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Jocelyn Law-Yone

Mohinga
S32E9 Burmese · 2023
Thamee restaurant in Washington, DC is now closed (2025)
@chefjocelynlawyone

Mohinga is the Burmese national breakfast — a fish noodle soup built on lemongrass, chickpea flour, banana stem, and a long-simmered catfish stock that thickens itself as it cooks. It is the dish that, more than any other on Beat Bobby Flay, asks the question: has the cook eaten this in someone's home, or only read about it in a cookbook?

Jocelyn Law-Yone ran Thamee in Washington, DC — the country's most ambitious Burmese restaurant, which closed in 2025. Her mohinga was built on a stock that had been going since the morning, thickened with toasted chickpea flour the way her grandmother did it. Bobby's, per the broadcast, was "missing the funk." The funk is the fish sauce and the fermented shrimp paste. There is no faking it.

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Mohinga

25 min Prep
50 min Cook
4 Serves
  • 1 lb catfish fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/3 cup chickpea (besan) flour, toasted in a dry pan until fragrant (this is the broth's thickener)
  • 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised and tied in a knot
  • 1/2 cup banana stem or banana blossom, sliced (optional — substitute hearts of palm)
  • 2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp shrimp paste
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 medium onion, finely diced
  • 4 cups fish or chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp tamarind paste
  • 1 lb fresh rice noodles
  • 4 hard-boiled eggs, halved
  • 2 stalks green onion, sliced
  • 2 tbsp crispy fried onions
  • Fresh cilantro for garnish
  1. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add catfish pieces and sear 3-4 minutes per side until golden, then remove and set aside.
  2. In the same pot, add remaining 1 tbsp oil, then add diced onion and cook 4 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and ginger, cook 2 minutes until fragrant.
  3. Stir in shrimp paste and cook 1 minute, breaking it into the oil. Add paprika and cayenne, stirring constantly for 30 seconds to bloom the spices.
  4. Pour in fish stock and bring to a boil. Return catfish to pot, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes. Add tamarind paste and fish sauce, stirring to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning—broth should be balanced between salty, slightly sour, and subtly spicy.
  5. Whisk the toasted chickpea flour with 1/2 cup of the warm broth until smooth, then stir back into the pot. Simmer 5 more minutes — the broth will thicken and turn slightly glossy. This is mohinga's signature texture.
  6. While broth simmers, bring a separate pot of salted water to a boil. Add rice noodles and cook according to package directions (typically 3-4 minutes for fresh noodles), then drain and rinse.
  7. Divide hot rice noodles among four bowls. Ladle catfish broth and fish pieces over noodles, ensuring each bowl gets generous broth.
  8. Top each bowl with 2 hard-boiled egg halves, sliced green onion, crispy fried onions, and fresh cilantro. Serve immediately with lime wedges and extra fish sauce on the side for individual seasoning.
Inspired by Jocelyn Law-Yone’s winning mohinga. This is a plausible recreation, not the chef’s original recipe.
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