Uzbek Laghman Traditional Noodle Dish

Traditional Noodle Dish

Laghman is considered one of the main national dishes of Uzbekistan, traditionally made with hand pulled noodles. My aunt’s husband was Uyghur whose family immigrated to Uzbekistan centuries ago. His mom (my acha) would make the best Laghman in town. I would sit and watch her for hours make her hand pulled noodles and enjoy the smell of the aromatic stew. I veganized it by substituting meat with king trumpet mushrooms and eggs with vegan Just Egg. I used store bought Lanzhou Fresh Noodles. You can also use Udon noodles. Here is a recipe. It’s under 40 min.

Ingredients

3 tbsp of olive oil
1 large onion diced
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp grated ginger
1 eggplant diced
1 large kings trumpet mushrooms diced
1 large bell pepper, seeds removed and diced
2 medium size carrots diced
1 cup of green beans, chopped
2 cup of shredded cabbage
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1 can of chickpeas drained
1 tbsp of dark soy sauce
1 tsp of cumin
2 tsp chili flakes
2 bay leaves
2 tsp of salt or to taste
4 cups of water
For the topping, handful of chopped cilantro, chili oil and cooked @eatjust vegan egg.
2 lbs of fresh noodles cooked according the directions in the package and set aside. Add tsp of oil after they are cooked so they don’t stick together.

Method

Heat the wok to high heat, add the oil, then stir fry the onions and mushrooms together. When onions are golden brown, add the garlic, ginger, tomato paste and stir fry for 5 min on high. Then add the bell peppers, carrots, eggplant, green beans and cabbage. Stir fry everything on high for 6-8 min. Add the soy sauce, cumin, pepper, salt, bay leaves and water. Bring the stew to boil then add the chickpeas. Lower the heat to medium low and simmer the stew for about 15 min. Serve Laghman in a soup bowl. Add a handful of freshly cooked noodles and top it off with a generous amount of stew, some chopped cilantro, vegan egg and chili oil.