A FLAVOUR OF TIBET

Delight in delicious and simple seasonal dishes from the Himalayas

INGREDIENTS

For the noodles

500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting

3 large free-range eggs

About 100ml warm water

2.5 litres water for cooking

1 tsp salt

SERVES 4-6

VEGETABLE THUKPA

For the thukpa 2 tbsp cooking oil

2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

400g pak choi, washed and roughly chopped

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp light soy sauce, plus extra to serve 1 tbsp

Chinkiang black vinegar, plus extra to serve

1 tsp salt

½ tsp crushed Sichuan peppercorns

3 spring onions, washed and thinly sliced

METHOD

To make the noodles, put the flour in a bowl, crack in the eggs and mix through the flour while slowly pouring in about 100ml of warm water. Depending on your flour, you may need slightly more water. Work the dough into a ball, cover the bowl and set aside for about 15 minutes.

Take the dough from the bowl, knead until smooth, then divide into four roughly equal pieces. Return three pieces to the bowl and cover again.

Roll out the remaining piece of dough on a floured work surface. Press down hard, turning the dough around and around and over and over until you have a large, roughly circular sheet about 2-3mm thick.

Finally, sprinkle a little more flour on to the dough and, starting from one side, roll the sheet of dough up and over the rolling pin, wrapping it around several times until you reach the other edge.

Slide out the rolling pin to leave a cylinder of dough. With a sharp knife, and on the diagonal, cut the cylinder into slices. The width of the slices will determine the thickness of your noodles – it’s good to aim for a chopstick’s width.