biang biang noodles

Biang Biang noodles are a Northern Chinese specialty, hailing from Shaanxi Province. They are generally wide, thick, and chewy, and most importantly, hand-made, giving these biang biang noodles a slightly uneven texture that clings to that signature spicy cumin lamb sauce really well.

Spicy Cumin Lamb Biang Biang Noodles

bread flour

salt

((plus 1 tablespoon water))

fatty lamb shoulder

vegetable oil ((plus 3 tablespoons, divided))

rice wine ((plus 2 tablespoons, divided))

cornstarch

cumin seeds

coriander seeds

white pepper

ginger

scallions ((chopped, white parts and green parts separated))

garlic ((minced))

chili oil ((preferably homemade))

sugar

black vinegar or rice vinegar

soy sauce

red onion ((thinly sliced))

Chinese celery celery ((optional))

cabbage leaves ((roughly chopped))

garlic chives ((roughly chopped, optional))

First, make the noodle dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the bread flour, salt and water. Combine the mixture with your hands or a fork until it starts to form a scraggly dough. Once the dough has come together a bit, attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, and turn it on low speed (setting “2” on a KitchenAid). Allow the mixer to knead the dough for 20 minutes. By the end, the dough will have formed a ball that: doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl, is smooth and elastic, and isn’t too dry.

You’ll know the dough is done when you can rip off a piece of it and stretch it slowly by a couple inches without it breaking apart. If the dough breaks, knead for another 3-5 minutes (to allow the dough to absorb more moisture). If it still won’t stretch, try adding a tablespoon of water and kneading by hand to incorporate the water. Then transfer it to the mixer once again and allow the dough hook to do its work for another 5 minutes. You need to give the dough time to absorb the moisture uniformly.

If, on the other hand, your kitchen is humid and the dough is a bit sticky, sprinkle in some more flour and knead for another 3-5 minutes.

Once the dough has reached the right consistency, cover it with plastic wrap or an overturned bowl (as long as the bowl is not touching the dough) and allow it to rest for 1 to 2 hours.

Now, get the rest of your ingredients ready. Combine the sliced lamb with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon rice wine, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Set aside to marinate.

In a clean, dry pan over medium heat, add the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and white pepper. Toast the spices until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Coarsely grind the spices in a spice grinder or mortar &amp; pestle. Set aside. Prepare all your vegetables, and set those aside as well.

Now you’re ready to make the noodles. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and transfer the rested dough to a clean, oiled surface. Press the dough into a half-inch thick, relatively even rectangle about 10 inches in length. Cut the rectangle into 10 equal strips. Take each strip and lay flat on the counter. Use your palm to flatten the strip into a long, wide, flat noodle––don’t worry about it being perfectly straight or even.

Now, the next step is how this noodle got its name. Pick up the noodle on both ends, lift it, and gently slap it repeatedly on the counter while stretching it out. You can also use your hands to flatten it out further so that the noodle has a relatively uniform thickness. The noodles should be about the thickness of spaghetti––if they are translucent at all, they’re too thin. Lay them onto your parchment-lined baking sheet, and repeat the process until you have all 10 noodles. If you run out of space on the parchment paper, just put another layer of parchment on top. You can keep the noodles this thick, or if you like thinner ones, you can slice each noodle in half lengthwise using a sharp knife. Cover the noodles with plastic wrap so they don’t dry out.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. The noodles will take approximately 90 seconds to cook, so make sure you time it right so that they’re cooked and drained around the same time that your sauce is done.

To make the sauce, heat 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large wok over medium heat. Add the ginger and scallion whites and cook for 1 minute. Add the garlic and chili pepper, and cook for another 30 seconds. Crank up the heat to high and add the marinated lamb. Stir-fry the lamb until just browned, and immediately add 2 tablespoons rice wine, along with your prepared spice mixture, the chili oil, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, salt, onions, and celery (if using). If things are starting to stick to the bottom of the wok, add a ¼ cup or so of water to deglaze it.

While that’s going, throw your noodles and the cabbage into boiling water, and cook for 90 seconds to 2 minutes.

Transfer the cooked noodles and cabbage to the wok along with the garlic chives and scallion greens, and toss until everything is completely coated in the sauce.

Serve!

Dreaming about making your own authentic hand pulled noodles at home? It&#039;s easier than you might think. Biang biang noodles is known for its long, thick noodles and spicy sauce. In this recipe, I&#039;ll show you how to make the dough and stretch it into noodles, as well as how to make a delicious homemade sauce to go with it.

Hand Pulled Noodles (Easy biang biang noodles recipe)

g flour ((1¾ cup + 2 tbsp bread flour

g salt ((⅓ tsp))

155 g water ((½ cup + 2.5 tbsp; Room temperature.))

vegetable oil

tbsp minced garlic

tbsp sesame seeds

green onions

tbsp chopped cilantros

tbsp chili powder ((skip

peanut butter ((Can also use sesame paste))

chicken bouillon ((optional))

tbsp black vinegar

Add flour, salt, and water to a large mixing bowl, stir with a pair of chopsticks or a spatula until all the ingredients are roughly mixed.

Knead the dough with your hands for about 5 minutes until it forms a roughly smooth dough. (It&#39;s okay if the dough is not perfectly smooth right now. It will become smoother after resting.)

Cover the dough with plastic wrap, let it rest under room temperature for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, take off the plastic wrap and flip the dough so that the smoother side is facing down. Knead the dough with your hands for 3 minutes until it becomes smooth.

Take the dough and divide it into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a sausage shape that is approximately 3½ inches in length and 1 inch in diameter.

Pour ¼ cup of vegetable oil onto a plate and coat each piece of dough with oil by rolling them in the oil one at a time, until all pieces are coated evenly. Once coated, place all the dough pieces on the plate with the oil and cover them with a piece of plastic food wrap. Allow them to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.

Once the dough has rested for 1 hour, take one piece and place it on your working surface. Use your palm to flatten the dough into a thin sheet that is approximately 2 inches wide and 6 inches long.

Press down on the center of the dough sheet using the back of a knife. Make sure you don&#39;t cut it through. This will create a trace that looks like the vein running down the middle of a leaf. Set it aside. Repeat until you flatten all the dough pieces into leaf-like sheets.

Hold two ends of a dough sheet, stretch and slap it onto the working surface to make a &quot;biang biang&quot; sound. Continue stretching the dough until it reaches a length of approximately 3 feet.

Find the center of the noodle and tear it apart along the middle trace until it forms a loop, set it aside. Repeat until you stretch all the dough sheets into noodles.

Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add the noodles and cook them for 3 to 5 minutes or until they are floating on the surface. If your pot isn&#39;t big enough, you may need to cook the 8 noodles (for 2 servings) in two separate batches to prevent them from sticking together.

Strain the noodles, place them into a serving bowl. Top with the sauce, combine well, and serve hot.

Add minced garlic, sesame seeds, chopped green onions, chopped cilantros, chili powder, peanut butter, granulated sugar, and salt to a heat-resistant bowl. Heat up ¼ cup of vegetable oil in a small saucepan over high heat until it starts to smoke. Carefully pour the hot oil over the sauce ingredients.

Use a spoon stir the sauce ingredients and oil together. Add chicken bouillon, soy sauce, and black vinegar to the sauce mixture. Stir until all the ingredients are well combined.

Note: While the dough is resting, you can prepare the sauce. If you wait until after the noodles are cooked to make the sauce, the noodles may become cold and slightly firmer in texture.

To make the sauce

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/t_original/v1682887557/ufuw1fyef0hxztxqyu3b.mp4

Dreaming about making your own authentic hand pulled noodles at home? It’s easier than you might think. Biang biang noodles is known for its long, thick noodles and spicy sauce. In this recipe, I’ll show you how to make the dough and stretch it into noodles, as well as how to make a delicious homemade sauce to go with it.

Hand Pulled Noodles (biang biang noodles)

Hand-pulled noodles with hot oil seared aromatics. 

Biang Biang Noodles

Bread flour, 400 g

Water, 200 g

Salt, 8 g

Neutral oil, to prevent sticking

Oyster Sauce, 20 g

Chinese Black Vinegar, 20 g

Salt, 3 g

Fresh ginger, a small knob

Napa cabbage, a handful

Neutral oil, 45 g

Chinese chives, 1-2

Chinese celery, 1/2 stalk

cloves

Szechuan peppercorns, a spoonful

Chinese red chili flakes, a spoonful

Start the noodle dough (in advance)

Set a bowl over a scale. Add the flour, water, and salt. Mix the dough with your hands until a ball is formed. The dough will be fairly stiff and tough, so knead for about 5 minutes in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Finish the noodle dough (in advance)

The dough should feel much more elastic and supple after resting. Once rested, knead the dough for another 3 to 5 minutes, then rest for 5 more minutes.

Using a rolling pin and your hands, work the dough into a rectangle about 6" by 12" (15 cm by 30 cm). Cut the dough into six (100 g) pieces, making them each about 2" (5 cm) wide.

Brush the noodle pieces with a neutral oil. Add a drizzle to a container and stack noodles slightly overlapping like leaning books, not right on top of each other. Cover the container and let rest for at least 1 hour or in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Prep the sauce & aromatics

While the dough rests, do some prep work. 

In a bowl or container, mix together all noodle sauce ingredients until well combined. Cover and set aside. 

Chop or gather any remaining vegetables or aromatics. Set aside. 

Pull the noodles

If your noodles have been resting in the fridge, pull them out to warm up on the counter for ~10 minutes.

When you are ready to finish the dish, you can proceed with pulling the noodles. Since this will take some time to do, bring a large pot of water to boil while you pull the noodles. 

Using a rolling pin, roll the dough piece about double the current width and 1 inch longer. Using a chopstick or back of a knife, gently imprint the center of the noodle to give it a 'perforated' ripping point.

Grab the ends of the rectangle with your thumbs and forefingers and pull the dough gently, stretching until about shoulder length.

Now the fun part. While still slightly pulling, bounce the noodle flat against the counter in an up and down motion until the dough is about 4 feet (1.25 m) long. This takes a little practice. Do not grip too tight or pull too quickly or the noodle will break. If it does, just pull the thick part where it broke.

When the noodle is 4 ft, pick it up at the middle and rip it down the line. Pull until you reach the bottom, but don't pull all the way through, leaving you with a large noodle ring. Set aside and repeat the process.

It might be helpful to watch the video for the right hand-pulling technique. 

Note: Pulling all six of the noodles at once will yield a lot of noodles: 2-4 healthy portions. Feel free to just pull 3 of the noodle sections, and only use half of the sauce/aromatics in the next steps. Then you could use the other half of the ingredients at a different time for a second fresh meal.

Boil the noodles & blanch the cabbage

Once your noodles are pulled and your large pot is boiling, you can cook the noodles.

Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook them until they float, which should take around 2 minutes. During the last 30 seconds of boiling, add the cabbage into the water with the noodles to cook through.

If you are working with a smaller pot, it is ok to do this in batches.

Drain the noodles and cabbage and set aside into a large heatproof bowl for saucing.

Sauce the noodles

Heat the oil in a small pot or skillet until it is hot but not yet smoking (~375°F/190°C). 

To the bowl of cooked noodles and blanched cabbage, pour the sauce over top. Then add all remaining aromatics and spices in a pile on top of the noodles. 

Drizzle the hot oil right on the aromatics, making sure everything sizzles and blooms from its heat.

Toss the noodles until everything is evenly coated, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed, and serve right away while the noodles are still warm.

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Top 3 biang biang noodles recipes from across the web

The most viewed biang biang noodles recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

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Hand Pulled Noodles (Easy biang bia...

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The most viewed biang biang noodles recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine