Thukpa (Sherpa Noodle Soup)
A nourishing and revitalising dish, this Sherpa-style noodle soup from Santosh Shah is infused with warming spices.
From the book
Ayla: A Feast of Nepali Dishes from Terai, Hills and the Himalayas
Vibrant and authentic Nepali recipes
From MasterChef:The Professionals finalist, Santosh Shah
From street food snacks to dinner ideas, drinks to desserts.
Introduction
Thukpa is a soup shared by both Nepali and Tibetan Sherpa communities. To handle the freezing winters in high altitude, their diet is heavily based on carbohydrates. The soup is laced with the uplifting warmth of cumin, turmeric and timmur peppercorns. Some cooks add cornflour to thicken the soup but I prefer a thinner broth with my noodles.
Ingredients
| 100g (3½oz) | soba noodles, or egg noodles |
| 3 tbsp | vegetable oil |
| ½ tsp | hing (asafoetida) |
| 300g (10½oz) | free-range chicken breast, finely chopped |
| ½ tsp | ground turmeric |
| 50g (scant ½ cup) | finely chopped carrots |
| 180g (1⅓ cups) | finely chopped mixed (bell) peppers |
| 50g (⅓ cup) | thinly sliced green French beans |
| 80g (1⅓ cups) | 80g (11⁄3 cups) finely shredded white cabbage |
| 1 tsp | salt |
| 800ml (3⅓ cups) | chicken stock |
| 2 tbsp | fresh coriander, chopped |
| 1 | lemon, quartered, to serve (optional) |
| For the spice paste: | |
| 1 | large garlic clove |
| 4 tsp | finely chopped fresh ginger |
| 4 | fresh green chillies, roughly chopped |
| ½ tbsp | cumin seeds, dry roasted |
| 5 | timmur peppercorns, or Sichuan peppercorns |
| ¼ tsp | black peppercorns |
| 1 tbsp | fresh coriander, chopped |
| 1 | small tomato, deseeded and chopped |
Essential kit
You will need: a small food processor or electric spice grinder.
Method
Start by making the spice paste. Place all the ingredients for the spice paste except the tomato in a small food processor or electric spice grinder. Blend until you get a paste. Add the chopped tomato and blend again. You should get a smooth spoonable paste. You can make this paste in advance and keep it in the refrigerator for 2–3 days or in the freezer for 1 month.
Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the hing and cook for a few seconds. Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes, until slightly golden. Add the turmeric and cook for 1 minute.
Add all the vegetables and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. Stir in the salt and spice paste until all the ingredients are well coated. Cook for a couple of minutes.
Pour in the chicken stock, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the noodles and cook for a couple of minutes, just enough to reheat them.
Adjust the seasoning to taste, add the chopped coriander and serve with lemon quarters for squeezing over.
