In addition to my day job, my duties as a wife and mother and holiday preparations, I’ve been busy writing the text for the second volume of Silk Road Gourmet. The volume covers what I call the “fusion” cuisines of Central Asia, the Himalayas and the Indo-Pacific. These are the countries that combine distinctly western Asian and Eastern Asian elements in unique ways to form the backbones of their national cuisines. The cuisines of Indonesia and Malaysia already have been celebrated for these sorts of combinations – but Central Asia?
A quick survey of the web seems to suggest that in the 21st Century, Central Asians survive on boiled and dried meats, horsemeat sausage and yogurt. Beautiful fruits and vegetables, bursting with flavor are never mentioned, fresh herbs and spices are rarely spoken of, and traveler’s dairies all bemoan the terrible food they encountered on their journeys. For the Central Asians that visit the blog, for those already in the know, and for the curious – I am happy to help dispel some of these myths.
The varied cuisines of Central Asia are basically blends of the Arab, Persian, and sub-continental Indian cuisines from the west and Chinese traditions from the east. These great cuisines were combined with the native food preparations of the Turkic tribes that ruled these nations prior to the Mongolian conquest of the 13th Century. Uzbekistan had many added cultural influences that came from Tamerlane’s efforts to establish Samarkand as one of the world’s great centers of arts and letters. Because he wanted Samarkand to be as beautiful and majestic a place as the world’s artists, craftsmen and academicians could make it, he sent the greatest thinkers and artisans he could find during his conquests back to Samarkand. During his long reign, lasting most of the fourteenth century, these established neighborhoods of Persians, Syrians and Armenians and Turks within the city that complemented the communities of Greeks, Egyptians and Chinese already living there. Russian influence in Central Asia began in the 18th and 19th Centuries, and this brought European elements into already cosmopolitan cuisines.
The eastern love of the great Chinese meal-soup is part of every Central Asian cuisine from Kazakh shurpa to Uzbek lagman. All of the cuisines also enjoy the use of a wide variety of noodles in addition to rice and other grains as a foundation for stews and soups. Dumpling meals are also enjoyed as is tea – spiced, salty or buttered. On occasion, a method of quick sautéing is also used that is not too different from the East Asian stir fry. Distinctly eastern flavors are seen in the use of star anise, soy sauce, rice vinegar, Sichuan pepper and lime juice.
From the west, influences include the Persian love of layering casseroles and combining meat dishes with sweet fruits such as dried apricots, sour cherries and quinces. Indian elements include the use of large amounts of cinnamon and complex spice mixtures used to flavor rich stews. Native Turkic traditions are reflected in commonly eaten stuffed vegetables, such as peppers, onions and tomatoes. Arab or Levantine elements are seen in the love of blending olives with dishes, roasted pine nuts used to flavor pilafs and in a dish that features gently flavored yogurt-noodles used to offset spicy roasted meat and vegetables.
The cultures of Central Asia have cherry-picked some of the best that both Eastern Asian and Western Asian traditions have to offer – but they have also given a great deal back to the cuisines of the world. Central Asian produce which are now incorporated into cuisines around the world include onions, garlic, carrots, rhubarb, and the herbs dill and tarragon. (Words by Laura Kelley)