We actually made this meal weeks ago, but I wanted to finish writing up our Japan trip first.  Unfortunately, that means the memories are a bit hazy at this point.  We took a few pictures, so hopefully that will help.

So – Mongolia. Like the other central Asian countries we’ve done so far, the recipes we found seemed to be fairly simple, ingredient wise, which is reasonable for an area with a primarily nomadic tradition.  We are NOT making one of the most iconic dishes from the area – fermented mare’s milk.  No idea where I’d source the ingredients, for starters.

Instead, we’re going to make Tsuivan – a lamb stew with noodles.

Admittedly, both our Kazakh and Kyrgyz dishes were ALSO lamb dishes with noodles. But all three are at least measurably different – Kazakhstan was a dry noodle and lamb dish meant to be eaten with the fingers, where Kyrgyzstan was a rolled meat and noodle torus.

This time we’re making a proper soup, with broth and everything.

To make the noodles for this one, it’s another simple flour and water dough. We got it even thinner than last time, but it’s still not good enough – definitely time for a pasta roller.

Those sheets are folded over and over again to make a laminated dough, with oil separating the layers.  This is eventually cut into strips to make the noodles.

At this point the noodle stacks are all stuck together, but that’s actually OK, as we turn our attention to the soup.

The ingredients are quite simple – carrot, onion, cabbage, and lamb. A tiny amount of garlic.

First you sauté everything to get it soft and/or brown, as appropriate.

Then you add water, and this is the interesting part.  You take your uncooked noodles, and stack them gently on top of the stew to steam.

This looks like a big blob, but after fifteen minutes or so, a miracle happens, and they (mostly) separate out into honest to god noodles.

And then you eat!

And it’s a lamb and noodle stew.  Nothing wrong with that.  There’s no seasoning other than salt, pepper, and garlic, so it’s not a fancy dish, but it’s hearty and filling.  And we won’t be back out this way until Tajikistan, so we’ll have some more time to think about our noodle skills.

Next up – Montenegro!

Recipe:
Tsuivan