Several years ago, when I was working as a student midwife and had first told some of my friends about my new boyfriend, Derick, who was living and working in Nepal, a fellow student and friend of mine (Lindi) who had previously lived in Tibet made me this delicious soup to give me a taste of what some of Derick’s food in his Tibetan/Nepali neighborhood might be like and nicknamed it “Derick’s soup.” There are many versions of Thukpa and Thentuk depending on where you are, but this is the one we make and love. In Nepal, it might be made with water buffalo or chicken meat but could also be made with just vegetables.
Makes about 4 quarts (serves 4-6 people)
1 pound chopped beef (stew meat)
2 T. olive oil for cooking meat
4 quarts water or broth
5-6 green onions (or 1 small white onion diced)
2 T. garlic, minced
3 large tomatoes, diced
3 cups flour (plus more for surface)
salt
pepper
1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped, including stems
With olive oil, brown meat on both sides in a skillet. Add broth (or water) to large pot with onions, tomatoes and garlic and bring to a boil. In mixing bowl, combine 3 cups flour with 1 cup water and stir then knead for 10-15 min. continuing to add flour until dough is formed and smooth. Roll out dough on floured surface (about 1/8″ thick) and cut with pizza cutter into strips (about 1″ wide). Tear off small pieces and put straight into boiling broth. Add cooked meat and cilantro. Boil a few minutes until noodles are cooked, then add salt and pepper to taste.
Fun Fact: Sometimes we like to listen to the appropriate cultural music while eating international meals. I also listened to lots of Nepali and Tibetan music when Derick and I were dating while he was still in Nepal because it made me feel a little closer to him. 😉
the prep 
the dough 
the soup
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3 lbs of lour? Just for dredging the beef? IMO, its too much and wasteful. I enjoy your international recipes.
No ma’am. 1 lb. of beef is to be cooked in the oil, then the 3 C. of flour is just for the noodles. 🙂 Hope that makes sense.
Dude, did you even read the recipe before accusing someone of wasting flour when she’s using the flour to make noodles?????
aww, so sweet! thanks for sharing this recipe! I’m going to attempt to veganize this recipe lol. Out of all of the cultures that you’ve been exposed to, what would you say is your favorite when it comes to food?
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How do you get the boys to eat such ethnically diverse food? I know when I was growing up, for me and my brothers, if it wasn’t hot dogs or chicken nuggets, we weren’t interested! How do you handle expanding their palette and which one is the pickiest eater, Israel or Samuel?
They loved this because it’s similar to stuff they’ve had before.
Sometimes it is difficult to make them branch out though. We frequently tell them, “you don’t have to like it but you do have to try it.”
We give them small portions of new things and sometimes it helps if I feed it to them the rest off their plate to help them finish it up.
Also, I’ve found that letting them help me make it in the kitchen usually helps them be more excited to try new foods (thanks @sierrajodominguez for that helpful tip!).
I feel like they go through phases…Samuel currently seems to be more adventurous. lol
In Quebec, Canada, those noodles are called « glissants » and they are also very good in stews.
This looks so good!! Should the broth be chicken or beef? Would a can of diced tomatoes work, or would that affect consistency and taste?
I’m sure diced tomatoes would be fine. Either broth would be fine. I used a mix of turkey and chicken broth recently and it was perfect!
Do you think this soup would work with chicken or pork meat instead of beef?
I want to try this but hate cilantro. Trying to think of something that will go good as a substitute. Basil, Parsley, Chives, Dill… Anyone have ideas?
Maybe something like thyme, sage, thai basil, or lemongrass. I bet it would be easy to make it taste regionally unique from communities across the globe by picking a strong-tasting herb from an area and using that! Like you could even use a distinctive chili spice like sriracha sauce, yum!
Parsley is the usual sub for cilantro since they are in the same family.
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.
Yay! Glad they loved it!