Spinach Biang Biang Mein (Hand Pulled Noodles)
Despite the fact that there is a big bowl of green noodles here, it’s actually dumpling week! My pop up is quickly approaching… omg it’s this Saturday! I’m starting to prep all the dumplings and trying my hardest to not freak out. My goal is to make 500 dumplings by Friday. So wish me luck and hope I don’t get carpal tunnel.
I’m popping in here real quick to share with you my newest favorite noodle! Spinach Biang Biang Mein! Also known as Spinach Hand Pulled or really hand smacked noodles! I first had classic biang biang mein in Beijing with my family many many years ago. The restaurant was famous for them and there was a very talented man who would come out to the table and do an olympic quality acrobatic routine while pulling the noodles and then would dunk the noodles into boiling water right in front of you. It was insane and so representative of how crazy and weird restaurants can be in China.
I like working with my hands, so I wanted to give smacking them a try! I also wanted to pretend like these noodles are sort of healthy by way of a lot of packed spinach. The bright green color from the spinach is just so beautiful! The spinach also imparts a decent amount of spinach flavor into the dough as well, which is super lovely!
Give the Dough Enough Time to Rest
The whole process of making this noodle dough requires a lot of patience. If you want noodles in under an hour I recommend this recipe or another hand cut noodle recipe. The reason why we knead the dough twice and allow it rest for at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours is because the gluten needs to relax and develop, which allows the noodles to easily stretch. If the dough doesn’t have ample time to rest it will break when you go to smack it. So kneading the dough would be ideal in the morning if you’re hankering for noodles at lunch or dinner.
How to Pull Hand Pulled Noodles
I first tried pulling these noodles for the first time when my friend, Hanna, came over for lunch a few weeks ago. She actually works in restaurants and therefore has a ton more kitchen skillz and prep knowledge than me. She was much more natural at the whole smacking process than I was. It definitely takes a bit of practice.
What worked for me was rolling out the dough into a very even 2”x10” rectangle first. That way the noodles stretches more evenly than if you started out with a blog the shape of Texas. Then you don’t want to grip the ends too too tightly when you start smacking the dough. You want a good grip so they don’t fly out of your hands, but not too tight that the noodle breaks around your fingers. Then lastly you just need to practice. The more times you practice the whole smacking motion the easier it is to get flat even contact with your countertop.
Happy smacking!
Chinese Sizzling Sauce
In theory, you could just toss these noodles in chili oil and call it a day. They would also be a great addition in a noodle soup too! But I highly encourage you to try this sizzling sauce technique. It’s so easy.
All you do is top the noodles with some scallions, ground sichuan peppercorns, fried garlic (I have a big tub of this in my cabinet), minced ginger, red chili flake, and few pinches of flakey salt. Heat up oil in a sauce pan and once it’s hot, pour a little oil over the toppings and into the noodles. The oil will sizzle and gently cook the aromatics. Everything will start smelling awesome. Drizzle on a bit of dark soy, mix it all up, and enjoy!
Spinach Biang Biang Mein (Hand Pulled Noodles)
serves 2-3
noodle materials:
300g (~2 cups) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups packed fresh spinach
170g (3/4 cup) warm water
1/4 cup canola oil
sauce materials:
2 scallion - stalks chopped
1 tsp sichuan peppercorns - ground
2 tbsp fried garlic
1 tbsp fresh ginger - mince
1 tbsp red chili flake
1/2 tsp flake sea salt
dark soy
1/2 cup canola oil
steps:
Add flour and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
Blend spinach and water with a blender or handheld immersion blender to make a spinach puree. Pour the puree over a fine mesh sieve and into a measuring cup. Use the back of a spoon to gently press down on the puree to extract the dark green spinach juice. Measure 170g or 3/4 cup of spinach juice. Discard puree or save for another use.
Pour the spinach juice into the flour mixture in 3-4 additions, mixing with chopsticks until the juice is absorbed between each addition. Knead the dough for 5 minutes until you have a smoothish ball.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes. Knead the dough again for another 5 minutes and allow it to rest for another 20 minutes.
Uncover the dough and cut into 6 equal portions. In a clean shallow bowl or plate, toss the dough portions in canola oil so that all sides are covered in oil. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for at least 2 hour and up to 12 hours. The longer the dough rest the easier it will stretch.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
To pull the noodles, take one portion of dough and roll it out into 2”x10” strip. Press a chopstick into the center to create an indent. Hold the two short ends of the dough in both hands and start smacking the dough on your countertop. This takes a little practice, but try to get good flat contact between the counter and the dough. Once the dough has stretched out about double in length, pull the noodle apart along the indent. Place the noodles directly into boil water and boil for 2-3 minutes, until al dente. Remove noodles from the water, rinse and drain in a colander, and repeat with remaining noodles.
Place noodles into individual bows. Top each bowl with a little bit of chopped scallions, ground sichuan peppercorns, fried garlic, fresh ginger, red chili flake and salt. Adjust proportions based on your personal taste! Heat canola oil in a small saucepan, until hot. Carefully pour about 3-4 tbsp of hot oil over each bowl so it sizzles over the toppings. Drizzle on some dark soy sauce. Mix to combine and enjoy immediately!