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Beef lagman classic

Classic Beef Lagman

A fragrant, hearty, and very tasty Central Asian dish! Classic beef lagman comes from Central Asian cooking. Legend has it that lagman was born when three hungry travelers met on the road — one had flour and meat, the second had vegetables, and the third had only a cauldron. Together they cooked a dish that became lagman. There are many versions, but the main ingredients never change: meat, vegetables, and noodles. You can make lagman soupy, or thicker if you prefer.

katushafin

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Beef

500

Onions

Carrot

Bell pepper

Daikon radish

Garlic

Tomato paste

Potatoes

Noodles

400

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 33 % 7 g

Fats 14 % 3 g

Carbohydrates 52 % 11 g

93 kcal

GI: 73 / 27 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

How do you make classic beef lagman? Gather your ingredients. Rinse and dry the meat. Wash and peel the vegetables.
Step 2:

Cut the meat into pieces. Heat vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or heavy pot and sear the meat over high heat.
Step 3:

Dice the onion and carrot. Add them to the meat and cook for a few minutes.
Step 4:

Dice the bell pepper and daikon, slice the garlic, add them to the meat, and cook a little longer.
Step 5:

Add the tomato paste. I used strained tomatoes, which you'd want more of. In tomato season, fresh tomatoes are the way to go. Stir and cook another two minutes.
Step 6:

Pour boiling water over the meat and vegetables until they're fully covered. Season with salt to taste. Set it to simmer over medium heat for an hour.
Step 7:

After half an hour, add the diced potatoes.
Step 8:

Simmer until done. If you want lagman as a soup, add more water as it cooks. I made mine thicker.
Step 9:

In a separate pot, cook the noodles until tender.
Step 10:

Put the noodles in a bowl first, then the meat and vegetables on top. Garnish with fresh herbs.

I used store-bought noodles — you can now find noodles made specifically for lagman. If you like, you can make them yourself: the dough is flour, water, and eggs, kneaded stiff, rested, rolled out, and cut into thin strips. Skilled cooks even make hand-pulled noodles for lagman; you can find tutorials online. Use whatever vegetables you like — celery, turnip, eggplant, and zucchini all work in lagman. Whether or not to add potatoes is up to you. For spices I strongly recommend cumin — it's central to Central Asian cooking and gives the dish its distinctive aroma and rich flavor.
One more thing: the wrong pan can ruin even the best recipe, so it's worth choosing a good pot suited to what you're cooking.
Every oil is only good up to a certain temperature — its smoke point — beyond which it starts to burn and forms harmful compounds. Choose a refined oil with a high smoke point for frying.
If you use a store-bought spice blend, be sure to read the label. These blends often already contain salt, so account for that or you risk over-salting the dish.