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Indian · Nepalese

Thenthuk

Vegetarian

འཐེན་ཐུག · then thuk

A Tibetan-style soup of hand-pulled flat noodle pieces torn straight into a gingery broth with radish, spinach and tomato. A staple across Ladakh and the Himalaya.

Thenthuk is an Indian soup, ready in about 1 hour 15 minutes and made with all-purpose flour, onion and garlic. It serves 4 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
Thenthuk: hand-pulled flat noodle soup with vegetables and mushroom in a red bowl
Photo: Gaurav Dhwaj Khadka / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
15 min
Cook
30 min
Rest
30 min
Total
1 h 15 min
Serves
4
Level
Intermediate
Calories
340

Ingredients

4 servings

Dough

Soup

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the flour and salt with enough water to make a firm, smooth dough. Knead for 5 minutes, divide into 4 logs, brush with a little oil and rest, covered, for 30 minutes.

    • 8 min
    Hands kneading dough on a floured surface
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Heat the oil in a large pot and fry the onion (opens in a new tab) until soft, then the garlic (opens in a new tab) and ginger. Add the tomatoes (opens in a new tab) and cook until they break down.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Add the radish, stock and soy sauce (opens in a new tab) and bring to a steady boil.

    • 6 min
    • medium-high heat

  4. Step 4

    Flatten each dough log into a long strip about 3 cm wide. Pull the strip thin and tear off thumb-sized pieces directly into the boiling soup. Cook until the pieces float and are tender.

    • 8 min
    • medium-high heat

    Work quickly so the first and last pieces cook evenly.

  5. Step 5

    Add the spinach (opens in a new tab) and spring onion (opens in a new tab) for a minute and serve with chilli flakes (opens in a new tab).

    • 1 min
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Tibetan Plateau; widely eaten in Ladakh and Sikkim · Commonly attributedA Tibetan dish, everyday food in Ladakh, Sikkim, Himachal's Tibetan settlements and Nepal.Also popular in India, Nepal, China, Bhutan
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Soups · Noodles · Main courses
Cooking method
Simmered, Boiled
Taste
savoury, garlicky, mild, umami
Diet
Vegan · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-fat
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pot · Budget-friendly
Cook more with
All-purpose flour · Onion · Garlic · Fresh ginger · Tomato · Daikon
Techniques
Boiling · Simmering · Kneading

Allergens

  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour, soy sauce
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, vegetable stock, soy sauce
  • Contains: Soyfrom soy sauce
  • May contain: Celeryfrom vegetable stock

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

340 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 649 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 12%
  • Carbohydrate 72%
  • Fat 17%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy340 kcal52 kcal
Protein10 g1.5 g
Carbohydrate61.4 g9.5 g
Net carbohydrate56.9 g8.8 g
Sugars6.3 g1 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre4.5 g0.7 g
Fat6.4 g1 g
Saturated fat0.7 g0.1 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium1451 mg224 mg
Salt equivalent3.6 g0.6 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
638 mg
Calcium
90 mg
Iron
4.6 mg
Magnesium
63 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
215 µg
Vitamin C
31 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
271 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: red chilli flakes.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Oil the dough logs before resting so they stretch thin without tearing.

Common mistakes

  • Tearing the noodles thick — they stay doughy in the middle.

Serve with

  • Eat steaming hot with a spoon of chilli sauce or sepen.

Storage

  • Best eaten fresh; the noodles soak up broth on standing.

Reheating

  • Add hot water or stock when reheating.

Variations

  • Meat thenthuk: Simmer thin slices of mutton or beef in the broth before adding the noodles.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

The spice and seasoning backbone

Spices, masalas & pastes

Used in step 5

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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