Dungan noodles are a variety of lagman. Therefore, our article will delight all lovers of Central Asian cuisine. But lagman was born in China. And since the Celestial Empire has a huge territory, there is nothing surprising in the fact that, depending on the region, the main recipe has been modified. Dungan is a nation that in the modern world is divided by state cordons. About ten million people of the ethnic group live in the People's Republic of China. The rest became citizens of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. But, despite the borders dividing the Dungans, they preserve unified cultural traditions, including culinary ones. In this article we will give a recipe for their variation of the lagman. This dish, regardless of whether it is a Chinese tradition, Uzbek or Kyrgyz, consists of two main components: noodles, which must certainly be cooked by hand, and waji - everything else.
Some features of the Dungan lagman
At first glance, the dish is a mixture of the first and second. Lagman can be described as a very thick soup. Vaja and noodles are prepared separately for him. These two components are found only in a portioned plate, or rather, in the tops - deep bowls, where the lagman is laid in layers. First, put the vaja, then the noodles, then place the gravy and sprinkle with fresh herbs - cilantro and dill. Now a few words about the main difference between the Dungan lagman. Vermicelli is special in this dish. Dungan noodles are prepared by stretching the dough. Not only factory pasta (even Italian tagliatelle of the highest quality) will completely change the right taste - the usual chopped or rolled homemade noodles will also only imitate the lagman outwardly. Therefore, we will devote an article to only one question. Namely, the recipe for making these drawn pasta. But we will also pay attention to waj.
How to cook Dungan noodles at home
For the Asian lagman some exotic products are required: jusai (a plant similar to a green onion with a distinct garlic taste and smell), teho (a set of spices), daikon radish, fat tail fat, cottonseed oil for gravy. All these components can, in principle, be replaced by more familiar products. But Dungan noodles at home are cooked simply and without any Asian ingredients. To knead the dough, we need only a kilogram of white wheat flour, two eggs, half a teaspoon of salt and soda. And it's all. Dungans living in the south of Kazakhstan do not use eggs, but add water to the dough. Here we give a recipe popular in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
The basis for the test
Sift the flour into a deep bowl. Leave it a little to sprinkle the table while rolling. Add eggs and a glass of water. Stir and let stand for an hour, covering with a damp cloth. While our Dungan noodles are being cooked in such an energy-efficient way , the lagman recipe offers us to do vajas. Cut the lamb and fat tail fat into slices. All vegetables are chopped separately. If we use cottonseed oil, it must be calcined. Pour it into the cauldron and wait for the haze to appear. Throw the whole peeled onion into boiling oil. When she picks up the bitterness, we take it out and throw it away. We fry fat. We fish out on a plate, sprinkle with salt. Now you can load the meat in oil. Fry until golden brown. Then reduce the heat to a minimum and leave the contents of the cauldron languishing under the lid.
Knead the dough
While the meat is stewed in this way, we continue to describe how to cook Dungan noodles. Pour a glass of warm water. Dissolve in half a teaspoon of salt and soda. After resting for an hour, we knead the base for the dough and moisten it with prepared water. This is done so that it becomes viscous and viscous. Kazakh housewives recommend leaving the bun under the napkin for another ten minutes. During this time, add onion, garlic, soy sauce and salt to the meat. Knead the rest of the dough again and divide it into pieces so that they are rolled into balls weighing thirty grams each (the size of a large walnut). From each ball with our fingers we form sausages, stretching them until they become a pencil thick. Lubricate the surface with vegetable oil so that the noodles do not stick together. Leave it for another twenty minutes. During this time, we will take up the vajas. Add carrot, bell pepper, celery, radish to the meat. Mix. Fry cabbage. At the end we add potatoes and tomatoes to the cauldron.
Dungan noodles: cooking
The most crucial moment is coming. We have a dough. It is very flexible and looks like chewing gum. We take one flagellum with both hands at both ends. Shake so that the middle of the stick hit the table. Now connect the ends. We take them with one hand, and the middle of the noodles with the other. Shake again with a long tourniquet. So we pull out each tourniquet. Do not forget that we have on a fire cauldrons with vajas. We add water there so that vegetables and meat are not fried, but stewed. But there should be a little fluid. Water should only half cover meat with vegetables. Let's do the test again. We need to ensure that each pasta reaches a length of at least one meter. Leave it to air on the table.
Cooking pasta
Dungan noodles should be long and thin. As we recall, she meets with the second component of the lagman - the wajas - only on a plate. It is boiled separately. We put a pot of water on the fire. When it boils, add salt. We put in the pan Dungan noodles. The dough for her has the disadvantage that it can quickly boil. Therefore, one must be careful. Stir with a wooden spoon and wait until the dough pops up. After this moment, cook another three to four minutes. Throw the contents of the pan into a colander. To completely stop the heat treatment process with the remaining, internal heat, sprinkle the noodles with cold water. And so that it does not stick together in a colander in one lump, we season it with vegetable oil. Do not forget to mix.
Serve lagman
We bring to mind the vaju. We try, put bay leaf, spices, add salt if necessary. We should get a very thick soup or, if you want, meat with vegetables under a large amount of sauce. Dungan noodles should be warm before serving. It can be heated in the microwave or in the oven. Scoop out thick from a cauldron with vaja - meat and vegetables. Put in a deep plate. Place Dungang noodles on top. Pour liquid (sauce). Sprinkle the dish with fresh herbs of cilantro and dill. In some regions, vinegar is added to lagman. Separately on the table in a bowl put fried and sprinkled with salt fat tail fat with bread.