Thukpa

the noodle soup of the high passes: a broth built on bruised black cardamom and ginger, poured over hand-pulled noodles with whatever meat and greens the season gives

Origin: Tibet, Sikkim & Nepal

From the journey of Cardamom.

Thukpa is Tibetan in origin, the word meaning simply noodle, and it travelled with Tibetan traders and later with refugees across the whole eastern Himalaya. It is now equally at home in Lhasa, Gangtok, Darjeeling, Thimphu, and Kathmandu, and it is the standard cheap hot meal of the hill towns. It belongs to a category of food shaped by altitude and cold rather than by abundance. A single bowl carries broth, starch, protein, and vegetables together, it is eaten scalding, and it uses very little fuel relative to what it delivers, all of which matters at three thousand metres. The vegetables change with what is available, which in the hills for much of the year means very little: dried or fermented greens, radish, and whatever meat there is. The broth is where the black cardamom does its work. A thin stock made from bones and not much else needs aromatics that carry, and the smoky, camphorous pod from the plantations lower down the same slopes gives depth that a long simmer alone would not. It goes in whole and bruised at the start, alongside ginger and a little Sichuan pepper. In the Nepali and Sikkimese versions the spicing runs warmer than the Tibetan, with turmeric, cumin, and often tomato; the Tibetan original is plainer and cleaner, and both are given below as one method with a note on where they diverge.

Ingredients

Broth

1.5 litre beef or chicken stock, or water and bones
3 whole black cardamom pods, bruised
4 slices fresh ginger, thick
1 tsp timur or Sichuan peppercorns, lightly crushed
2 whole dried red chillies

Soup

300 g beef, chicken, or mutton, cut into thin strips
1 large onion, finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped (Nepali style; omit for Tibetan)
1 tsp ground turmeric (Nepali style; omit for Tibetan)
1 tsp ground cumin (Nepali style; omit for Tibetan)
1 medium carrot, cut into thin batons
150 g greens: spinach, cabbage, or bok choy, shredded
300 g wheat noodles, fresh or dried
2 tbsp vegetable or mustard oil
2 tsp sea salt, or to taste

To finish

1 handful coriander leaves and spring onion, chopped

Method

Bring the stock to a simmer with the black cardamom, ginger slices, dried chillies, and timur. Hold it at a bare simmer for at least 30 minutes whilst you prepare everything else.
Heat the oil in a wide pan and brown the meat hard in two batches. Set it aside.
In the same pan cook the onion until well browned, then the garlic for a minute, then the ground spices and tomato if using the Nepali version, cooking until the tomato collapses.
Tip the pan contents and the browned meat into the simmering broth, add the carrot, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the meat is tender.
Cook the noodles separately in salted water until just done, drain, and divide between four deep bowls.
Add the greens to the broth and cook for two minutes only, then check the salt and fish out the cardamom pods and ginger slices.
Ladle the broth and its contents over the noodles, scatter with coriander and spring onion, and serve at once, very hot.

Notes

Black cardamom is the backbone of the broth and green cardamom will not do; they are different species and only the black is smoke-dried. Timur is the Nepali relative of Sichuan pepper and either works. The Tibetan version omits tomato, turmeric, and cumin; the Nepali and Sikkimese includes them, and both are correct. Vegetarian versions using a mushroom and ginger broth with fried tofu are common in Kathmandu and hold up well, since the cardamom carries the broth. Fresh hand-pulled noodles are traditional; any wheat noodle works. Thenthuk is the same soup made with torn sheets of dough dropped straight into the broth.

The Gastrographer

Name: Thukpa
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Sikkim & Nepal
Ingredients: 1.5 litre beef or chicken stock, or water and bones; 3 whole black cardamom pods, bruised; 4 slices fresh ginger, thick; 1 tsp timur or Sichuan peppercorns, lightly crushed; 2 whole dried red chillies; 300 g beef, chicken, or mutton, cut into thin strips; 1 large onion, finely sliced; 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 1 medium tomato, chopped (Nepali style; omit for Tibetan); 1 tsp ground turmeric (Nepali style; omit for Tibetan); 1 tsp ground cumin (Nepali style; omit for Tibetan); 1 medium carrot, cut into thin batons; 150 g greens: spinach, cabbage, or bok choy, shredded; 300 g wheat noodles, fresh or dried; 2 tbsp vegetable or mustard oil; 2 tsp sea salt, or to taste; 1 handful coriander leaves and spring onion, chopped

Mapping Culinary History

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control