Laphing - Tibetan Yellow Laphing

Laphing is a spicy noodle dish from the Tibet region. But is also made in Nepal too. There are two different varieties of Laphing - white and yellow. The white one is made with mung bean flour and the yellow one with all-purpose flour with turmeric or yellow food color. This is a tasty and spicy food which happens to be a comfort food as well as street food. I am sharing here the recipe for yellow laphing.

This reminds of the steamed rice crepe (ilai vadam) that we dry and deep fry. We devour the fresh steamed ones when we peel it off. This laphing is made with starch from all-purpose flour and we loved the texture and flavor of this noodle as well. This is a lovely and delicious noodle made with the starch and love how the gluten is used as a tasty filling. Remember this is a fiery noodle, so add the chili paste according to taste. Addition of garlic water, vinegar, and soy sauce helps in balancing the taste. The original recipe uses ajinomoto and since we have intolerant member, I have skipped using ajinomoto.

This requires planning. The starchy water that is extracted from the dough should be left  for 5-7 to settle. This starch is used to make the steamed noodle. This is then flavored with spicy chili and oil paste. That's yum! I followed the video of Dickeydol and tried both the versions, and they were tasty.

I am exploring the different noodle recipes from around the world and enjoying varied types of dishes. I have chosen the theme for A-Z Noodles from Around the World for Blogging Marathon. We share recipes for three days a week and for four days. Here is a quick link to the noodle recipes I shared during this journey. 

A - Angel Hair Pomodoro

B - Bibim Guksu

C - Chow Mein Noodles

D - Dan Dan Noodles - Vegan Sichuan Noodles

E - Egyptian Kushari

F - Fideua

G - Glass Noodle Stir-Fry - Korean Japchae

H - Haluski

I - Idiyappam

J - Jajangmyeon Vegan Version

K - Kongguksu

Ingredients

Serves 3 to 4

All-purpose flour - 1 cup

Water - @1/3 cup

Water - 3 cups

Yeast - 1/4 tsp

Oil - 3-4 tbsp

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Dried red chili - 10-15

Fenugreek - 1/2 tsp

Bay leaves - 1

Peppercorns - 1/2 tsp

Garlic water - 2-4 tbsp

Vinegar - 3-4 tsp

Soy sauce 2 tsp

Green onions/crushed nuts - 1 or 2 tbsp

Ajinomoto - (I have not used)

Method

Knead the dough with about 1/3 cup water to a soft dough and rest for 30 minutes.

Add a cup of water and squeeze to get the milky liquid which is the starch from the flour getting in solution. Filter and to the gluten add a cup of water and repeat the same process twice to extract maximum starch. Squeeze the gluten and set aside. Cover the starchy liquid and set aside undisturbed for 6-7 hours or overnight.

To the gluten, add yeast and knead for a couple of minutes and set aside for 30 minutes.

In a steamer, when it is ready, steam the gluten (apply oil on the plate so that it doesn't stick) and steam for 25-30 minutes.

When cool, chop into tiny pieces and set aside.

Grind about 10-15 dried red chilies to a coarse mix. Add salt and sugar. Heat 3 tbsp oil and add fenugreek, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Fry for 1-2 minutes. Filter and add to the chili mix. Cover and set aside till the sizzling settles.

After 6-7 hours, the starch would have settled down and there would be two layers. Slowly decant the water and keep the starch alone. A couple of tablespoons of water is ok. 

With a whisk, slowly mix the starch which would have settled firmly at the bottm. It should be a thin batter. Mix turmeric or yellow food color.

Smear oil on a steaming plate, add 1/3 cup of the batter, and swirl. Keep inside the steamer and steam for 2 minutes. Apply a little oil on top and gently take it out of the steaming plate and set aside in a stack. Applying oil helps in easily removal from the plate as well as for it to not stick with other steamed crepes. Repeat with the remaining batter.

For the first dry version: To a crepe, add a little chili paste, a little salt, soy sauce, garlic water, and vinegar. Spread it around evenly. Sprinkle a little chopped gluten. Roll into a log, chop into 1-in pieces and set in a serving plate or bowl.

For the noodle soupy version: Fold the noodle into 1/3rd. Chop into 1/2 inch width pieces for noodles.

Place it in a bowl, add the chili paste, gluten, vinegar, garlic water, soy sauce. Add enough garlic water and vinegar to make a soupy version as you prefer. Sprinkle with green onions or crushed nuts.

The fiery yellow laphing is ready to be served.