Dao Xiao Mian

Noodles shaved off a block of dough straight into the boiling water, so they are cooked in the order they are cut.

Beef. Not vegetarian — contains beef.

Ingredients

For the dough

• 500 g strong white flour
• 220 ml water
• 5 g salt

For the broth

• 600 g beef shin, in 3 cm cubes
• 2 litres water
• 3 tomatoes, quartered
• 30 g ginger, sliced
• 4 spring onions
• 3 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 tablespoons chilli bean paste
• 60 ml light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons flavourless oil

To serve

• coriander
• black vinegar

Method

1. THE NOODLES ARE SHAVED STRAIGHT INTO THE BOILING WATER off a block of dough held in one hand, and that is why the dough is as stiff as it is. There is no rolling, no cutting board and no resting between cutting and cooking: each strip flies off the blade into the pan and is cooked in the order it was cut. A dough soft enough to roll will fold over the knife instead of leaving it.
2. SO THIS DOUGH IS DRIER THAN ANY OTHER NOODLE DOUGH HERE -- 220 ml of water to 500 g of flour, where a pulled noodle takes 260. It should be hard work to knead and should hold a sharp edge when cut.
3. The broth first, because it takes hours and the noodles take minutes. Beef blanched from cold water 10 minutes, drained, rinsed.
4. Oil in the pot, chilli bean paste fried 1 minute until the oil reddens, then the beef, ginger, spring onion and whole spices.
5. Water and soy in, brought to a bare simmer, lid on, 2 hours.
6. Tomatoes in for the last 30 minutes. They break down and give the broth its body; added at the start they vanish.
7. Dough: flour, water and salt worked together. It will look too dry and will not come together for several minutes. Keep going -- 10 minutes of hard kneading -- and add water a TEASPOON at a time only if it genuinely will not cohere.
8. Rested covered 1 hour, then kneaded again 3 minutes and shaped into a flattened loaf about 15 cm long that sits comfortably along the forearm.
9. A wide pan of water at a rolling boil, close to the worktop.
10. The block held in one hand over the pan. With a thin sharp knife or a potato peeler held almost flat, shave strips off the top edge in a quick outward flick so each one lands in the water. 2 to 3 mm thick, as long as you can manage.
11. WORK FAST AND DO NOT STOP TO ADMIRE THEM. The first strips are cooking while you cut the last. They take about 2 minutes and are done when they float and the edges go translucent.
12. Lifted into bowls, broth and beef ladled over, coriander and a splash of vinegar at the table.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under China · All recipes