Hand-pulled noodles

Hand-pulled noodles are easier to make than you think. The trick is to let them fully rest so the dough is super soft, and the gluten fully relaxed allowing you to pull them to arms length.

Credit: Frank Yang

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

Noodles

• 405 g flour   
• 1 tsp salt     
• 240 ml water 

Spice mix

• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cumin seeds, crushed in a mortar and pestle
• ½ tsp Sichuan peppercorns, crushed in a mortar and pestle
• 1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed in a mortar and pestle
• 1-2 tsp chilli powder, mild
• 2 tsp sesame seeds

Sauce

• 2 tbsp black vinegar
• ⅓ cup soy sauce
• 2 ½ tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

To serve

• Coriander leaves (optional)
• Spring onions, sliced (optional)
• 50 ml vegetable oil

Resting time: 5 ½ hours

Instructions

1. For the noodles, mix flour and salt together, add water and knead into a smooth dough, place in a container and cover and allow the dough to rest for 30 mins, knead the dough until smooth and soft and allow to rest covered for another 2 hours, knead the dough one last time and allow to rest for a further 2 hours. Cut dough into 70-80g pieces and form into a tablet shape, place on a well-oiled tray – cover and allow the dough to relax for another hour or so. Keep at room temperature until ready to eat.
2. For the spice mix, mix all ingredients, keep in an airtight container until needed
3. For the sauce, mix to combine,
4. To serve, heat a medium pot of water over high heat until water boils, lower heat to medium.
5. Roll a cylinder of dough lengthways with a rolling pin until 1cm thick, imprint the centre of the dough rectangle with a chopstick lengthways, grab each end of the dough and stretch with even gentle pressure, slapping the centre on the workbench as it gets longer, when the noodle is extended to your arm span, place on the bench and gently tear the noodle in half from the imprint of the chopstick earlier, gently place into the simmering water, allow to poach for 2-3 minutes.
6. Place small pot with the vegetable oil on the stove to heat up to 180’C or smoking.
7. Place the desired amount of the dressing into a serving bowl, drain water off the noodle and mix in the serving bowl, top with coriander and spring onions and a generous teaspoon of the spice mix, carefully pour over the smoking oil on the spice mix to waken the flavours up, and serve immediately. Toss to mix the sauce and chilli oil before eating.

Victor Liong creates a Chinese banquet in Please Eat Slowly on SBS Food and SBS On Demand.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.