces
6 small shallots, peeled
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 cup chickpea flour
1.5 quarts (6 cups) water
2 cups coconut milk
1 package (12 oz) Umi Organic ramen noodles
To serve
1 sliced shallot, soaked in cold water
2 eggs, boiled for 6 minutes and then chilled in ice water
Crispy fried noodle
Lime
Chili oil (we like Hot Mama)
Cilantro
Fried tofu
Directions
Start heating a large pot of water.
Heat an enamel pot or large pan over medium heat. Add oil. Once warm, add onions and sweat them until they are translucent. Add the chopped garlic. In a small bowl coat you chicken with the turmeric, paprika, and fish sauce. Let marinate while the onions and garlic slowly cook and become sweet. Add your chicken and the whole shallots to the pot. In another bowl, whisk 2 cups water with your chickpea flour making sure there are no lumps. Add the rest of the water to the pot and bring to a simmer. Once your chicken is almost cooked through, add the chickpea mixture. The chickpea mixture will thicken the soup. Now add the coconut milk and continue to simmer until the flavors have married nicely.
Once the water is at a rolling boil, tease apart the noodles and drop into the boiling water. Start a timer for 2 minutes. Stir to loosen the noodles. When the timer rings, drain the noodles in the colander and rinse briefly under cold running water. Shake out the water thoroughly.
Divide the noodles into 4 bowls. Ladle the soup over the noodles and top with any or all of the garnishes. Enjoy!
Photos by Shawn Linehan.
