Laghman

Laghman is one of Kyrgyz cuisine's most popular dishes. It's a hearty noodle and broth dish that's easy to understand why it's so popular.

It is considered a national dish of the local Dungan ethnic minority population in Kyrgyzstan, who presently live primarily in Karakol. (After four days in Karakol, we concluded that laghman would undoubtedly be the town's signature dish.) Laghman or Ashlyamfu, to be precise, but I'll get to it later).

Influence on the traditional roots of laghman can be traced back to Xinjiang, China's northwestern province. The name laghman means "hand-pulled noodles," which is how the dish's major ingredient is described. The fresh noodles are usually served with a thick soup or broth, as well as meat.