National Dish Turkmenistan: Ashlyan Fu (Recipe)
In this article
Ashlyan Fu is one of Central Asia’s genuine surprises: a cold noodle soup, sharp with vinegar and hot with chilli oil, built on thick, slippery starch noodles and served with cucumber, egg and thin slices of beef. On a scorching Turkmen summer day it is exactly right — cooling and bracing at the same time.
About Ashlyan Fu
Ashlyan Fu is a refreshing cold noodle soup from Turkmenistan, combining thick starch noodles with a sharp, spiced cold broth, tender beef and crisp vegetables into something quite unlike anything else in the region. The dish came to Central Asia with Dungan communities, Chinese-speaking Muslims who settled in the Ferghana Valley and beyond, and it has been enthusiastically adopted across Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan as summer food.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 150 g thick starch noodles (wide rice or glass noodles as a substitute)
- 150 g beef, thinly sliced
- 1 egg, hard-boiled
- 1 cucumber, cut into fine strips
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar or light vinegar
- 1–2 tablespoons chilli oil
- 500 ml cold beef stock
- Fresh herbs (coriander, dill), to serve
- Salt, to taste
Shopping for the ingredients
Proper fu noodles are made from starch jelly and are hard to find outside Central Asian shops, wide rice noodles or glass noodles are the practical substitute and give a similar slippery bite. Rice vinegar has the right mild sharpness; ordinary white wine vinegar works but use a little less. Chilli oil is worth buying good or making yourself.
Preparing the dish
Everything must be cold, so cook the components in advance and chill them thoroughly. This is not a dish to assemble in a hurry. Cook and cool the noodles, simmer and slice the beef, boil the egg, and cut the cucumber into fine matchsticks. The stock should be properly chilled, ideally overnight, and skimmed of any fat.
Step-by-step instructions
- Simmer the beef until tender, then cool and slice thinly; reserve and chill the stock.
- Cook the noodles according to the packet, rinse under cold water and drain well.
- Hard-boil the egg, cool and quarter it.
- Cut the cucumber into fine strips and crush the garlic.
- Season the cold stock with vinegar, crushed garlic and salt — it should taste sharp.
- Divide the noodles between bowls and arrange the beef, cucumber and egg on top.
- Pour over the cold seasoned stock and finish with chilli oil and fresh herbs.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
Ashlyan Fu contains no dairy at all. It is naturally gluten-free if you use starch, rice or glass noodles, which are the traditional choice anyway, check only that your vinegar and chilli oil are free from wheat-based additives.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
The dish adapts well: use a well-seasoned vegetable stock, replace the beef with strips of marinated fried tofu or blanched mushrooms, and leave out the egg or substitute a firm tofu cube. The vinegar-garlic-chilli combination carries the whole bowl, so very little is lost.
More tips and tricks
Serve it genuinely cold, lukewarm ashlyan fu is deeply unappealing. Taste the broth before pouring, and be bolder with the vinegar than feels natural, because the noodles dilute it. Rinsing the noodles well after cooking is essential, or they clump into a solid mass.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Dungan cooks often add fried strips of thin omelette or a spoonful of pickled vegetables. A dash of soy sauce deepens the broth. The chilli level varies hugely from household to household, start modest and add more oil at the table, which is how it is usually eaten.
Ingredient substitutions
Glass noodles, wide rice noodles or even soba all work in place of starch noodles. Chicken or lamb substitute for beef without any trouble. Apple cider vinegar can replace rice vinegar; add a pinch of sugar to soften it if it is very sharp.
Drink pairing ideas
Green tea, served hot despite the cold soup, is the standard Central Asian accompaniment and works better than it sounds. Ayran or a plain yoghurt drink also suits the sharpness. For something cold and simple, iced water with lemon is all it needs.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve ashlyan fu in wide bowls with the components visibly arranged before the broth goes in, the contrast of white noodles, red chilli oil, green herbs and yellow egg is half the appeal. Put extra vinegar and chilli oil on the table so everyone can adjust. A flatbread on the side is traditional.
A bit of history
The dish travelled with the Dungan people, who fled north-west China in the 19th century and settled across Central Asia, bringing a distinctive cuisine that blended Chinese technique with local ingredients. Ashlyan Fu became a summer street food staple, sold at bazaars in enormous quantities during hot weather. It offers a genuine window onto Turkmen cuisine and the region’s layered migration history.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Ashlyan Fu
Ashlyan Fu is a cold, sharp, chilli-slicked noodle soup, Central Asia’s answer to summer heat. Chill everything properly, season the broth more boldly than feels right, and serve it with extra vinegar and chilli oil on the table. Unexpected, and genuinely excellent.
