Lamian

Method

1. 1 Knead the flour with water and lye water for 15 minutes, then let it rest for 2 hours; the lye water creates a gluten network strong enough to stretch without breaking.
2. 2 Simmer beef bones with cinnamon and ginger for 1 hour, then boil the beef shank for 40 minutes and strain the broth to make it clear.
3. 3 Shape the dough into a string, fold it in half, then pull and twist it repeatedly eight times—each twist doubling the number of strands, resulting in 256 strands from one block of dough.
4. 4 Boil the noodles for exactly 90 seconds because the thin strands cook very quickly.
5. 5 Arrange the noodles in a bowl, add the sliced beef and boiled radish, then pour in the broth, sprinkle with chopped scallions and cilantro, and chili oil.

With an appliance

• Pressure cooker 1 hr

  Replace step 2: simmer beef bones with cinnamon and ginger under high pressure for 30 minutes, add beef shank and cook again under high pressure for 15 minutes, then let it cool naturally for 15 minutes; strain the broth before continuing with the noodle pulling and boiling steps.