Funchoza is a well known salad in Central Asia. I am not very sure of it’s origins. Always thought of it being Korean but recent searches show that it is actually Uighur (ethnic minority in China) dish. The ingredients might remind Japchae but the taste is absolutely not the same. Japchae uses potato starch noodles, funchoza is done with rice noodles.
There are many varieties of this salad. This particular one is my favorite. I especially like the idea of using raw vegetables to give this salad a very fresh note.
Prep. time: 45 minutes
Yield: 6-8 servings
Ingredients:
- 0,5 lb of ground beef (85% lean is ideal)
- 1 bag of (12 oz) of rice noodles
- 2 tomatoes cut in cubes or julienned*
- 1 medium onion julienned
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 cup cilantro finely chopped
- 2-4 medium cloves of garlic minced
- 4 tblsp soy sauce
- 2 tblsp lemon vinegar
- pinch of red chili pepper
- 1 small cucumber
- 1/2 cup of oil, salt, pepper, cumin to taste
*While doing this salad, think thin. Julienning is a method of food preparation in which the food item is cut into long thin strips.
Directions:
1. Prepare rice noodles according to the package directions. Usually you just keep it for 10 minutes in boiling water. Take it out and rinse it well in cold water. Cut the noodles with help of kitchen shears to 6″ pieces.
2. Julien carrots, julien cleaned green bell peppers. In a small container put carrot, bell peppers and garlic. Add soy sauce, lemon vinegar, pinch of chili pepper and mix it well. Put a lid on the container and put it into refrigerator.
3. In a wok heat the oil, stir fry onions for a minute and add ground beef. Add salt, pepper and cumin according to your own taste. On medium high heat keep stir frying the meet for about 5-8 minutes, add half of the tomatoes and mix until tomatoes are very soft. Add half of the cilantro, mix it once or twice and turn off the heat. Drain the excess oil by help of bigger strainer.
In a large mixing bowl mix 1,2,3. Add remaining tomatoes, julienned cucumber and remaining cilantro. If needed add more salt and your salad is good to go.
Enjoy!
Thank you for the recipe. Mine came out a very, very delicious.
Cheers
Rashida, I am glad it came out good. My pleasure :)
going home no to try it…
How was it Nick? :)
I just had a little side dish of this at a Korean restaurant. Thanks for the tutorial that will now allow me to try making it at home. Yum!
You are welcome, Carolyn. Let me know how it turns out :)
My mum used to make this, but she used to fry the garlic in some oil with a hint of chilli, and some paprika, just the smell used to drive my taste buds crazy. I will try to make it your way but omit the cummin, and use some paprika. My mum also used to add egg but it was sliced, and fresh cucumber, julienned, also capsicum…..Oh how I miss her cooking…..mwa…
My wife and I made this for dinner tonight and it was fantastic. We made one substitution, thin-sliced lamb for ground beef, and it still worked well. You can get similar dishes at Northwestern-style restaurants here (we live in China) but they tend to be swimming in MSG and the veggies are sparser and overcooked. But this recipe has a real fresh snap to it. Thanks!
Assalamu alaykum, Hilola opa! I tried this recipe of Funchosa today, and it came out fresh and yummy. Thank you for the recipe!
canım arkadaşım öncelikle ellerine sağlık
muhteşem görünüyor ama benim ingilizcem biraz kötü
bana bunun türkçe tarifini verir misin :)
I made it with little bit of change(in #2: added cucumber to carrots and bell pepper) and it came out as a real Funchoza made by Koreans. I know that you said it is an Uygur dish, but we used to buy it from Koreans, so I consider it best if it is made by them. :) Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
I cant find lemon vinegar anywhere
After a decade, still checking back for recipes, They are good indeed.