chinese hand-pulled noodles

noodles

ingredients

• 425 grams (15 ounces; 3 cups) bread flour, plus more for dusting
• 28 grams (1 ounce; ¹⁄₂ cup) nutritional yeast
• 4 grams (1 teaspoon) kosher salt
• 285 grams (10 ounces; 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons) cool water
• 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) vegetable oil, plus more for brushing

instructions

• In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour, nutritional yeast, and salt together. With the processor running, add the water and oil and process until a dough forms in a ball and runs around the processor blade, about 30 seconds.
• Transfer the dough to a clean counter and knead it until it is smooth. Roll, knead, and stretch the dough, doubling back after each stretch, until it begins to stretch without tearing, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Stretch the dough to arm’s-length, then bring ends together to twirl dough into an even, twisted log (roll dough on counter after twisting to even out the thicker areas). Repeat the stretching and twirling until the dough easily pulls to a full arm’s-length with no resistance and no tearing, about 10 minutes longer.
• Flatten the dough into a rectangle to the best of your ability, and cut the dough into 3 ¹⁄₂ ounce pieces (about 6 pieces for one batch of dough). Use a rolling pin to roll each piece into flat rectangles, a little over ¹⁄₄ of an inch thick, 4-5 inches long, and about 1 ¹⁄₂ inches wide.
• Brush the pieces of the dough with vegetable oil, and place sideways in a container without overlapping. Cover with plastic wrap.
• If you plan to pull and cook the noodles immediately, dust the counter liberally with flour and bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil over high heat.
• Working with one piece at a time, using your hands or a rolling pin, stretch the dough until it is approximately a foot long and in a tongue shape. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, split each piece into two halves vertically. Pick up the halves and begin slapping it against the surface, elongating them into a noodle shape. The noise may or may not sound like a hard “biang.”
• Put the noodles into the boiling water. Repeat the procedure to pull other noodles. Cook four noodles at a time for about 1 minute. Once done, remove noodles from the boiling water to a serving bowl.

meat topping

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons neutral oil
• 8 ounces ground chicken, pork, or beef
• 2 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground Szechaun peppercorns
• 2 tablespoon Ya Cai or Zha Cai (pickled mustard greens or stems)
• 2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
• 2 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine
• 4 teaspoons Tian Mian Jiang (sweet bean sauce)
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 2 handfuls of leafy greens (bok choy, water spinach, baby spinach, or swiss chard, etc.)

instructions

• Mince all the ginger by first thin slices, then stack the slices and slice thin matchsticks. Bundle the matchsticks and cut crosswise to a fine mince. Divide the ginger for the meat topping and the savory broth
• Crush the garlic with the flat side of the knife and run your knife through back and forth to mince the garlic.
• Finely chop the mustard greens, tops and stems. Set aside
• Slice the scallions into thin rounds or thin bias. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a saute pan or wok over high heat. When the oil is hot and shimmering, add in the ground meat and ginger. Add the ground Szechaun peppercorn and season with salt.
• Loosen the meat with a wooden spoon or spatula. When the meat turns pale, add the Ya Cai or Zha Cai (pickled mustard greens), dried chilli flakes and the Shaoxing rice wine.
• Add the sweet bean sauce (Tian Mian Jiang) once the meat becomes dry. Fry for 30 seconds or so to evenly coat the meat. Once finished, remove from heat and set aside.
• Bring a pot of water to a full boil. Add salt to the water to season it, then add the leafy greens for just a quick minute. Drain everything and set it aside.

broth

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons neutral oil
• 2 teaspoons garlic
• 2 teaspoons ginger
• 2 ¹⁄₂ cups of chicken or beef stock
• 8 ounces of canned chickpeas, drained
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons Chinese black vinegar
• 4 tablespoons Szechuan Chinese chilli oil, or to taste (recipe attached)
• 1 teaspoon ground Szechaun peppercorns, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar

instructions

• Heat the oil in a small pot. Once oil is hot and shimmering, add the garlic and ginger. Stir for about 30 seconds.
• Add the stock and the chickpeas to the pot, then add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

szechuan chili oil

ingredients

• 2 cups neutral oil
• 4 star anise
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 3 black cardamom pods
• 3 whole cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 stick cinnamon, broken in half
• 1 3-inch piece ginger, smashed
• 1 cup (about 32) chiles de árbol, stemmed and chopped
• 3 tablespoons Szechuan peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon kosher salt

instructions

• Heat the oil, star anise, garlic, cardamom, cloves, bay, cinnamon, and ginger in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Stirring occasionally, until garlic is golden, 15–20 minutes.
• Using a slotted spoon, remove and discard garlic and ginger. Transfer oil and spices into a 1-quart glass jar. Add the chiles de arbol, Szechuan peppercorns, soy, and salt; let cool to room temperature.
• Seal jar and let sit for at least 24 hours. To use, strain oil, discarding solids. Store refrigerated up to 3 months.