The name of this popular Central Asian and Crimean Tatar national dish translates to “stretched dough.” Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Afghans, and Crimean Tatars prepare lagman with homemade noodles cut from stretched dough. However, you can simplify the cooking process by using store-bought noodles.
The traditional components of this dish include vegetables, broth, and either lamb or beef, but we will be making lagman with chicken. The vegetables that can be included in this soup are: beans, bell peppers (fresh or pickled), onions, radishes, carrots, cabbage, eggplant, garlic, spices, and herbs. A generous amount of broth will make the lagman resemble a thick soup, while a smaller quantity of liquid allows you to serve it as noodles with a rich sauce and hearty filling.
Ingredients: chicken fillet – 400 g, noodles – 150 g, potatoes – 250 g, carrots – 130 g, red bell pepper – 200 g, tomatoes – 250 g, canned beans – 250 g, onions – 130 g, celery stalk – 120 g, parsley – 15 g, garlic – 5 g, oil – 40 ml, chicken seasoning – 1 tsp, dried basil – 1/4 tsp, cumin – 1/8 tsp, dried rosemary – 1/8 tsp, black pepper – 1/8 tsp, salt – 1 tsp, water – 3 cups.
Cut the chicken fillet into pieces and sauté it with the carrots and onions, then add the remaining vegetables, and finally, the noodles and canned beans towards the end of cooking.
Peel the vegetables and chop them uniformly. Mince the garlic and herbs.
In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil and lightly sauté the chicken fillet. Add the onions and carrots, and sauté for 5 minutes. Then add the potatoes, bell pepper, tomatoes, celery, garlic, and spices. Pour in the water and cook for 15 minutes.
Add the noodles and cook for another 3 minutes. Then add the beans and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Stir in the herbs, bring to a boil, and turn off the heat.
Serve the finished lagman hot in a deep plate or a soup bowl that’s easy to hold, warming your hands as you enjoy it.
Life Hack
In the original Asian recipe, a mixture of black and red ground peppers with garlic is poured over the lagman with hot oil. Tajiks add sour milk to the lagman at the end of cooking. In Kazakh cuisine, an omelet is included in the lagman: it is fried separately, cut into strips, and added to the soup when serving.