The Chinese noodle (麵條, mìan tíao) dates back to at least Xia Dynasty, over 4,000 years ago. In 1999, archeologists found remnants of a bowl of noodles at the Lajia archeological site in Qinghai province. Today, there are different types of noodles all over the world. Wheat, millet, buckwheat, rice, various starches can all be made into noodles with various shapes and sizes. There are also various additives like oil or lye to make different textures and tastes.
You can use this basic handmade noodle recipe for noodle soup, braised noodles or fried noodles. There are only 3 ingredients to this recipe… flour, salt and water. Besides the ingredients, you’ll only need a rolling pin and knife to make it. When you make your own noodles, you can taste the freshness and more importantly, you can customize the shape of your noodle to suit the dish that you’re making. You can also make dumpling wrappers from this dough.
Using this recipe, you can also make something called 麵疙瘩mìan gē dā or麵猴粉mìan hóu fěn that is a very traditional type of noodle-like dish that dates back to the Sung Dynasty. Just add a teaspoon of oil and wipe it on the surface of the dough and pull little pieces off, flattening them slightly and put them in simmering broth to cook. You can look for this recipe on my website. Some recipes call them Chinese gnocchi, but there are no potatoes in them, so I have named mine “noodle flakes”.
This Chinese Handmade Noodles 手工麵 recipe is really the foundation for many wheat flour noodles and wrappers. For those who are preparing foods for family members with food allergies, making noodles yourself can reduce the risks of getting an allergic reaction. Once I was looking for a package of rice noodles and I was shocked when I looked on the ingredients list and found it was made 100% from cornstarch but on the package, it called itself “rice noodle”. Anyways, when you make it yourself, you can always control the ingredients and the quality. I’m sure you’ll find making noodles easier than you thought!
Try these Chinese Handmade Noodles 手工麵 with my recipes for Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup or Beijing Style Soy Paste Noodles.
Chinese Handmade Noodles 手工麵
Ingredients
- 200 g All-purpose flour
Plus a little more for dusting - 2 g Salt
- 90 ml Warm water
Instructions
- Place 200g of flour in a mixing bowl and add 2g ( approx. 1/3 tsp) of salt and mix well
- Pour 90 ml warm water into flour mixture and mix until flour absorbs all the liquid and form the dough into a ball
No need to make it look nice at this point. After it rests, it will be easier to knead 
- Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes
- Lightly dust a flat surface with flour. Remove dough from the mixing bowl and knead on the flat surface until dough is smooth. Form a ball and cover again for 30 minutes
- Remove dough and roll it into a rectangular shape with a rolling pin. Lightly flour and shape as you roll, flipping the dough from front to back until you reach your desired thickness
- Fold the dough to shorten the length, making it easier to cut
- Cut to your desired width
- Unfold each noodle and sprinkle with just enough flour so that they don’t stick together
- Cooking instructions: fill a pot with water and bring it to a boil, put noodles in and stir to prevent them from sticking. Cook for around 3-5 minutes until cooked
- Noodles can also be stored in the freezer. Thaw before using.
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