Uzbek Beef Lagman

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   The ingredients for the lagman noodles should be at room temperature.

2. Step 2:

   

   Making the NOODLES. Sift the flour into a wide bowl.

3. Step 3:

   

   Make a well in the flour and crack the egg into it. Stir 1/2 teaspoon of salt into 1 cup of cooled boiled water until fully dissolved. Pour the salted water into the flour and knead the dough, first in the bowl and then on the counter.

4. Step 4:

   

   Lightly oil the counter and your hands. Knead until smooth. The finished dough won't stick to your hands; it's not stiff — soft yet springy. Shape it into a ball, wrap it in a bag, and refrigerate for at least half an hour, preferably an hour.

5. Step 5:

   

   Then press the dough out by hand into an even rectangular slab about 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick. Cut it into strips 3/4 inch (1.5–2 cm) wide. To make the work easier, lightly oil the counter, your hands, and the dough. Keep all the dough covered with plastic wrap and work with one cut strip at a time.

6. Step 6:

   

   Roll each strip of dough by hand on the counter into a long rope about as thick as your little finger — it looks like a kid's jump rope. The dough is very soft and elastic, easy to work with, and won't tear. Coil the stretched rope onto a plate. Oil the plate first, then oil the dough on top too. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest on the counter for 30 minutes. I needed several plates, since the ropes have to sit in a single layer.

7. Step 7:

   

   Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt it lightly, as you would for regular pasta. Now run the stretched rope of dough through your fingers, pulling it even thinner and longer. Wind the dough around your hands like yarn, then spread your hands apart in smooth swings and gently slap the dough against the counter a few times. The noodles magically stretch out thin and drop onto the counter. Keep the dough well oiled so the thin strands don't stick together.

8. Step 8:

   

   Boil the finished thin, very long noodles right away in rapidly boiling water for just 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly. Drain in a colander, rinse under cold water, and let the water drain off.

9. Step 9:

   

   Transfer the rinsed noodles to a roomy bowl, drizzle with a little vegetable oil, and toss. Cook all the noodles this way; before serving, you'll need to reheat them by pouring boiling water over them. You can make the noodles ahead and keep them in the fridge, or make them right before the gravy, as the Uzbeks do. If you'd rather not bother making noodles, you can just boil store-bought ones.

10. Step 10:

    

    The ingredients for the meat-and-vegetable gravy can vary. Traditionally you use lamb or beef. As for vegetables, all kinds go in: besides the usual onion, garlic, carrot, tomatoes, and potato, cooks add eggplant, zucchini, turnip, daikon, green beans, radish, bell pepper, hot pepper — whatever has come up in the garden and is on hand at cooking time. Fresh herbs and seasonings are a must.

11. Step 11:

    

    Making the GRAVY. The start goes very fast, so prep and cut all the spices and ingredients ahead of time — once you begin, there's no time to spare. Rinse the meat and dry it well, then cut it into medium cubes, along with the potato and tomatoes. Cut the turnip and onion into smaller cubes. Cut the pepper into medium pieces (about the size of the tip of your little finger) and the carrot into thin strips of similar length. Slice the garlic into thin rings. Rinse and chop the herbs.

12. Step 12:

    

    Heat a cauldron, get the oil smoking hot, and sear the meat until browned. To keep the oil from cooling down, add the meat in a few batches. Add salt, pepper, meat seasonings, and garlic. Don't forget to stir.

13. Step 13:

    

    Then add the onion, followed by the carrot. Everything cooks very quickly.

14. Step 14:

    

    Lower the heat to medium and add the bell pepper. It can be any color.

15. Step 15:

    

    Toss in the tomatoes and stir, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom.

16. Step 16:

    

    Add the tomato paste and stir it in evenly. (People often wonder why you'd add paste when there are already tomatoes, but this is exactly how the Uzbeks do it. The paste deepens the color and flavor, especially with out-of-season winter tomatoes.)

17. Step 17:

    

    Then add the potato and turnip.

18. Step 18:

    

    Add 1 heaping tablespoon of flour and stir it in quickly and thoroughly.

19. Step 19:

    

    Add room-temperature water; it should cover the ingredients by about an inch (two fingers' width) for a medium-thick gravy. Or add more water to serve it as a soup. Lower the heat and let it simmer until the potato is tender, about 20–30 minutes. At the end, add the herbs, turn off the heat, and let it rest for about 15 minutes.

20. Step 20:

    

    By tradition, lagman is served in a kosa (a large bowl). Put a handful of noodles in the bottom, then the vegetables and meat on top, ladle over as much gravy as you like, and always finish with a sprinkle of fresh herbs.