Kyrgyzstan - Beshbarmak

Kyrgyzstan is a small mountainous country in Central Asia bordering Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and China. It’s a country known for its hospitality (if you happen to get invited to a Kyrgyz home they’ll insist you drink fermented mare’s milk), but they also love to play and watch the aggressive game of kok boru. It’s not a game for sissy. You see, you ride on horseback, with many other competitors, and you try and grab a headless goat and throw it across a goal line. Sort of like polo, without the corpse.

For our Kyrgyzstan meal I made the national dish, Beshbarmak. It’s traditionally made with horsemeat or, mutton or lamb. Beshbarmak means “five fingers” which makes sense because you eat it with you hands. You will find this dish at any festive gathering – maybe even at a kok boru event.


Beshbarmak

1 medium sheep or a small horse (You read that right. However, I went to Whole Foods and bought lamb chops)
1 large onion
You can make your own flat noodles with flour and eggs ( or you can use lasagna noodles like I did)

Boil the meat with the onions until done. Boil noodles in the same water that the meat was in to give the noodles a meaty flavor.

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