Liangpi

Liangpi (Cold Wheat Starch Noodles, Shaanxi-Style)

Slippery, chewy steamed wheat-starch sheets from the streets of Xi'an, served cold with a sharp, smoky dressing of black vinegar, garlic and chilli oil. The dish comes together quickly once the noodles are made and is best eaten the same day.

Prep

25 min

Cook

25 min

Total

50 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •300 g (10½ oz) wheat starch, do not substitute with flour; in a Western kitchen, this is the closest match to what Shaanxi vendors call liangfen powder
• •200 g (7 oz) strong (bread) flour, for the washing step; high-protein flour gives the cleanest starch
• •750 ml (3 cups) water, divided: ~500 ml for the dough, ~250 ml to mix into the batter
• •60 ml (¼ cup) neutral oil, for brushing and brushing the steaming pan
• •1 whole cucumber, shredded
• •60 g (2 oz) soybean sprouts, blanched; optional but traditional
• •4 cloves garlic, finely grated to a paste
• •45 ml (3 tbsp) Chinkiang black vinegar, or any aged Chinese black vinegar; do not substitute rice vinegar
• •30 ml (2 tbsp) light soy sauce
• •10 g (2 tsp) salt
• •5 g (1 tsp) caster sugar
• •60 ml (¼ cup) chilli oil, with sediment; use a Sichuan-style oil for the right smoky fragrance
• •15 g (1 tbsp) toasted sesame paste, thinned with 1 tbsp warm water
• •5 g (1 tsp) ground Sichuan pepper, optional, for a tingly finish

Steps

1. 1 Make the dough: combine the 200 g strong flour with about 125 ml of the water and knead for 8–10 minutes until you have a smooth, very firm ball. Wrap in plastic and rest for 30 minutes.
2. 2 Wash the dough: place the rested dough in a large bowl, cover with cold water, and squeeze and knead it under the water. The water turns milky white as starch releases. Pour the cloudy water into a separate bowl, add fresh cold water to the dough, and repeat 6–8 times until the water runs nearly clear.
3. 3 Reserve the liquid: set aside all the cloudy wash water and let it stand for 30 minutes so the starch settles to the bottom. Carefully pour off the clear liquid on top; you should be left with about 250 g of wet wheat starch in the bowl. (Discard the rubbery gluten ball, or save it for another use.)
4. 4 Finish the batter: stir the reserved clear liquid gently back into the starch a little at a time until you have a smooth, thin batter that coats the back of a spoon but flows easily - about the consistency of single (light) cream. Add more of the reserved water or the extra 250 ml of fresh water as needed, then season with the salt. Strain through a fine sieve to remove any lumps.
5. 5 Prepare the steamer: bring a large pot of water (about 2–3 cm deep) to a rolling boil and set a round flat pan or pie tin (about 25 cm / 10 in) on a steamer rack above it. Lightly brush the pan with neutral oil.
6. 6 Steam the sheets: ladle about 120 ml (½ cup) of batter into the hot pan, swirl to coat evenly, cover and steam over rapidly boiling water for 2–3 minutes, until the sheet is set, translucent and lifts cleanly from the pan.
7. 7 Stack and cool: slide each cooked sheet onto a plate, brush the surface lightly with neutral oil, and stack. Once cooled, slice into 1.5 cm (½ in) wide strips. (For the classic texture, slice wider, about 2.5 cm / 1 in, like fettuccine.)
8. 8 Make the dressing: whisk the grated garlic, black vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, thinned sesame paste and chilli oil together in a small bowl until smooth.
9. 9 Assemble: toss the noodle strips with the cucumber, blanched soybean sprouts and dressing. Taste and adjust salt and vinegar. Top with a pinch of ground Sichuan pepper if using, and serve immediately at room temperature or slightly chilled.