Uyghur Laghman

Ingredients

• 500g wheat flour (12% protein)
• 250ml warm water
• 7g fine salt
• 3 tbsp neutral oil, for coating
• 500g lamb shoulder, cut into thin bite-sized slices
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 green peppers, sliced
• 2 sticks celery, sliced on the diagonal
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 small carrot, cut into batons
• 5 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp coarse chilli flakes
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3 tbsp neutral oil, for the wok
• 200ml noodle cooking water
• 2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar, to serve
• Salt and black pepper

Before you cook

• Dissolve the 7g salt in the warm water, pour it into the flour, and mix to a rough dough.
• Knead the dough hard for 12 minutes until it is smooth and elastic, then cover and rest for 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough into a long rope, cut it into 8 pieces, roll each into a pencil-thick rope, and coil them in an oiled dish.
• Coat the ropes all over with the 3 tbsp of oil, cover tightly, and rest for at least 2 hours at room temperature.
• Season the sliced lamb with a pinch of salt and black pepper.

Steps

1. Heat the 3 tbsp of oil in a wok over high heat until it is close to smoking.
2. Add the lamb in a single layer and sear it for 2 minutes without stirring.
3. Stir the lamb until browned all over, then lift it out onto a plate.
4. Add the onion, carrot and garlic to the wok and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
5. Add the tomato paste and fry it for 1 minute until it darkens.
6. Tip in the chopped tomatoes and cook for 4 minutes until they break down into a loose sauce.
7. Return the lamb to the wok along with the cumin, chilli flakes, soy sauce and sugar.
8. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.
9. Take one oiled rope and stretch it gently between your hands, letting gravity do most of the work.
10. Fold the rope in half, stretch again, and repeat four or five times until you have a long thin noodle.
11. Drop the noodle into the boiling water and pull the next one while it cooks.
12. Boil the noodles for 2 minutes, then scoop out 200ml of the starchy cooking water.
13. Pour that cooking water into the lamb wok and let the sauce bubble hard for 2 minutes to tighten.
14. Add the celery and green peppers to the wok and stir-fry for 90 seconds so they keep their snap.
15. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt.
16. Drain the noodles and divide them between four bowls.
17. Spoon the lamb and vegetables over the noodles.
18. Offer black vinegar at the table for each person to splash on and toss through.