Hand-Pulled Noodles · FFET10253
La tiao zi (laghman)
La tiao zi is pulled wheat noodles with a topping of lamb, peppers and tomato, a staple of Xinjiang, Gansu and the Northwest.
A deep white porcelain bowl holds wheat noodles topped with lamb leg, onion and garlic in red tomato sauce, plus tomato and green pepper chunks, chili flakes and ground cumin, with wooden chopsticks resting beside the bowl.
Noodles made by stretching a dough by hand, often folding it and stretching it again many times, into strands thick or fine.
La tiao zi is made from flour and salted water, rested several times, pulled into long strands and boiled, then topped with a stir-fried or stewed mix of lamb, peppers, tomato and onion. Also called la tiao er or ban mian, it is a staple of Xinjiang, Gansu and the Northwest and a Uyghur noodle dish eaten across Central Asia. The name may have been borrowed from the Chinese word for pulled noodles, but no dated text was found.
What
La tiao zi is hand-pulled wheat noodles with a topping of lamb, peppers, tomato and onion, stir-fried or stewed. The topping Xinjiang people favor is oil-fried lamb.1,2,3,4
When
The name may have been borrowed from the Chinese word for pulled noodles, an explanation supported by a 2007 academic book; the dish adapts Northern Chinese noodle dishes. No dated text was found: these clues explain the origins of the name and method, not a date of origin.1,2
Where
La tiao zi is common in Xinjiang, especially among Uyghur cooks. It is also a staple in Gansu and the Northwest and is eaten across Central Asia under a different name.1,2
How
A dough of flour and salted water is rested several times, pulled by hand into long strands, boiled and topped with a lamb and vegetable mix. Uyghur cooks pull the noodles by hand, but neither of the 2 home recipes behind this entry demonstrates it: 1 boils bought or fresh noodles, and the other uses packaged noodles as a shortcut.1,3,4
Why
It is homestyle food rather than banquet food, blending Central Asian and Chinese cooking; this characterization rests on a single recipe blog.3
Impact and influence
It is treated as a signature dish of the Uyghur and Dungan communities in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and is eaten across Central Asia.2
No tale about this food has been found.
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
Neither recipe I found pulls the noodles by hand: one boils bought noodles, and the other says openly that it takes a shortcut with packaged egg noodles. So what I make at home is an adapted version, with bought dried noodles under a lamb and tomato sauce, not hand-pulled la tiao zi. The lamb and the sauce mainly follow a recipe by a named author: 450 g of lamb leg, 5 tomatoes and 340 g of dried noodles. The oil, salt, white pepper and cornstarch for the marinade, and the amounts of cumin, chili flakes, soy sauce, tomato paste and sugar, are my own choices at home. Another author's shortcut version uses beef stock, and I give it in a tip. The grams come from ounces and pounds.
Ingredients
- Lamb leg 450 g, cut in thin bite-size pieces
- Cooking oil, for the marinade 15 ml (1 tablespoon)
- Salt, for the marinade 1/2 teaspoon
- White pepper 1/4 teaspoon
- Cornstarch 1 teaspoon (about 3 g)
- Dried wheat noodles 340 g
- Cooking oil, for the sauce 30 ml (2 tablespoons), used in two rounds
- Onion 1, sliced
- Garlic 4 cloves, minced
- Chili flakes 1 teaspoon
- Ground cumin 2 teaspoons
- Green or bell pepper 1, cut in strips
- Tomatoes 5 (about 600 g), chopped
- Tomato paste 1 tablespoon
- Light soy sauce 15 ml (1 tablespoon)
- Sugar 1/2 teaspoon
- Salt, to season to taste, added at the end
Steps
- Cut the lamb across the grain into thin bite-size pieces and mix it with the 15 ml oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, white pepper and cornstarch. Leave it for 15 minutes.
- Slice the onion, mince the garlic, cut the pepper in strips and chop the tomatoes.
- Boil a large pot of water and cook the noodles for the time on the package. Drain, toss with a little oil so they do not stick, and keep them covered and warm.
- Heat the wok, add 15 ml of oil and sear the lamb over high heat for about 2 minutes, until the outside has changed color. Take it out; it is not cooked through yet and goes back later.
- Add the other 15 ml of oil, turn to medium heat and fry the onion for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, chili flakes and cumin for about half a minute, then the pepper for a minute.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, soy sauce and sugar, bring to a simmer and turn the heat down. I usually give it about 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have broken down into a thick sauce.
- Return the lamb with its juices and cook for about 3 more minutes. Cut open a thick piece: it is done when no pink is left inside. Add salt to taste.
- Divide the noodles among bowls, spoon the sauce over and toss before eating.
Tips
- I add salt at the end. This is my own habit, because the soy sauce and tomato paste are already salty and the sauce gets saltier as it thickens.
- For a shortcut, see the other author's version: 275 g of packaged thick egg noodles and 500 g of lamb steak, with onion, garlic, cumin seeds, Chinese cabbage, red and green peppers, chili, 2 tablespoons of tomato puree and 350 ml of beef stock. The vegetables are fried for about 20 minutes and then simmered with the stock for about 10, and sesame seeds go on top. That version contains egg noodles and sesame seeds.
Allergens: wheat, soy