Ader1

Have you seen how thick they are after his final pull? Have you seen Chinese hand pulled noodle practitioners pull noodles? Luke doesn't (in his videos) show how to pull noodles which would be pleasant to eat.....in my impinion at least. I bet youv'e never eatern noodles as thick as the ones he produces....?

Maybe you could point out where in his video he actually manages to 'pull noodles'? I havn't been able to see him manage anything resemble this process./art....

Noodle agent is 'Peng Hui' in China. This guy in the States told me that there they use Lye water but I've been told elsewhere that this isn't very good. I've ordered some to try. Bakins Soda does help but it's not a substitute. Maybe it would be ok if you had one of those commercial food mixers to work with. I'm telling you how this was done by myself in small quantities. I saw it done by a restauranteer in quantities of 25kgs and upwards. He put a little on the dough then left the dough to rest then just before eating time....he would put some more on a fraction of the dough and twirl it. It is a good question. I'm goint to try and get an answer to that question but I'm not in China now so we'll see if I can get the answer.

As I said, the ideal for making noodles is 12.5 or above but noodles may be made with flour with lower Protein/Gluten levels. In a bowl, put some flour....around 1 kg. Add some salt......less than half a tsp. Add water into a hollowed out middle flour and mix with your hands. You are a chef so you will know to do this equally. No lumps of well watered dough and other dry flour.....as far as possible. Add more water. I read that water should be added 3 times but I don't think that is so important. Water should make up to around 50% of the dough. Put the dough on a flat surface....the bowl should be clean. And knead for a little while. Then add noodle agent. and knead some more. Leave for a while....maybe 20 mins. Knead some more and when the surface is really smooth and shiny.....start spinning.....first clockwise then anti-clockwise. It will take you a long time before you become proficient in 'spinning or is it 'twirling'? You will then reach a point when you can feel the dough will stretch. Then put some oil/four on the table and make your/roll your dough into a tube. Cut it into around 3 equal portions. Cut off both ends of your initial longer tube as they will be where you held the dough or where the dough folded back on itself at the half way mark.. Pull each one othe the smaller tubes.

Do you have anything to back this up? It is nonsense. This is what you said earlier. I was unhappy about that. Kleinebre posted a google translation of a La Mian recipe and you just rubbished google's Chinese translating abilities when it agreed with what I said. Fairi enough that may well be true. However, I am right on this one regarding the Protein content of the Flour which is desired for making La Mian noodles.....well almost. I stated 12% Protein. In actual fact, it's above 12.5%. But, a La Mian master can work with Flour with lower Protein levels but for the desired end product....above 12.5%. Do you have information to the contratry?

Are you suggesting that I got my above 12% Protein figure from a Google translation? Fine. I'll let you continue watching Lukerymarz et al videos and combining All purpose with whatever.......LOL!

Thank you &roid. It's a bit far from me but if desperate, I'll make my way there. :-)

Thank you. And what I waw told as being 'higher' meant above 12%.

Are you suggesting that I am lying? This is what I was taught when I was in China. The best noodles are made using flower with Protein levels above 12% . I am not at my computer now but I can give you a list of the names of the flours they use or rather believe are the best to use. This comes from information I received from people who emanate from Lanzo.....which is the home of La Mian. I've watched Lukerymarz 'make' 'noodles' and he's nowhere near creating what they should be like. I'm not sure if his recipe is any good. I may take a look at it this week when I've got some Lye.

I live in the UK.....and I'd like to get hold of some Hight Gluten Flour. Where would be the best places for me to get this? Is it readily available? I live in South Wales. Thank you.

The Chinese use High Protein Flour.

Thank you Will. That's a great article. I havn't been able to watch the videos as the internet is pretty slow here. I've got another noodle pulling lesson in a couple of hours. It really is quite difficult and added to that the communication problem since I have only a smattering of Chinese. It's also very hot and humid here. I'll let you guys know how I get on.

Thank you both for your replies. Anybody know if pénghuī (蓬灰) is available outside China eg the US?

Hi, On my current visit to China, I've had a few lessons on making La Mian Noodles. When making them, the restaurant owner I get lessons from uses a powdered chemical which is added to water and then added to the noodle dough. It changes the dough's constitution and makes it more stretchy. I've heard that baking soda may be used but my teacher said that it's no good. What he uses is something called 'Peng Hui' which I've been told isn't that healthy (to say the least) to consume. My question is, what would the noodle restaurants in say the UK or the US use as a noodle agent? I know there are at least a few in London with Gordon Ramsay the famous British TV chef challenging one to a noodle making competition. It's all on Youtube but unfortunately I cannot view it here due to government restrictions. I would be very grateful if somebody could help me crack this one....or maybe 'Peng Hui' is exportable to the UK, US, Europe etc? I found a ling with some related material dating back a few years on this sit: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php/topic/72299-lye-water/page__st__30 Thanks.

Thanks for the replies. Anybody tried this one in Acton?: http://www.squaremeal.co.uk/restaurants/london/view/84389/Sichuan_Restaurant

OK...I hope to visit London this week. Which Sichuan restaurant should I try? Thanks.

Thanks for you replies. Why are there so few? Are the foods 'difficult' for the western palate?

This was written a couple of years ago. Any updates? I'll be visiting London next month and might try some Sichuanese food. Should I really seek out a Sichuan restaurant? Is the food that different to the omni-present Cantonese?

Thank you all for your replies. In fact, I was looking at the LCB Thai Pro Cookery course. There are a couple other cookery schools which offer pro courses at a fraction of the LCB price and in less time. The LCB also offers restaurant management as part of their course which is for 7 months but I was more interested in the cooking side. I am leaning towards one of the cookery schools.

Thank you all for your replies. You've given me some food for thought.

I used to live in Thailand and often ate Tom Yum Gung (Prawn). I left the tails on the side of the plate. Then a mate said to me that his friend's wife ate the lot. From then on I did too. Never looked back.

Thank you for the replies. There hasn't been much support as yet. Interesting.

Thanks for the reply. Basically you are saying, if I understand you correctly, that the big name schools are over-rated and too expensive? You didn't mention if you had studied at one of these schools yourself. Anyway, I would like to hear from some people who have studied at an LCB. I have to say that my intuition goes along with what you say EdwardJ.

I'm considering following this route. But these schools are very expensive. Are they really worth the cost? What makes their courses so good or are they over-rated? Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks.

I think most of them have a pic of a female on them. 'Mae' in Thai means mother. Most of the brands have this name. Mae Sri/Mae Ploy/Mae Anong/Mae Pranom. According to Kasma Loha-Unchit of 'It Rains Fishes' these are actual people. Interesting bit of trivia for you.