Lagman
Hand-pulled noodles in a spiced meat-and-vegetable broth.
Lagman is the great noodle dish of Central Asia: long, springy strands pulled by hand and bathed in a fragrant broth of lamb or beef, peppers, tomatoes, and garlic. Brought along the Silk Road by Uyghur and Dungan cooks, it sits somewhere between a soup and a stir-fry, and every cook balances it differently.
What's in it
- Wheat noodles stretched and pulled by hand, not cut
- A broth of lamb or beef with bell peppers, tomato, and onion
- Garlic, cumin, and often a hit of chilli for warmth
- Topped with fresh herbs: coriander, dill, or parsley
Good to know
Two ways
Order it "suyuq" (soupy, with lots of broth) or "quruq", a drier, fried version closer to a noodle stir-fry.
How it’s served
In a deep bowl, eaten with both spoon and fork to manage the long noodles. A round of non bread on the side is standard.
Good to know
It can be mild or fiery, so ask for chilli on the side if you’re unsure of the heat.
Noodles of the Silk Road
The art of lagman is in the pull: a skilled cook swings and folds a single rope of dough, doubling it again and again until it becomes dozens of slender noodles, all without a knife. It travelled west with traders and settled deepest in the Fergana Valley, where the Uyghur and Dungan communities still make it the old way.
More Soups & Noodles
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