Knife Cut Noodles

Thick, Chewy Noodles to add heartiness to a steaming bowl of soup

When it comes to noodles, there's no guessing needed when it comes to its name. In Chinese, they’re刀削面 (dao xiao mian.) In English, knife-shaved, knife-cut, pared noodles, or even peel noodles- they all simpy refer to nodles cut straight from a block of well-rested dough straight into a boiling pot of water. In the streets of Taiwan, you can find vendors shaving dough as each order comes through. Once it's ready, it gets tossed into a stir-fry, which is more of a soupy mixture, or a bowl of bubbling broth to be served hot and fresh. And despite the fun mechanical hands that "shave" the dough nowadays at certain places, you're always pleasantly greeted with a myriad of shapes and sizes that gives it its distinct handmade quality.

Servings: 5

Ingredients

• 4 cups flour

• 1.5 cups cold water

• 2 tsp salt

• Oil (for brushing)

Steps

1. Combine flour and water. Knead until it comes together. It may look lumpy, but at this point, it will be too tough to knead further.

2. Rest the dough for 30 minutes. After this stage, the dough will become easier to knead.

3. Knead dough for 15-20min until hard, but supple. The dough will have a smooth surface and appear firm, but if you press a finger into it, it will leave a large indent.

4. Coat the surface of the dough with oil, and let it rest for another 30 minutes.

5. Split the dough into 8-10 piece, and roll into ovals (the shape of an "ox toungue pastry" as we say in this household). Coat in oil and rest for a day. You can keep it in the fridge as well.

6. Once you are ready to cook the noodles, bring the dough back to room temperature if necessary.

7. Bring a pot of water to a boil. You can"shave" the dough directly into the water, but the easier method is to roll the dough out and cut the noodle strands or cut pieces of dough and stretch them out. Its ok if the strands are all mismatched. That's the beauty of these noodles- all shapes and sizes work!

8. Boil the noodles for 4 minutes and ladle them out for later or dump directly in the sauce/soup.

9. Stir fry or pair with soup. Stewy, heavier sauces, beef soup, and vegetable stocks pair nicely with these noodles.

My variation: vegetable stock made from napa cabbage, radish, and mushrooms, with sliced fish cake added and salt to taste.

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