International Noodles Incident Party
Following on from the success of the dumpling, pizza pie and gnocchi parties – we’re having noodles!
I am a big fan of noodles, most kinds of noodles in fact. See the ramen hunt post as an example of my dedication to noodle goodness. As soon as the theme was announced, I had a fairly good idea of what I wanted to make. We had so much fun making soba noodles in Japan, that I really wanted to make my own noodles – and what better noodles to make than hand pulled noodles?
When Alastair and I were in China years ago, one of our most memorable meals was a bowl of noodles at a street stall. We watched the noodles being pulled in front of us, and five minutes later we were tucking in. Amazing.
I knew that I wouldn’t be able to come close to replicating that meal. Hand pulling noodles is a skill that takes lots of practice to develop, but hey – I’m always up for a challenge!
I followed the instructions on this website – How to make hand pulled noodles. The dough is easy to put together – it’s basically flour, water, salt, a tiny amount of baking soda, and oil. The dough needs to be kneaded for a long time – to “destroy the gluten structure” according to the website, until it gets to a point where it stretches easily without breaking. I let my mixer do the kneading, but even after 25 minutes my dough didn’t reach that point and I couldn’t do the first pull without it breaking.
Now panic and freak out!
Finally, I figured out that if I added more water, it made the dough more supple and less prone to breaking. So eventually, after rather a lot more water, YAY NOODLES. I still had a lot of problems with the noodles breaking, and they were all uneven thicknesses, but look!
If you watch the above video, you can see how wet the dough is at the beginning. If I was ever silly enough to want to try pulling noodles again, I would try lots and lots more water. I wish I had started with wetter dough – it probably would’ve been much easier!
If you’re considering trying this, let me tell you. It is HARD. I now have first hand experience of exactly how hard it is, and goodness gracious do I appreciate the skill that is involved in pulling noodles! It is definitely something that takes a lot of practice.
It took me so long to make the noodles (we’re talking hours…) that I was exhausted afterwards and couldn’t be bothered doing much with them. Fortunately, I had a large pot of chicken stock already made, so I boiled up the noodles and served them in the chicken stock with some enoki mushrooms. They tasted okay, but not amazing…. not like I had spent hours making them! But I’m really glad I gave it a shot.
That’s it for my contribution to the International Noodle Incident Party. See Addictive and Consuming for the round up or check out the following links:
Mardi @eatlivetravelwrite
June 20, 2010 @ 11:47 am
Fantabulous effort here! I just saw some noodle pulling on an episode of the Amazing Race and it looked exhausting. I think you did an amazing job! yum!
3 hungry tummies
June 20, 2010 @ 12:18 pm
wow very impressive indeed!
Celeste @ Berrytravels
June 20, 2010 @ 1:53 pm
Still pretty darn impressive, I think! I was going to make hand pulled noodles too but time constraint means not actually making it to the party this month =(
I'm in awe!
Cherrie Pie
June 20, 2010 @ 2:37 pm
wow, you made hand pulled noodles?! Fantastic!
Christine@Christine's Recipes
June 20, 2010 @ 2:48 pm
Thanks for bringing in the experience and tips on how to pull noodles. Very helpful info.
Hannah
June 20, 2010 @ 2:58 pm
Oh my gosh. I eat chocolate, and you hand pull your own noodles?! Talk about an uneven BFF-skillset. π
Seriously, I'm in awe. Wow.
Nina
June 20, 2010 @ 4:57 pm
wow. i'm so impressed you made pulled noodles!! i love some really good pulled noodles with a nice chicken broth. real comfort food π !
Ms Baklover
June 20, 2010 @ 10:24 pm
Wow, impressed. And love the shirt!
5 Star Foodie
June 20, 2010 @ 11:28 pm
Wow, very impressive that you made hand pulled noodles! Adding extra water is a great idea, definitely would make it a little easier to make by hand. Very cool!
Trix
June 20, 2010 @ 11:53 pm
Wow. I am bowing down in awe at this very moment!! That's amazing you did that – on the bright side, pulling noodles sounds like such a workout it seems like you could eat as much as you want after wards, lol!
Evelyne @ CheapEthnicEatz
June 21, 2010 @ 12:32 am
Like everyone, incredibly in awe. What a great experience. Love the tshirt that goes with it lol
cloudcontrol
June 21, 2010 @ 9:27 am
You totally WIN over my FAIL!
And I'm with Ms Baklover on the shirt – love it!
Jo - SecondHelping
June 21, 2010 @ 1:05 pm
Wow, wow, and more wow!
A supreme effort. I've seen the professionals do it too and they make it look simple, but you just know it won't be.
Shirley
June 21, 2010 @ 6:19 pm
What a job! So you got your workout with this one too!
Agnes
June 21, 2010 @ 9:25 pm
Mardi: thanks! I'm really glad I attempted it.
3 hungry tummies: thanks π
Celeste: Awww, too bad you didn't have time to come to the party! π Hopefully you still get a chance to try hand pulling noodles some day!
Cherrie Pie: I did! Sort of, I tried anyway!
Christine: Thanks, there's surprisingly not that much info on the internet (that's helpful!).
Hannah: You don't "just" eat chocolate. You eat it AWESOMELY. And you put together the best chocolate combinations!
Nina: It's a huge comfort food for me too! I love noodles in a simple soup π
Ms Baklover: hehee, thanks!
5 star foodie: I really wish I had added more water at the beginning. Well, you live and learn!
Trix: it would have been an even bigger workout if I had kneaded the dough myself!
Evelyne: thanks! Coincidentally, the t shirt went very well with the noodle pulling experience.
cloudcontrol: You tried – that's the important thing! It's really really difficult!
Jo: oh man, the professionals make it look far too easy.
Shirley: hehee, I did! I was so happy to sit on the couch afterwards. π
Anh
June 21, 2010 @ 10:04 pm
OMG!!! Very impressive, Agnes!
Tangled Noodle
June 24, 2010 @ 12:15 pm
After reading this and seeing some of the other handmade noodles for IIP, I'm so impressed by the skills of my fellow partygoers! This is wonderful. π
The Food Addicts
June 24, 2010 @ 2:45 pm
That picture is worth a thousand words where the chef is stretching the noodles simply amazing!
Emma @CakeMistr
June 26, 2010 @ 8:19 pm
Wow! Good on you for giving this a a go. I can't imagine the patience required for pulling noodles.Yours look fantastic
mademoiselle dΓ©licieuse
June 27, 2010 @ 1:45 am
Points for effort and dedication =) Pulled noodles are a serious artform but there's no need to worry about unevenness as I find that's part of the charm of the handmade-ness.
Agnes
June 28, 2010 @ 9:40 pm
Anh: thanks! π
Tangled Noodle: We're a talented bunch, us food bloggers. π
The Food Addicts: Oh, I know! You can just see the skill involved.
Emma: Rather a lot of patience is required…. and sh*tloads of kneading! I have to say, making cakes and biscuits is probably more rewarding. π
mademoiselle: Oh that's true, that is part of the charm. π
Conor @ Hold the Beef
July 4, 2010 @ 10:25 pm
I was hoping you'd recreate your Japan magic with this party! Hours though? Oh dear. Your noodle dedication is very impressive, grasshopper.
Agnes
July 5, 2010 @ 8:52 pm
Conor: Ah, it would be SO COOL to make soba noodles again! But I don't have the cool bowl thingie, and big knife and cutting guide, and oh where on earth can I buy buckwheat flour from? π