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Laphing
Featured recipe

Laphing

Cold starch sheet noodles

Laphing came to Kathmandu with Tibetan families, and the alleys around the great stupa at Boudha are full of tiny stalls selling it every afternoon, to monks, students and office workers alike. Flour dough is washed in water to separate the starch from the gluten; the starch is steamed into thin, jelly-like sheets and the gluten into a spongy filling, then everything is rolled up and drowned in fiery chilli oil, garlic water, soy sauce and vinegar. It is cold, slippery, chewy and very hot. Contains wheat (gluten) and soya. Chef's tip: steam each sheet no thicker than 3 mm; thick layers set rubbery instead of silky.

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