Biang Biang Noodles

Ingredients

• 200 g plain flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 100 g cold water
• vegetable oil (for coating the dough)
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
• 1 garlic clove (finely chopped)
• 2 spring onions (thinly sliced)
• coriander (handful, roughly chopped)
• 1 tsp chilli powder (or chilli flakes)
• 0.5 tsp Sichuan peppercorns (freshly ground)
• 2 tbsp chilli sauce oil
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil (for the hot oil finish)

Steps

1. 1

   In a bowl, mix the 200g plain flour, 1 tsp salt, and 100g cold water until a rough dough forms.

2. 2

   Knead the dough for 10 minutes until a smooth dough ball forms.

3. 3

   Wrap the dough with cling film and let it rest for a minimum of 1 hour.

4. 4

   Repeat the kneading process 2-3 more times with 30-minute resting intervals between each session to develop the gluten.

5. 5

   After the final knead, separate the dough into 6 long oval or rectangular sausage-shaped pieces.

6. 6

   Place the dough pieces in a container and cover them completely with vegetable oil. Let them rest for at least 1 hour, or overnight for better results.

7. 7

   Take a piece of dough and flatten it into a thin rectangle shape. Optionally, you can roll it into a coil (croissant shape) then flatten it again for extra texture.

8. 8

   Using a chopstick, make a small indent lengthways down the middle of the flattened dough.

9. 9

   Hold the shorter ends of the dough and gently stretch and slap the dough against the table until it forms a long ribbon.

10. 10

    If desired, rip the noodle down the center indent to create thinner ribbons. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.

11. 11

    Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the noodles for 3-4 minutes (or about 1 minute if very thin) until they float to the surface.

12. 12

    Drain the noodles and place them into a serving bowl.

13. 13

    Place the chopped garlic, coriander, spring onions, ground Sichuan pepper, chili oil, and chili powder in a pile on top of the cooked noodles.

14. 14

    Heat 4 tbsp of vegetable oil in a small frying pan until it is shimmering and very hot.

15. 15

    Carefully pour the hot oil directly over the aromatics and spices to sizzle them.

16. 16

    Pour the light soy sauce and Chinese black vinegar over the noodles. Mix thoroughly and serve immediately.

Notes

The 'QQ' texture refers to a pleasant chewiness common in Asian noodles. Rolling the dough into a coil before flattening is an optional step that adds more layers and texture to the final noodle. If the noodles feel too thick while cooking, you can stretch them further before they hit the water.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• noodles
• Chinese
• vegetarian
• hand-pulled
• spicy
• biang biang