Tsuivan

Ingredients

Noodles

• 400 gplain flour
• 1 tspsalt
• about 180 ml water

or

• 500 gfresh flat wheat noodles

Meat

• 500 gmutton or lamb, thinly sliced, with its fat

Vegetables

• 1onion, sliced
• 2carrots, in matchsticks
• 300 gcabbage, shredded
• 2potatoes, in matchsticks, optional
• 4 clovesgarlic

Seasoning

• 2 tbspsoy sauce
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspblack pepper
• a little water or stock

To serve

• hot, from the pot, with black tea

Directions

1. Make a firm dough with flour, salt and water, using as little water as will bring it together. Knead it for eight to ten minutes until smooth and elastic, then rest it for thirty minutes. Resting relaxes the gluten so it rolls out thin without springing back.
2. Roll it out as thin as you can manage, then dust it well with flour. Roll the sheet up loosely into a flat log and slice it across into strips a few millimetres wide. Dust generously with flour before rolling it up, since unfloured layers stick together and cannot be separated. Shake the cut strips loose and toss them in more flour.
3. Keep them fairly short, about five to eight centimetres, since they are eaten with a fork or chopsticks from a plate. Do not trim the fat off, since the rendered fat is the cooking medium and much of the flavour.
4. Slice the meat thinly across the grain. Fry it in a heavy pot over a medium-high heat until browned and the fat has rendered. Brown it properly rather than just greying it, since this is where the depth of the dish comes from. Add the onion and cook until softened, then the carrot and potato.
5. Add the cabbage last, which needs only a few minutes. Season with soy sauce, salt and plenty of black pepper. Add only a small splash of water or stock, a few tablespoons at most. Use far less liquid than seems right, since the whole point is to generate steam rather than to boil anything. Too much water and the noodles boil into a sodden mass rather than steaming.
6. Spread the floured noodles in an even layer over the meat and vegetables without stirring them in. Keep them on top and do not mix them down into the liquid at this stage. Shake off excess flour first, since too much flour turns the base gluey.
7. Put the lid on and let it steam over a medium-low heat for ten to fifteen minutes. Do not lift the lid to check in the first ten minutes. Take the lid off and toss everything together thoroughly with two spoons or tongs. Lift and fold rather than stirring hard, which breaks the noodles. Now raise the heat and fry it all together for two or three minutes.
8. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper. Serve it hot, straight from the pot, with black tea. It reheats well the next day, fried again in a hot pan.

Technique

• The noodles are steamed over the meat rather than boiled in water.
• Very little liquid is added, since the point is steam rather than boiling.
• The final frying is what gives the browned bits people look for.

Substitutions

• Fresh shop-bought flat wheat noodles.
• Beef in place of mutton, though mutton is traditional.

Variations

• Made with beef or with horse meat, which is also eaten.
• With more vegetables and less meat.
• Made with a little tomato paste, in a modern style.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tsuivan?

Tsuivan is a main from Mongolia: steam-fried hand-cut noodles tossed with mutton, carrot and cabbage.

How long does Tsuivan take to make?

Tsuivan takes 45 min plus 30 min resting of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Tsuivan?

Yes, within limits. Fresh shop-bought flat wheat noodles. Beef in place of mutton, though mutton is traditional.

What is the most important thing to get right in Tsuivan?

Keep them fairly short, about five to eight centimetres, since they are eaten with a fork or chopsticks from a plate. Do not trim the fat off, since the rendered fat is the cooking medium and much of the flavour.