I love noodles and I could eat them every day, this dish tastes amazing especially if you make your own!
What are Hot Dry Noodles?
This is a traditional Chinese dish from the Hubei province where cooked noodles are served with small amount of rich beef stock ''lou mei'' along with other garnishes like crushed peanuts, pickled carrots, beans, sesame sauce, soy sauce, fresh garlic, chilli oil, coriander and scallions. You don't have to add all of the toppings to make it delicious. Instead of chilli oil, I used my homemade chilli sauce and it worked great!
What noodles should I use for Hot Dry Noodles?
Noodles are the main element of this dish so making fresh is the best way to go. My favourite is Udon, easy to make and tastes fantastic, I bet you will enjoy it as much as I did at the moment when everything mixes together and you take the first bite. If you don't have much time you can use any store-bought Alkaline noodles.
Ingredients for Udon:
500g (17.6oz) of plain flour
250g (8.8oz) of warm water
20g (0.7oz) of salt
cornstarch for dusting
Ingredients for lou mei:
400ml (0.42quarts) of beef or veg stock
3tbsp sesame oil
20g (0.7oz) of fresh ginger peeled and sliced
3 garlic cloves peeled and sliced
1 small shallot sliced
1spring onion sliced
3tbsp Shaoxing wine
1tbsp brown sugar
Spices for lou mei:
2 small cinnamon sticks
3 bay leaves
10 peppercorns
20 fennel seeds
10 cloves
5 cardamon pods
3 star anise
Ingredients for quick pickled carrot:
100g (3.5oz) carrot, peeled and chopped into matchsticks
100ml (0.1quarts) of red wine vinegar
50g (1.8oz) of brown sugar
Instructions for Homemade Udon (4 portions) :
1. Dissolve the salt in warm water and mix into the flour, knead for 8 minutes until a smooth dough ball is formed (it may be hard at the beginning but it will soften as gluten forms) Then rest it covered to prevent drying for 30 minutes.
2. After resting it is time for final kneading and the easiest way to get it done is by placing the dough in a plastic bag and stepping on it until it spreads out then folding it into a ball again and repeating this two more times. You can also roll it with a pin but it is a lot harder to do so. After you finish rest the dough for at least 2 hours or overnight.
3. Roll the dough flat to 1/4 of an inch then fold it on itself and slice equal noodles.
4. Boil the noodles in salty water for 12 minutes (do it in 3 batches) then run them under cold water to set the starch on the outer surface (this makes them silkier and prevents from sticking)
5. To serve the noodles, deep them in boiling water for 15 seconds then place in the bowl, add a small ladle of lou mei stock and garnish with other toppings.
Instructions for Lou mei:
1. Heat 3tbsp of sesame oil in a medium pan then add, garlic, ginger and onion. Fry for couple minutes then add seven spices and fry for another couple minutes to release the aroma.
2. Add Shaoxing wine, beef stock and brown sugar then simmer for about 30-60 minutes.
3. Once ready you can store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Instructions for Quick Pickled Carrot:
1. Combine vinegar and sugar then bring to boil and remove from the heat, add carrot matchsticks and make sure it is submerged. After 15 minutes the pickle is ready, you can store it in the fridge for future use.
Homemade Chilli sauce:
5 chillis (green or red) seeds removed
20g (0.7oz) of ginger, peeled and diced
8tbsp of chopped tomato
1/2 lime juice
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4tbsp rapeseed oil
1. Blend everything together in a food processor, it makes more than you need for this recipe so you can store it for the future in the fridge.
