Ingredients
For the Noodles
- 3 cups bread flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup plus 1.5 tablespoons water
- 1.5 tablespoons vegetable oil
For the Sauce
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3/4 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 7-8 cloves garlic, minced
- 1.5-inch piece of ginger, minced
- 1.5 tablespoons cumin powder
- 1.5 teaspoons coriander powder
- 3/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 3/4 lb thinly sliced beef or lamb
- 1.5 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1.5 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chili oil
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
For Assembly & Garnish
- 5-6 white cabbage leaves, torn into pieces
- 1.5 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds
- 3 stalks of scallions, thinly sliced
First, Make and Rest the Noodle Dough
The key to good hand-pulled noodles is a well-rested dough.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the bread flour, salt, and water. Knead with the dough hook on medium-low speed for ~5 minutes until a rough dough forms. Continue kneading for another 15-20 minutes, until the surface of the dough is completely smooth and elastic.
Transfer the dough to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let it rest for at least one hour. This rest is critical for relaxing the gluten, which makes the noodles easy to stretch later.
Next, Make the Sauce
While the dough is resting, make the sauce. Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok or skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and cook for ~3-5 minutes until they soften. Add the minced garlic and ginger and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add the cumin, coriander, and white pepper. Stir-fry for about a minute until the spices are very fragrant. This step blooms the spices and is key to the sauce’s flavor.
Add the slices of beef and stir-fry for ~3-5 minutes, until the beef is completely cooked with a slight caramelization.
Add the soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, black vinegar, chili oil, and salt. Stir-fry for another 2 minutes to combine everything. Transfer the finished sauce to a bowl large enough to hold all the noodles.
Finally, Pull, Cook, and Assemble the Noodles
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.
Turn the rested dough out onto a lightly oiled surface and roll it into a rectangle about 10×4 inches. Divide the dough into 12 even pieces. Let them rest, covered, for another 10 minutes.
Now for the fun part. Working with one piece of dough at a time, hold each end and gently pull it apart while slapping it on your work surface. The noodle should stretch to about 2 feet long. When it’s at your desired length, you can tear it in half lengthwise to make two thinner noodles.
Drop the pulled noodles directly into the boiling water. They cook very quickly, usually in about 45-60 seconds. They are done when they float to the surface.
Using tongs or a spider, transfer the cooked noodles directly from the water into the bowl with the sauce. As you pull and cook the noodles in batches, add them to the sauce bowl.
In the last batch of noodles, add the torn cabbage leaves to the boiling water and cook for ~30-45 seconds until wilted. Add them to the bowl as well.
Toss the noodles and cabbage thoroughly with the sauce. Portion into individual bowls and garnish with sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
Biang Biang Mian
Ingredients
For the Noodles
- 3 cups bread flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup plus 1.5 tablespoons water
- 1.5 tablespoons vegetable oil
For the Sauce
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3/4 medium onion thinly sliced
- 7-8 cloves garlic minced
- 1.5-inch piece of ginger minced
- 1.5 tablespoons cumin powder
- 1.5 teaspoons coriander powder
- 3/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 3/4 lb thinly sliced beef or lamb
- 1.5 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1.5 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chili oil
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
For Assembly & Garnish
- 5-6 white cabbage leaves torn into pieces
- 1.5 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds
- 3 stalks of scallions thinly sliced
Instructions
- Combine flour, salt, and water in stand mixer. Knead with dough hook 20-25 minutes until smooth and elastic.
- Transfer to oiled bowl, cover and rest 1 hour.
- Heat oil in wok over medium heat. Cook onions 3-5 minutes until soft. Add garlic and ginger, cook 2 minutes.
- Add cumin, coriander, white pepper. Stir-fry 1 minute.
- Add beef, stir-fry 3-5 minutes until caramelized.
- Add soy sauce, wine, vinegar, chili oil, salt. Stir-fry 2 minutes. Transfer to large bowl.
- Bring pot of salted water to boil.
- Roll rested dough into 10×4 inch rectangle. Cut into 12 pieces. Rest 10 minutes.
- Pull each piece into 2-foot noodle, tear lengthwise if desired.
- Cook noodles in boiling water 45-60 seconds until floating.
- Transfer cooked noodles to sauce bowl.
- Add cabbage to last batch, cook 30-45 seconds until wilted.
- Toss noodles and cabbage with sauce. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.
