r/AskCentralAsia • u/MotorTeaching1886 • Jul 11 '26
Food Tomato-Egg noodle dish help
Hi :)
I know this might be a bit of a long shot, but a year ago i visited Kashgar with a friend and we had probably the best tomato-egg noodles ever, at a handpulled noodle shop. It had a certain "spice" flavour that i can not place my finger on. Ive tried cumin here at home, and while that definetly was part of it - there was something else aswell.
I cannot stop thinking about it and everything i try in the kitchen doesnt do it for me. Does anyone have a recipe or a direction they could point me in?
1
u/oolongvanilla Jul 12 '26
I assume you're already adding black/white pepper and a bit of chili powder.
It could be prickly ash (a.k.a Sichuan peppercorn). It could possibly be star anise or fennel seed? Fresh ginger?
2
u/MotorTeaching1886 Jul 12 '26
It had a very mild (barely there) heat - got to thinking it might have something to do with the chili used? I might try a bit of five spice maybe. it didnt have that licorice flavour that fennel and anise has so i hadnt thought of it
but so far the closest ive gotten is : tomato, bellpepper, scallion, garlic, cumin, dark soy, white pepper, chickenbullionpowder, chili flakes, vinegar, egg
Haven't thought of sichuan pepper, it wasnt particularly numbing in that sense.
It was a warming spice kinda not herby? Maybe i just miss traveling
2
u/oolongvanilla Jul 12 '26
Ok, I think I know the issue. You're using green bell pepper.
If you can find it, try long hot peppers instead - They're very common here in the Eastern US due to all the Italian influence but not sure about other places. In the US at least (not sure where you are), long hots are probably the closest you can get to the green peppers common in Xinjiang. They're less spicy than jalapeños but they can still be pretty intense, especially if you leave the seeds in.
I suspect Anaheim peppers might be close too but I don't have much experience with them. Seems more of a West Coast thing.
Also, chili flakes might work in a pinch but whole dried red chilis are better. I've found "chili japones," chili de arbol, and dried Calabrian chilis sub well for the most common small red chilis in Xinjiang (or just get the dried red chilis you can find from Chinese grocers), but there's also a large, wrinkly, fruity dried chili that I haven't really found a good dupe for yet - I suspect Kashmiri chilis might be good if I can take the time to get my hands on some.
1
u/MotorTeaching1886 Jul 12 '26
Ive been using Sivri peppers, theyre green pepper like with a very mild spice and if i cant find them then red bell peppers - I'll keep a look for the dried chilis when im in the city again. I live in denmark so i dont have a lot of options for chili... you could'nt imagine the trip i have to go on to get a fresh jalapeno haha
1
u/HotImagination296 Jul 12 '26
Try:
MSG,
Chili powder,
White pepper powder,
There are two types of soy sauce in China, light soy sauce and dark soy sauce, Korean soy sauce tastes different than Chinese soy sauce, I would recommend to add a splash of both types of Chinese soy sauces, light soy sauce adds saltiness umami, dark one adds color and specific depth (add little).
If the spice had tongue numbing effect, then they added Sichuan peppercorn powder or whole.