Serve 4 -6
300g all-purpose flour
165g water in room temperature
1/3 teaspoon salt
Sauce
400g chicken fillet, thinly sliced
1 cup cooking oil
1 medium-sized yellow onion, minced
2 tablespoons ginger. minced
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
2 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
1-2 cinnamon stick
2-3 bay leaves
3-4 dried red chilli1
1 teaspoon Sichuan Peppercorn, optional
1 can (28oz) can of whole tomato, whole plum tomatoes preferred
1-2 stalk of celery/bok choy
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons light soy sauce 2
2 teaspoons white sugar
Method
- In a large bowl, mix flour, water and salt, stirring in one direction. If your dough is too dry, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until you have a bread dough-like mixture. Knead the dough for about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Push the dough into a large flat circle 1 cm thick and cut the dough into 1.5cm strips. Roll the dough into long noodles of 1 cm in diameter by using your hands. If the dough is sticking, dab some oil on your fingers. Wind the noodles into a spiral on a plate, attaching one after another, lightly coating the noodles with oil to prevent sticking. You can layer the noodles on top of each other. Cover the plate with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the ingredients for your sauce: slice the chicken fillet, mince the ginger, garlic, and yellow onions.
- Heat 3 tablespoons of cooking oil in a frying pan. Add ginger, garlic (also leave small portion of garlic and ginger for later use) and fry over medium heat until fragrant. Add minced yellow onions and fry till soft. Then put into sliced chicken fillet to fry for about 2-3 minutes, add the cooking wine and cook for another 1 minute. Turn off the heat. Move the chicken to a separate bowl. Set aside.
- Clean the frying pan, add 4 tablespoons of cooking oil. Add into spices (cinnamon stick, bay leaves, dried red chilli, Sichuan peppercorn). Fry over the lowest heat. Depending on your stove’s heat, it can take 2-3 minutes to infuse the oil. Watch the dried chilli, take care not to let them blacken. When the oil starts to turn brown, your infused oil is ready.
- Remove the spices from oil and add into the canned whole tomatoes. Fry the tomatoes for about 10 minutes till they become sauce. Use a spatula to break down the tomatoes. In the same frying pan, add into the cooked chicken. Mix well. Add salt, light soy sauce, sugar. Taste and adjust the flavor to your preference. You can also add vinegar if a sour taste is desired. Add the green celery or bok choy and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the remaining minced ginger and garlic. Mix well.
- Prepare a pot of boiling water to cook noodles.
- Unwrap the noodles and roll each section to ½ cm in diameter. Using an up-and-down motion, stretch the noodles apart by banging the noodles on the surface of the table, gradually moving your hands farther apart. When the noodles get too long, fold the noodles and continue to stretch until you reach your desired thickness. Place noodles directly in the pot of boiling water. When foam begins to rise up, turn down the heat or add 1/3 cup of cold water to keep from boiling over. When the noodles float to the surface, strain them and place a bowl.
- Top the noodles with the sauce.