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Finished Result of Moti
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Burmese Fish Soup (Moti)

A peppery Asian-style white fish soup with leeks, beansprouts, and Thai chillies.
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Servings: 2 people
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Filets any white fish (Carp, Seabass, etc..) boneless preferred; frozen also works
  • 3 cloves garlic finely diced
  • 2 shallots large diced
  • 4 Thai chillies sliced thinly
  • 2 leeks cut in medium sized chunks
  • 150 g beansprouts
  • 1 ½ tbsp neutral oil
  • 1 to 1 ½ litre water
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp coarse chilli powder divided
  • 1 tsp salt divided
  • 1 tsp Msg./chicken powder
  • 2 tsp white/black pepper divided; adjust to taste

Method
 

  1. Pat fish dry; season both sides with salt, pepper, and coarse chilli powder. Set aside; cut leeks into medium chunks.
  2. Prep garlic, shallots, and Thai chillies as listed; set aside in separate bowls.
  3. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; add oil when hot. Cook fish about 2 minutes, flip, and cook another 2 minutes.
  4. Remove half-cooked fish; set aside. Cook garlic and chillies in same pan about 10-15 seconds, then add shallots. Cook another 4-5 minutes, stirring well.
  5. Add all seasonings, using fish sauce to deglaze pan. Stir in half-cooked fish.
  6. Gently break fish into smaller chunks. Add 1 to 1½ litres water; simmer, then add leeks.
  7. Cook another 3 minutes. Add beansprouts; wait another 40-50 seconds for a boil, then serve alone or over rice noodles.

Notes

Practical Tips: Pick a boneless white fish in order to save time for prep. Frozen fish also works. There is a lot of pepper which goes into this soup but the traditional version uses more. However, you are free to adjust as you want since it can become quite spicy. Do not over scramble the fish since it will separate into smaller chunks when the water gets added. You can add whole chillies at the end if you can drink a spicier soup but it is not generally recommended.
Total time: about 40 mins.