I've been DYING (lol, too silly) to try making my own noodles. I can't stop watching in fascination someone either in person or in a video making hand pulled noodles. It's mesmerizing! I'm not usually a fan of fresh handmade noodles, a bit too chewy for me but I really like the texture of this noodle, soft with a bit of a chew. Longevity noodles are a specialty for Lunar New Year wishing the eater long life in the new year. So, happy new year and may it bring you health, happiness, good fortune and of course...long life!
This longevity noodle is supposed to be one long continuous noodle. Try not to break it but if you do, don't worry, it won't shorten your life. Teasing. Just pick up the broken end and keep pulling and stretching until you reach the goal thickness of less than 1/4". Good luck! I know you can do it! Broken or one noodle 30' long, you'll have a delicious noodle to go with your favorite topping and will have SO much fun doing it!
Longevity Noodles
Ingredients (makes two 27' noodles - serving 2)
2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour or high-gluten flour
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (180 ml) room-temperature water
Vegetable or canola oil for brushing
2 cups (480 ml) cold water, divided
Directions
In a large bowl, add the flour and salt and mix well to combine.
Add the room-temperature water slowly while mixing the dough first with a spatula then with your hands. Knead the dough until it comes together in a smooth ball, 3 to 5 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball, place back in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap to rest and the moisture to absorb for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, remove the plastic wrap and knead the dough in the bowl a few more times. Cover with plastic wrap again and let it rest for another 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, brush the dough with a bit of oil and place on a clean work surface. Cut the dough in half. Cover one half with the plastic wrap and work with the other. Use your hands to roll each piece of dough into a long rope about 1⁄2" (12 mm) in diameter. Best method is to roll forward and as you roll back pull your hands apart from each other a little more each roll. Do this about 5-6 times then move down the rope a bit more rolling and stretching.
Brush a cake pan or cookie sheet with oil. Make a large coil of noodle dough. Brush the dough with some oil to prevent it from sticking to itself. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (if using immediately) or up to 1 day.
When ready to use, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it come back to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
In the meantime, fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat.
Ok now begins the fun part. First pick up a dough coil. Starting on one end, continuously stretch and pull the noodle until you get to the other end. The dough rope should now be less than 1/2" in diameter. Gently loop the rope between both hands like you're winding up yarn, holding both hands about 18" apart.
In this next stretch, you will pull your hands, and the noodles apart further, not quite as wide as they can go but almost. As you pull the noodles, bounce them up and down slapping them on your work surface as you stretch. Slap, bounce and stretch to desired thickness. You can double up the loop and go again which will make an even thinner noodle but also greater chance of breakage. I say...go for it!
In the end, each noodle should end up being about 25-30' long and less than 1/4" thick.
Repeat the stretching, pulling, bouncing and slapping with the other noodle coil. When done, immediately drop the noodles into the boiling water and stir so the noodles don’t stick to themselves. I was a bit worried mine was going to be a giant clump since the loops I was holding started sticking to each other but if you stir in the pot they will separate.
When the water comes back to a rapid boil, pour 1 cup of cold water into the pot. Bring back to a boil and cook for 1 minute before adding another cup of cold water. When it comes back up to a boil, carefully use a spider or chopsticks to remove the noodle. The noodles should have boiled for 2 to 3 minutes in total.
They are now ready to add to soup or stir fry or top with your favorite topping! May you enjoy a healthy and happy long life!
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