Liangpi

Where This Goes Wrong

Wash until the water runs almost clear — six or seven changes.

Four hours of settling, then pour the clear water off.

Keep the gluten ball. It goes back in the bowl.

How to Make Liangpi

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

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2. Submerge the dough in a large bowl of cold water and knead it under the water until the water turns milky.

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3. Pour the milky water into a second container and add fresh water to the dough. Repeat 6 or 7 times, until the water stays almost clear and only a rubbery gluten ball is left.

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4. Steam the gluten ball 20 minutes, until risen and spongy, then cool and tear into pieces.

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5. Leave the collected starch water to settle 4 hours, then carefully pour off and discard the clear water on top.

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6. Stir the thick settled starch back to an even batter, thin with a little water if needed.

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7. Oil a flat metal tray, ladle in a thin layer of batter and float the tray in a wide pan of boiling water. Cover and steam 3 minutes, until the sheet bubbles and sets.

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8. Cool the sheet in cold water, peel it off, oil it and stack. Repeat, stirring the batter each time.

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9. Cut the sheets into 2 cm ribbons.

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10. Toss with the gluten pieces, cucumber, bean sprouts and all the dressing ingredients, and scatter with coriander.

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Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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Why It Works

The washing separates the dough into two things you use separately: the starch water, which becomes the noodles, and the gluten ball left behind, which is steamed and torn into the bowl as a sponge. Wash until the water runs almost clear, six or seven changes, and then let the starch water settle for at least four hours — the starch sinks and the clear water on top is poured away. Skip the settling and the sheets will not set. Stir the settled starch thoroughly before every pour.

Leftovers, Reheating and Keeping

The cut sheets keep refrigerated 2 days, oiled. Dress only to order.

Swaps and Variations

• Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the chilli. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
• 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.

Serving Liangpi

• Rou jia mo
• A cold beer
• More chilli oil

Questions and Answers

What's in a Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

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