Chinese noodles have a long and well-established history, recorded as early as in the Eastern Han Dynasty which was over 1,900 years ago. It was not until the Sung Dynasty did “mian” (“noodle”) become the formal name of the food.
However, it was only during the Ming Dynasty when the superior skills of the noodle makers paved the way to the art of hand-pulled noodles, hence the term “la-mian” which means pulled noodles. The dexterous La-Mian master prepares a dough mixture, kneads and folds it repeatedly, stretches it and in the final pull, magically transforms the dough into long, thin noodle strips, ready to be cooked in the hotpot.
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Flour is mixed with water to form a smooth dough. Vigorous kneading makes the dough soft and pliable. The dough is then covered with a damp cloth and set aside for a while. |
The La-Mian Master then spreads and rolls the dough to form a cylindrical shape and adds a dab of oil to keep the strands apart when pulled. |
He then takes a portion of the dough and pulls it once then folds it in half. |
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Folding the pulled dough in half several times multiplies
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After several successive folds and pulls, tha La-Mian master skillfully pulls the dough for the last time to separate the strands into thin noodles ready to be cooke |