Cold noodles with wheat gluten

Cold noodles with wheat gluten

　　These cold noodles are made from thin, paper-like wheat gluten sheets cut into strips, topped with shredded meat and cucumber, and dressed with a sauce made of mustard, vinegar, sesame oil, and other seasonings. The dish is sour, numbing, spicy, fragrant, refreshing, and delicious, with an appealing color, aroma, and taste. The specific method for making the noodles is as follows: First, mix flour with cold water, knead the dough evenly, then let it soak in a basin of cold water for about ten minutes. After that, wash the dough by hand to remove the starch. What remains is an elastic, smooth, and delicate dough ball called "miàn jīng" (面精). Take it out, dry the moisture on the surface with a special towel, then steam it in a steamer basket for about forty minutes to complete the miàn jīng. Meanwhile, the starch water left in the basin is left to settle for three hours. Pour off the water on top, replace it with clean water, stir in edible alkali, mix well, and scoop the mixture into a wheat gluten pan to steam. Each batch of wheat gluten takes about five minutes to steam. (Yinchuan)