ashlan fu (recipe)

A traditional Dungan dish, this is a cold, spicy noodle soup popular throughout Kyrgyzstan. It is said that the most delicious ashlan fu (or ashlyanfu) is to be found in the city of Karakol, though what makes it special there is unclear. The thick noodles are made from flour and water mixed with milk, eggs, and a pinch of salt, while the broth is made with onion, garlic, tomatoes, chives, dill, and vinegar. If you don't fancy traveling all the way out to Central Asia, you can also find it in Brighton Beach, of course.

ingredients

• wheat flour, 400g
• water, salt, pepper, egg

• corn or rice starch, 100g
• water, salt, pepper

• water, 100 mL
• 2 large or 4 regular sweet peppers
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 6% vinegar, to taste
• vegetable oil for frying
• 1 carrot
• 3-4 tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 chili

procedure

1. Knead out a firm dough. To make the dough firm, you must heat the water almost to boil before mixing it with the flour and egg. When you add the water, stir vigorously or else the egg will congeal. Knead out twice and leave for 20 minutes covered by a wet towel.
2. Roll the dough out into 0.5 meter-long strips about 1.5 cm thick and roll between your hands until you have noodles. Boil in salted water until tender.
3. To prepare the starch noodles, heat water nearly to a boil and add salt to taste. Dilute the starch in a small amount of cold water and pour slowly into the hot water, stirring vigorously. Simmer, stirring constantly. The jelly is ready when it is difficult to stir. Pour into a bowl greased with vegetable oil, let cool, and cut into long (5-10 cm) strips. To make it easier to cut, spray the jelly and your knife with cold water. Store in sealed container in refrigerator.
4. Wash the vegetables, cut the sweet pepper into small cubes, and grind the chile.
5. Cut the tomato into chunks, cut the carrot and onion into small cubes, and crush the garlic with the edge of the knife before dicing. Cut up the chives.
6. Pour out a small amount of vegetable oil to fry the onion and carrot, then add garlic when the onion is browned and cook for one minute.
7. Add the chopped vegetables and chives and about 100 mL of water. Simmer until tender.
8. To serve, put the flour noodles on one side of a deep bowl and the starch noodles on the other. Pour the sauce over the noodles and drizzle with vinegar and sprinkle with finely chopped greens.
9. Serve when cool.