Chicken Beshbarmak

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make chicken beshbarmak? Gather the ingredients. If you're cooking for a large family, use a whole chicken. If you just want to try beshbarmak out, it's better to use any one part of the chicken and scale the other ingredients down to match. I used three chicken thighs.

2. Step 2:

   

   First, make the chicken broth. How do you cook chicken broth? Wash the chicken, put it in a pot, cover with cold water, add salt, and set it to cook over medium heat. Once the broth boils, lower the heat and skim off the foam that forms with a slotted spoon. Add the bay leaf and black peppercorns and cook until fully done, about 2 hours over low heat.

3. Step 3:

   

   Meanwhile, make the dough for the noodle sheets. How do you make the dough? Crack the eggs into a bowl and add salt. Beat the eggs with a fork. Pour in the water and stir the mixture together. Start adding the sifted flour in batches, kneading the dough. Knead with a fork at first, then by hand once it gets thick. The amount of flour may differ from what's listed in the recipe — go by the state of the dough.

4. Step 4:

   

   It should turn out fairly stiff, smooth, and not sticky to the touch. Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for half an hour.

5. Step 5:

   

   Dust the work surface with flour. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll it with a rolling pin into a thin sheet, about 1/16 inch (2 mm) thick. Because the dough rested before you worked it, the gluten in the flour has developed well. That gluten is what gives it elasticity and tackiness. Good dough barely sticks and doesn't tear.

6. Step 6:

   

   Cut the dough into strips, then cut those into rough squares or diamonds. Dust them with flour and leave them to dry for 15 minutes. By now the chicken is done. Lift it out of the broth and carefully separate the meat from the bones — you only need the meat for serving. Strain half of the broth through a sieve into another container. Leave the other half in the pot; you'll need it for boiling the noodle squares.

7. Step 7:

   

   Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a skillet over low heat and fry the onion in it until lightly golden. Don't fry it long — it should stay slightly crisp.

8. Step 8:

   

   Bring the broth you set aside for the noodles to a boil. Drop the pieces of dough in a few at a time. Stir them right away with a spoon so the noodle squares don't stick to the bottom of the pot. Cook the noodles for 7–8 minutes over low heat, then lift them out into deep bowls with a slotted spoon.

9. Step 9:

   

   Lay the onion over the cooked noodles, and the meat on top of that. Pour the broth into small bowls. In its homeland, beshbarmak is eaten by hand, with the broth sipped from bowls. You can also pour the broth right over the beshbarmak in the bowl, making something like a chicken soup. Serve the beshbarmak with your favorite fresh herbs. Enjoy!