Kyrgyzstani cuisine – Beshbalemark (Naren) (hand-grabbed noodles)

The traditional Kyrgyz cuisine "Besh balemac" (in Kyrgyz," "besh" means "five" and "Balelmac" means "fingers"), can be seen from its name as eating with your hands. The Kyrgyz people of Xinjiang, China, also call this dish "Naren". The traditional practice of hand-grabbing noodles (now mainly used in the Taras region, northern Kyrgyzstan) requires skilled knife workers, as the main ingredient in the dish is not cut with a knife until it is served. Cook the noodles cut into cubes (about 10 cm×10 cm) in a broth. The cooked thin slices are stacked in a porcelain dish and allowed to cool at room temperature. Each square piece of dough is then rolled into rolls and cut into strips suspended with a sharp knife above the prepared vessel. Add an appropriate amount of pepper to the broth and place in a bowl. Soak the onion (also suspended into small pieces) (this procedure is called "chick"). People like to mix the cooked bone marrow into the clear soup, and then pour it into the hand to grab the noodles, and the freshly slaughtered sheep are better. This dish can also be made with beef or horse meat. Horse meat is used to entertain distinguished guests. What you see in the photo is a hand-grabbed noodle with sliced horse intestine "Qiu Qiu Ke".

Ingredients: Meat (lamb or beef) 1.5 kg (preferably with front and back legs), 2 onions (medium size), pepper 4 g,

Japanese noodles: 200 ml of water, 1 teaspoon (flat spoon) of salt, 1 egg, 0.5 kg of concentrate

The above ingredients are suitable for 4 people.

method:

Step 1. Pour 4.5 liters of water into the pot and cook the meat. The cooking time is about 1.5 hours. After the cooked meat is left to room temperature, cut into small pieces. Place the cut meat in a separate small basin, cover it and place it in a warm place.

Step 2. To make the soup "chik", you need to chop the onion and pour it into the boiling broth. Add pepper to the soup. Before the noodles and meat are served, the "chicks" must be kept piping hot (the lid should be covered and placed in a warm place to avoid cooling).

Step 3. and hard side. Divide the dough into two balls evenly, cover with a basin and cook for 15-20 minutes. The process is to make the dough soft and easy to roll out. Take the dough out, the two doughs are first doughnut into a bun shape, and then press down from the top and the middle, so that the middle is flat, surrounded by a circle of round bulges like buns. Cover the dough with a linen cloth or lid and leave on for another 15 minutes. The first bread-shaped dough is then rolled flat and is about 2-3 cm thick. Roll out the flat dough into rolls or layer by layer (as shown in the photo) and cut into noodles with a width of 2-3 cm. Bring the broth that has been cooked to a boil and add the noodles. While the noodles float on the surface, stir slowly and cook for another 1 minute. After that, use a colander to remove the soup, control the soup and place on the plate. Repeat the above steps for the second dough: roll out the dough, cut into strips, cook the noodles in broth, and add to the finished hand-grabbed noodles.

Step 4. Sprinkle the noodles with chopped meat and pour hot soup "chik" on top. Serve on a large plate or serve in a large porcelain bowl. Serve the onion soup separately in a smaller porcelain or clay bowl.