Making Chinese Wheat noodles from Scratch.

Please see updated version - Making chinese noodles on my website

Basic noodles
2 cups flour
2 tablespoon of tapioca starch or corn flour
½  tsp bi carbonate of soda or akaline water (kansui) optional.
½ cup water

Method:
A stiff dough is prepared from flour and water. Knead the dough thoroughly, cover with a cloth or plastic and allow it to rest for 20 minutes. The resting time allows the flour to absorb water uniformly and make the dough more pliable and easier to handle. Flatten the dough with a rolling pin and make a sheet 1mm thick. Dust with tapioca starch flour to prevent sticking, as necessary. Roll the sheet into a log and cut slice of the width desired for the noodles. A pasta machine can be used to roll and cut the dough evenly.

When using the pasta machine, the dough must not be too wet, otherwise it will stick in the machine. After cutting up the noodles, dust them with tapioca STARCH FLOUR to prevent them from sticking together. The noodles may be cooked right away.

*Dusting with tapioca STARCH FLOUR (not wheat flour) will also give them better taste and prevent them from sticking together Noodles are soft to touch and may be covered with a wet towel.

For long term storage, the noodles may be air dried by draping them on plastic coat hangers for several hours, or they may be refrigerated for use at a later time. The drying time will vary depending on the humidity of the air and the amount of moisture in the dough. If the dough is too moist, the noodles will tend to clump together. Once dried, the noodles become crispy as dried noodles like the ones ( instant noodles) sold in packets in supermarket.

Basic Egg noodles
( A more tasty noodles like the ones sold in hawker stalls - kwantung mein)

4 cups plain flours
4 tablespoon of tapioca starch (flour)
1egg
1tsp salt
1 cup water
1 tsp or bi -carbonate of soda or  alkaline water (kansui) -optional

Few drops of rice vinegar (after cooked before serving)


Method
Beat eggs until light. Add salt and water. Work in flour to make a very stiff dough. Knead,then form into a ball. Cover with a cloth or plastic and allow it to rest for 20 minutes.
The resting time allows the flour to absorb water uniformly and make the dough more pliable and easier to handle. Roll out on floured board until very thin about 1mm . Dust top with additional flour and roll up like jelly roll. Cut in desired widths. Dust with STARCH flour to prevent sticking as necessary.
A pasta machine can be used to roll and cut the dough evenly or rolled up jelly-roll fashion and sliced through with a knife at the desired width. Or use the flat sheet of pasta to make ravioli or lasagne.

Dust with Tapioca STARCH FLOUR to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Noodles are soft to touch.
Noodles may be covered loosely with a towel for several hours, but we use them right away. Freeze the excess,but best be consumed within one or two days.


Green or Orange colour Noodles

Green or Orange noodles are made by adding some spinach or radish. The spinach or radish are first blended or pounded into a paste and added to the recipe.
Green spinach noodles are slightly sweeter than the ordinary basic noodles.
 
 




Basic Lamain Noodles
2 cups flour
1 cup water
2g of Kansui powder* (to be added to the water optional)

*Kansui or alkaline water weakens the flour proteins. Improves moisture retention by hydrating the starches and produce a more pliable dough that facilitates pulling the noodles but it also gives a harder noodles.

Method:
A stiff dough is prepared from flour and water. Knead the dough thoroughly, cover with a cloth, and allow it to rest for 60 minutes to relax the gluten and allows the flour to absorb water uniformly and make the dough more pliable and easier to handle. The dough is placed on a counter top with plenty of TAPIOCA STARCH FLOUR TO PREVENT IT FROM STICKING TOGETHER and stretched until it looks like a long thick rope. The rope is folded in half, twisted and stretched back to its original length approximately ten times This process is repeated until noodles are of the appropriate thickness

See also related link - How to make Lao Shu Fen 老鼠粉

Share on whatsapp