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.

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.