Beijing-Style Noodle Soup (麵疙搭)

Last night for dinner I finally had the opportunity to try out a recipe from my new Chinese Rice and Noodles cookbook from Wei-Chuan. This dish is called "home-made noodle soup with green onions," but its Chinese name (麵疙搭) is actually more descriptive and interesting. This dish is Beijin cuisine. What makes this dish interesting, I think, is the shape of the home-made noodle, which is basically bits of pulled dough.

First, I made the dough for the noodle by mixing flour and water. While I let the dough rest, I prepared the broth which is used to cook the noodles. The sections of scallions were stir-fried in oil before the dried shrimp and pork were added to the mix. Once the meat changed color, I added some soy sauce and lots of water. I brought the stock to boil before adding the bits of dough teared off from the big chunk of dough. I actually saw this method of cooking on a show on Discovery or National Geographic and I thought it was something fun to do. Wid joined in the fun and threw in bits of dough. To flavor the broth, salt, pepper, and sesame oil were added. Then, right before serving, some chopped scallions were added.

The taste was surprisingly light even though it was a bit oily. The cooked sections of scallion were surprisingly sweet and flavorful. The slices of pork was too large so next time I'll try to cut smaller pieces. The noodles were good too, but Wid's dad wasn't too keen on it. I guess it's because that's not what he expected of noodles.

Wei-Chuan cookbooks are awesome. They haven't failed me yet!