Biang Biang Noodles

Before You Start

The second, oiled rest is what makes them pull. Do not skip it.

Slap as you pull — the weight does the work.

The oil must actually smoke.

How to Make Biang Biang Noodles

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1. Mix the flour, salt and water into a stiff dough and knead 8 minutes until smooth. Cover and rest 30 minutes.

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2. Divide into 8 pieces, roll each into an oval, coat generously in oil, and cover tightly.

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3. Rest 1 hour more at room temperature — this is the rest that makes them pull.

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4. Press a chopstick lengthways down the centre of each oval to make a groove.

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5. Hold both ends and pull, slapping the strip against the counter as you go, until it is about a metre long.

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6. Tear it in two along the groove and drop it straight into a large pan of rapidly boiling water.

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7. Boil 90 seconds, adding the blanched greens for the last 20 seconds, then lift into bowls.

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8. Top each bowl with chilli flakes, garlic, spring onion, Sichuan pepper and salt.

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9. Heat the oil until it smokes and pour it over each bowl — it must hiss loudly.

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10. Add the soy sauce, vinegar and sugar, scatter with coriander, and mix hard before eating.

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Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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Why It Works

The dough needs two rests, and the second one — oiled, covered, at least an hour — is what makes it stretchable. Gluten that has not relaxed springs back the moment you pull it, and no amount of force will give you a belt; a properly rested dough pulls to a metre with almost no effort. Slapping the strip on the counter as you pull is not showmanship, it uses the dough's own weight to do the stretching. And the oil at the end must genuinely smoke, or the raw garlic and chilli on top stay raw.

After You've Cooked It

None. Pull and boil to order.

Ingredient Swaps

• Out of spring onions? A small regular onion, finely sliced, or a few chives stirred in at the end both cover the job.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Good With

• Rou jia mo
• A cold beer
• Pickled garlic

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Vegan Fried Rice.

Questions and Answers

The Numbers per Serving

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: where a line offers a choice of foods, only one of them is counted. How the figures are worked out.

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