Hand Pulled Noodles

(4 servings)

Preparation time: 90 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 2 hours

Hand pulled noodles are surprisingly simple to make and who does not prefer fresh home made noodles to the packaged kind. My wife had seen the process of making these noodles in Xinjiang during her three years in China and encouraged me to try it out. The texture of these noodles is great and the taste even better. These noodles cook really quick and you can pair them with a variety of dishes. Whether you decide to serve up the noodles with pork in black bean sauce, chicken soup or spicy cumin goat like we did, you cannot go wrong.

Ingredients:

• 400 grams all purpose flour
• 10 ounces water
• 1 teaspoon salt

Method:

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl and mix. Slowly add the water while continuously stirring to incorporate the water in the flour. The flour should be of a flaky consistency at this point.

You can now transfer the dough to a clean surface dusted with additional flour and begin kneading. Keep some additional flour or water handy to adjust consistency of the dough. If dough feels sticky add additional flour slowly. If it feels dry add additional water 1 teaspoon at a time. Continue to knead the dough until the dough is smooth as shown. About ten minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover and let the dough rest for about an hour.

When ready to use, divide the dough into 4 pieces. Dust flour on the working surface again. Take one piece of dough and press it into a round disc. Roll it with a rolling pin into a long sheet about 5-6 millimeter thick. Roll out the rest of the dough pieces the same way. Use large bowls or plastic wrap to cover and seal the dough sheets, to keep them from drying out.

Bring a large pot of water to a roaring boil. This is very important to cook the noodles quickly and right. Take the first sheet of dough and slice it in strips about 1.5 centimeters thick.

Pick up one strip of the dough and begin to pull the dough from one end until it becomes pretty thin and almost breaks apart. Drop the dough immediately in the boiling water.

Don’t worry if the pulled dough breaks while you are doing this. You will quickly begin to learn how much you need to pull the dough to get the right consistency. Pull another 2-3 strips and let the noodles cook 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a colander to drain water and set aside. Work on the rest of the dough and strips in a similar way.

Serve fresh or store in the refrigerator and use later. You can store the noodles for up to 2 days.