After making the Kazakh Noodles with Laghman sauce, I decided to go ahead and also made another different shape of noodle – Lhasa egg noodle shells. Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People’s Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau. Traditionally, Lhasa cooking doesn’t involve much use of eggs because eggs would have been more of a luxury. According to the Beyond The Great Wall cookbook by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, many Tibetans still don’t eat eggs these days.
Making the Lhasa egg noodle shells is just as easy as making other type of noodles I’ve done so far. The ingredients are predictable: flour, egg, water and salt. This noodle is great to serve with any stew of soup dishes. Or you can try the Laghman sauce with it. Delicioso.
LHASA EGG NOODLE SHELLS
Ingredients
- About 2 cups all-purpose flour; preferably unbleached plus extra for surfaces
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- About 1/2 cup lukewarm water
Instructions
- Place the flour and salt in a mixing bowl and mix well with hand. Add in egg and mix again. Slowly adding in water and continue to mix until you form a non-sticky dough. You may need more water if the dough seems dry and crumbling
- Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until very smooth. The dough will be quite stiff and strong. Set aside, covered, to rest for at least 30 minutes, or for as long as 12 hours, whatever is convenient
- Cut the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece between your palms into an 8-inch cylinder. On a well-floured surface, cut the pieces in half, then cut each 4-inch length into 8 to 10 pieces. Toss them in the flour on your work surface. Flour your left palm (if you are right-handed), place one piece of dough on it, and, with your floured right thumb, press the center of the piece against your palm, sliding it a little, to flatten and thin the center and make a curled thicker outside edge. Set aside on a lightly floured tray or platter and repeat with the rest of the pieces
- The shells can be cooked right away in boiling water or broth, or left to dry a little. Bring a large pot of water or broth to a rapid boil. Sprinkle the noodles into the boiling water. Cook until just tender but still with a little bite, about 5 minutes if freshly made. Drain and serve. I served it with Laghman sauce
