Hand-pulled noodles topped with a stir-fried stew of beef, peppers, and tomatoes in a savory sauce.

Where does Lagman come from?

Lagman is a Kyrgyz dish from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Can Lagman be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

Yes. This Lagman recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Lagman take to make?

About 80 minutes total (50 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking), serving 4.

Lagman — a Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan recipe

Name: Lagman
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Kyrgyz
Ingredients: 3 cups flour, for hand-pulled noodles; 12 oz beef, thinly sliced; 2 bell peppers; 2 tomato; a handful green beans; 1 onion; 4 cloves garlic; 1 tsp cumin; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 tbsp vinegar; 2 tbsp a splash of soy or tamari

Asia → 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan → Bishkek

Lagman

Kyrgyz · advanced · serves 4

prep 50 min · cook 30 min

~417 cal · 30g protein · 40g carbs · 15g fat (estimated, per serving)

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Hand-pulled noodles under a stir-fried beef and pepper sauce

🇰🇬 Bishkek

Lagman travelled the Silk Road with Uyghur traders and became a staple across Central Asia. In Kyrgyzstan the noodles are pulled by hand into long springy ropes and crowned with a bright vegetable-and-meat sauce called kesme — a dish that is equal parts theater and nourishment in the bazaars of Bishkek.

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Make it yours

Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

Ingredients

Serves 4 —

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3 cups flour, for hand-pulled noodles

•

12 oz beef, thinly sliced

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2 bell peppers

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2 tomato

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a handful green beans

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1 onion

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4 cloves garlic

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1 tsp cumin

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2 tbsp tomato paste

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1 tbsp vinegar

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2 tbsp a splash of soy or tamari

Instructions

1

Knead a firm noodle dough, rest it well, then oil and pull it into long ropes; boil until tender (or cook the gluten-free noodles).

2

Sear the beef (or tofu and mushrooms) hard in a hot wok, then set aside.

3

Stir-fry the onion, garlic, peppers, and green beans until crisp-tender.

4

Add the tomato, tomato paste, cumin, vinegar, and tamari with a splash of water and simmer to a glossy sauce; return the beef.

5

Pile the noodles into bowls and ladle the sauce over the top.

Bishkek bazaar tradition.

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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

📍

Bishkek. A Tian Shan city built for a bowl of hand-pulled lagman.

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Kyrgyzstan. Mountain nomad country of hand-pulled noodles.

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Asia. From street-cart woks to slow monastery kitchens.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

👩‍🍳

Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →